Admiral

Admiral (United Kingdom)

Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...

 Sir Derek Roy Reffell KCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (born 6 October 1928) is a former Governor of Gibraltar

Governor of Gibraltar

The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Governor is appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the British Government...

.

Naval career

Educated at Culford School

Culford School

Culford School is a coeducational HMC and IAPS public school for pupils age 3–18. Founded in 1881, it is situated in Culford, four miles north of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England.-History:...

, Reffell entered the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, qualified as a Navigating Officer in 1954 and progressed through the ranks: he commanded the frigate, HMS Sirius

HMS Sirius (F40)

HMS Sirius was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy built by H.M. Dockyard Portsmouth, and was the penultimate RN warship to be built there for a period of forty years, until Vosper Thorneycroft built HMS Clyde...

, from her launch in 1966, and served as captain of the commando carrier HMS Hermes

HMS Hermes (R12)

HMS Hermes was a Centaur-class British aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy.-Construction and modifications:...

 from 1974 to 1976 and as Commodore (Amphibious Warfare) from 1978 to 1979. He was appointed Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff for Policy - ACNS(P) - in 1979. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral, becoming Flag Officer Third Flotilla (FOF3) in 1982. He became Controller of the Navy

Third Sea Lord

The Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy was formerly the Naval Lord and member of the Board of Admiralty responsible for procurement and matériel in the British Royal Navy...

 in 1984 and was Governor of Gibraltar

Governor of Gibraltar

The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Governor is appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the British Government...

 1989-1993.

During the Falklands War

Falklands War

The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...

 Admiral Reffell was serving as Flag Officer Third Flotilla in charge of the amphibious ships and aircraft carriers. Alastair Finlan commented that Admiral Reffell was the obvious choice for in-theatre commander but was not selected. Commodore Clapp later expressed his surprise at this decision, and, what was more, the fact that Reffell was barred access to the Northwood Headquarters

Northwood Headquarters

Northwood Headquarters is a military headquarters facility of the British Armed Forces in Eastbury, Hertfordshire, England, adjacent to the London suburb of Northwood...

so that his advice was not available.