Educated at
Hazelwood School and later
Pangbourne College, Kilgour joined the
Royal Navy in 1968 and had a distinguished career as a submariner. On leaving submarines, he went on to be Commanding Officer of the
frigates and – the latter of which came with the post of Captain of the
6th Frigate Squadron. In 1998 he was appointed as
Commander Amphibious Task Group, and became
Commander Operations. He served as part of the
British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2000, for which he was awarded a
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service. Promoted to rear-admiral in September 2001, Kilgour returned to CINCFLEET at the
Northwood Headquarters in northwest London, for the third time as
Commander Operations,
Flag Officer Submarines (subsequently Rear Admiral Submarines (RASM) in February 2002, the 'tribal chief' of Royal Navy submarines) and as the NATO Submarine Commander responsible for all submarine activity in the Eastern Atlantic and northern waters. Kilgour retired in June 2004. ==Retirement==