Admiral Sir Charles Adam was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and politician who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He later commanded the royal yacht, Royal Sovereign, and was the Member of Parliament for Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire. He held the office of First Naval Lord three times. In that capacity he dealt ably with the economies of a peacetime budget, provided naval support for the expulsion of Muhammad Ali's forces from Syria in 1840 and ensured technological progress continued. He was also the father of William Patrick Adam, a colonial administrator and Liberal politician.
Admiral Sir Charles Adam
The frigate Sybille which Adam commanded
HMS Illustrious, Adam's flagship as commander-in-chief of the North America and West Indies Station
The Officers Monument, Greenwich Hospital Cemetery
First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff
The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is a statutory position in the British Armed Forces usually held by a four star admiral. As the highest-ranking officer to serve in the Royal Navy, the chief is the principal military advisor on matters pertaining to the navy and a deputy to the Secretary of State for Defence. In a separate capacity, the CNS is a member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and, thereby, a military advisor to the National Security Council, the prime minister and the monarch. The First Sea Lord is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty of the Royal Navy unless the Chief of the Defence Staff is a naval officer. Admiral Ben Key was appointed First Sea Lord in November 2021.
First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff
Image: Admiral Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington by John Closterman
Image: Sir John Chichley circa 1640 1691 by Jacob Huysmans
Image: Gibson, Edward Russell