Chief of Naval Personnel & Training and Second Sea Lord

Vice Admiral Charles Montgomery is married with three sons and one daughter.  His hobbies include most sports (though mostly now as a committed supporter), outdoor pursuits and fighting a losing battle with his garden.

On promotion to Rear Admiral he became the Naval Secretary and Chief of Staff (Personnel).  He was appointed Chief of Naval Personnel & Training and Second Sea Lord in July 2010, with Navy Board responsibility for all Personnel and Training issues.

As a Commodore his appointments included three years as the Director of Naval Personnel Strategy, which included responsibility for the formulation and delivery of the wide ranging Navy Board Personnel Change Programme; and command of HMS Collingwood and the Maritime Warfare School, the largest naval training establishment in Western Europe. 

After a tour as the Executive Officer of HMS Hermione, he was promoted to Commander and assumed command of HMS Beaver, undertaking deployments to the Gulf, Asia Pacific and North Atlantic. Responsibility in early staff appointments included formulating central Defence policy and generating the Royal Navy’s Strategic Plan.  He was also a Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence, serving two administrations.

In his early years in the service he served in a variety of frigates and a minesweeper and also in the Royal Yacht as the Household Liaison Officer and a bridge watchkeeper. As a Principal Warfare Officer, he was the Underwater Warfare and Operations Officer in HMS Amazon and then the Naval Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief Fleet and the Commander-in-Chief Channel at Northwood. 

Charles Montgomery was born in Rotherham in 1955, grew up in Sheffield and went to Uppingham school. He joined the Royal Navy in 1973, spending his first three years in service at Sheffield University, gaining an honours degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering.