Jeremy Blackham


Sir Jeremy Joe Blackham, is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet.

Naval career

Blackham joined the Royal Navy in 1961. He became Commanding Officer successively of the Ton-class minesweeper, the frigate and then the destroyer. He was appointed Director of the Royal Navy Staff College in 1986, Director of Naval Plans at the Ministry of Defence in 1989 and then Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier, which was deployed in the Adriatic Sea at the start of the Bosnian War in 1992, before becoming Chief of Staff at Naval Home Command in 1993. He went on to be Director-General of Naval Personnel Strategy at the Ministry of Defence before being made Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1995. His last appointments were as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet in 1997 and then Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff in 1999 before retiring in 2002.
In retirement Blackham became UK President of EADS, the defence contractor. Since January 2003 he has served as editor of The Naval Review.