| Post: | Office |
| Body: | the Commandant General Royal Marines |
| Flag: | Flag of the Commandant General Royal Marines.svg |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the Commandant General |
| Incumbent: | General Gwyn Jenkins |
| Incumbentsince: | 25 November 2022 |
| Department: | Ministry of Defence |
| Style: | General |
| Abbreviation: | CGRM |
| Member Of: | Admiralty Board Navy Command |
| Reports To: | Fleet Commander |
| Nominator: | Secretary of State for Defence |
| Appointer: | The Monarch |
| Termlength: | 1-4 years |
| Formation: | 1825 |
| First: | Major-General Sir James Campbell |
| Deputy: | Deputy Commandant General Royal Marines |
| Website: | About The Commandant General - Royal Marines |
The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier.[1] This position is not to be confused with Captain General Royal Marines, the ceremonial head. The Commandant General Royal Marines is the counterpart to the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.[2]
In 1760 three naval captains were appointed colonels of marines. However, these were naval officers and it meant that the furthest a marine officer could advance was to lieutenant colonel. It was not until 1771 that commandants of the three divisions (Portsmouth, Plymouth and Chatham) were appointed.[3] The first single professional head of the Royal Marine Forces was the Deputy Adjutant-General, a post which existed from 1825[4] until 1914 when the post was re-designated the Adjutant-General:[5] [6] the post holder usually held the rank of full general.[7] Since 1943 the professional head of the Royal Marines has been the Commandant-General who held the rank of full general until 1977, the rank of lieutenant general until 1996, the rank of major general until April 2021, the rank of lieutenant general until November 2022, and the rank of full general since 2022.[8] Lieutenant General Robert Magowan was the first person to assume the role twice, serving between 2016 and 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022.[9]
On 25 November 2022 the Royal Marines announced for the first time since 1977, that a full general would be taking over the role, that person being General Gwyn Jenkins.[10]
From 1825 until 1964 his headquarters office which changed location several times was known as the Royal Marine Office.[11] [12]
The appointment had been held concurrently with that of Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces (COMUKAMPHIBFOR) since the creation of the Fleet Battle Staff in 2001. COMUKAMPHIBFOR was one of two deployable two-star maritime operational commanders (the other being Commander UK Maritime Forces (COMUKMARFOR), now Commander United Kingdom Strike Force,[13] with particular responsibility for amphibious and littoral warfare.[13] Unlike COMUKMARFOR, COMUKAMPHIBFOR is primarily configured to command as a combined joint task force and designed to support a single two star commander.[13] In April 2018, it was announced that the two separate deployable two-star maritime operational commanders (COMUKMARFOR and COMUKAMPHIBFOR) would be merged into a single, larger, maritime battle staff.[14]
In April 2021, the role passed to a more senior officer in a dual-hatted capacity, and the commandant general's role, as well as being the professional head of the Royal Marines, was identified as championing emerging concepts in amphibious warfare and maintaining critical ties with the US Marine Corps.[15]
General Officers Commanding have included:[8]
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | General Sir Thomas Hunton | January 1943 | 1946 | years | – | ||
| 2 | General Sir Dallas Brooks | 1946 | May 1949 | years | – | ||
| 3 | General Sir Leslie Hollis | 1949 | 1952 | years | – | ||
| 4 | General Sir John Westall | 1952 | 1955 | years | – | ||
| 5 | General Sir Campbell Hardy | 1955 | 1959 | years | – | ||
| 6 | General Sir Ian Riches | 1959 | 1962 | years | – | ||
| 7 | General Sir Malcolm Cartwright-Taylor | 1962 | 1965 | years | – | ||
| 8 | General Sir Norman Tailyour | 1965 | 1968 | years | – | ||
| 9 | General Sir Peter Hellings | 1968 | 1971 | years | – | ||
| 10 | General Sir Ian Gourlay | 1971 | 9 June 1975 | years | – | ||
| 11 | General Sir Peter Whiteley | 1975 | 1977 | years | – | ||
| 12 | Lieutenant General Sir John Richards | 1977 | 1981 | years | – | ||
| 13 | Lieutenant General Sir Steuart Pringle | 1981 | 1984 | years | – | ||
| 14 | Lieutenant General Sir Michael Wilkins | 1984 | 1987 | years | – | ||
| 15 | Lieutenant General Sir Martin Garrod | 1987 | 1990 | years | – | ||
| 16 | Lieutenant General Sir Henry Beverley | 1990 | 1994 | years | – | ||
| 17 | Lieutenant General Sir Robin Ross | 1994 | 1996 | years | – | ||
| 18 | Major General David Pennefather | 1996 | 1998 | years | – | ||
| 19 | Major General Robert Fulton | 1998 | 2001 | years | – | ||
| 20 | Major General Robert Fry | 2001 | 2002 | years | – | ||
| 21 | Major General Tony Milton | May 2002 | February 2004 | – | |||
| 22 | Major General David Wilson | February 2004 | August 2004 | – | |||
| 23 | Major General James Dutton | August 2004 | June 2006 | – | |||
| 24 | Major General Garry Robison | June 2006 | June 2009 | – | |||
| 25 | Major General Andy Salmon | 26 June 2009 | February 2010 | – | |||
| 26 | Major General Buster Howes | February 2010 | December 2011 | – | |||
| 27 | Major General Ed Davis | December 2011 | 13 June 2014 | [16] | |||
| 28 | Major General Martin Smith | 13 June 2014 | 4 June 2016 | [17] | |||
| 29 | Major General Robert Magowan | 4 June 2016 | 19 January 2018 | [18] | |||
| 30 | Major General Charles Stickland | 19 January 2018 | 14 June 2019 | [19] | |||
| 31 | Major General Matthew Holmes | 14 June 2019 | 30 April 2021 | [20] | |||
| 32 | Lieutenant General Robert Magowan | 30 April 2021 | 25 November 2022 | [21] | |||
| 33 | General Gwyn Jenkins | 25 November 2022 | Incumbent | [22] | |||
The following have served as Deputy Commandant General: