This is a list of full generals in the Royal Marines. The rank of general (or full general to distinguish it from the lower general officer ranks) is the highest rank currently achievable by serving officers in the Royal Marines although no dedicated Royal Marines full general posts currently exist, unless they serve in tri-service positions. The Commandant General Royal Marines, a professional post created in 1943, is oftenbut not exclusively (not 1977 to 2022, see list)held by a full general, including incumbents of a lower general officer rank promoted to general during their tenure in that post.
| Promoted | Name | Born | Died | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1838[1] | 1841 | |||
| 1854 | 1761 | 1855 | placed on the Retired List 1855 | |
| 1855 | 1779 | 1865 | promoted while on the Retired List | |
| 1855 | George Jones | 1857 | ||
| 1855 | George Beatty | 1857 | ||
| 1857 | Thomas Parke | 1780 | 1858 | |
| 1857 | Sir Charles Menzies | 1783 | 1866 | |
| 1858 | John Rawlins Coryton | 1791 | 1867 | |
| 1862 | Sir Samuel Ellis | 1787 | 1865 | |
| 1866[2] | Henry Ivatt Delacombe | 1790 | 1878 | |
| 1866 | 1794 | 1880 | ||
| 1867 | 1795 | 1880 | ||
| 1870 | Sir Anthony Stransham | 1805 | 1900 | |
| 1870 | 1807 | 1877 | ||
| 1870[3] | 1875 | |||
| 1875 | John Gascoigne | 1811[4] | 1893 | |
| 1875[5] | ||||
| 1897 | Sir Howard Jones | 1835 | 1912[6] | placed on the Retired List 1900 |
| Frederick Gasper Le Grand | 1837 | 1905 | placed on the Retired List 1901 | |
| 1900 | Samuel James Graham | |||
| 1901 | Ardley Henry Falwasser Barnes | 1838 | 1910 | placed on the Retired List 1902 |
| 1902 | Edward Lee Rose | 1842 | 1903 | |
| 1912 | Sir William Thompson Adair | 1850 | 1931[7] | |
| 1912 | (1855–1927)? | |||
| 1914 | James Henry Bor | 1857 | 1914[8] | |
| 1914 | William Inglefield Eastman | 1856 | 1941[9] | |
| 1928 | Sir Lewis Halliday | 1870 | 1966 | Recipient of the Victoria Cross |
| 1945[10] | Sir Thomas Hunton | 1885 | 1970 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1943–46 |
| 1948 | Sir Dallas Brooks | 1896 | 1966 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1946–49 (promoted while in the post), 19th Governor of Victoria 1949–63 |
| 1951 | Sir Leslie Hollis | 1897 | 1963 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1949–52 |
| Sir John Westall | 1901 | 1986 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1952–55 | |
| Sir Campbell Hardy | 1906 | 1984 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1955–59 | |
| 1961 | Sir Ian Riches | 1908 | 1996 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1959–62 |
| 1964 | Sir Malcolm Cartwright-Taylor | 1911 | 1969 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1962–65 |
| 1967 | Sir Norman Tailyour | 1914 | 1979 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1965–68 |
| 1970 | Sir Peter Hellings | 1916 | 1990 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1968–71 (promoted while in the post) |
| 1973 | Sir Ian Gourlay | 1920 | 2013 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1971–75 (promoted while in the post) |
| 1977 | Sir Peter Whiteley | 1920 | 2016 | Commandant General Royal Marines 1975–77, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe 1977–79 |
| 2016[11] | Sir Gordon Messenger | 1962 | Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff 2016–19, Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom since 2021, Constable of the Tower since 2022 | |
| 2022 | Gwyn Jenkins | Commandant General Royal Marines since 2022, Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff since 2022– | ||