Early career Born the son of
Major General Charles Rhoderic Robert McGrigor
CB,
CMG, late of the
King's Royal Rifle Corps and Ada Rosamond McGrigor (née Bower), McGrigor spent his childhood in South Africa before returning to England in early 1906 for his education at the
Royal Naval College, Osborne, and then the
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. Promoted to
midshipman on 15 September 1910, McGrigor was posted to the
battleship HMS Formidable in the
Atlantic Fleet in April 1911. During the
First World War, following his promotion to lieutenant on 15 October 1914, McGrigor saw action during the
Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 and then transferred to the battleship
HMS Malaya in the
Grand Fleet in which he saw action at the
Battle of Jutland. he attended the War Staff Course at the
Royal Naval Staff College in late 1923. he joined the staff of the Tactical School at
Portsmouth and then became Staff Officer (Operations) to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet in August 1930. he joined the Training and Staff Duties Division of the
Admiralty in August 1934. He was promoted to
rear admiral on 8 July 1941. for which he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order. before being redeployed as Flag Officer, Taranto and Adriatic (based at the shore establishment ) until the end of 1943. Appointed a
Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1944
New Year Honours, McGrigor briefly commanded Home Fleet aircraft carriers at the start of the year. He was
mentioned in despatches for
Operation Counterblast (the destruction of enemy shipping off the south-west coast of
Norway in November 1944). From 8 April 1945 he also held the post of Second-in-Command Home Fleet, receiving promotion to
vice admiral on 15 April 1945.
Post-war service at
Valletta,
Malta, in 1952 From 1945 onwards, McGrigor was appointed to a number of influential shore posts. He became
Vice Chief of the Naval Staff in October 1945 and, having been promoted to full
admiral on 2 September 1948, he became
Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet in January 1949. and went on to be
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in March 1950. McGrigor became
First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on 20 December 1951 he was appointed
First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to
Queen Elizabeth II on 1 April 1952. As First Sea Lord he was a leading proponent of carrier-based air power and revived the title of
Fleet Air Arm (which had been renamed "Naval Aviation" in 1946). He was promoted to
Admiral of the Fleet on 1 May 1953 and retired in April 1955. McGrigor received honorary degrees of
LLD from the
University of St Andrews in 1953 and the
University of Aberdeen in 1955; he was Rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1954 to 1957. In retirement his interests included shooting and fishing at his home at
Tarland in
Aberdeenshire. He died following an operation in
Aberdeen on 3 December 1959. ==References==