joined the staff of the Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence in 1972. Promoted to captain on 31 December 1973, he attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1976 before being given command of the destroyer HMS Newcastle in January 1977 and joining the Royal Navy Presentation Team in 1979. He went on to be Captain of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in June 1980. He was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 7 July 1982 and was promoted to rear admiral on 2 September 1982 on his appointment as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Programmes). Oswald became Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Policy and Nuclear) in January 1985 and went on to become Flag Officer, Third Flotilla and Commander, Anti-Submarine Warfare Striking Fleet in October 1985. Promoted to vice-admiral on 3 January 1986, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1987 New Year Honours. He was promoted to full admiral on 29 May 1987, on appointment as Commander-in-Chief Fleet and NATO Commander-in-Chief, Channel and Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic. Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1989 New Year Honours, Oswald became First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in May 1989. In that capacity he advised the British Government on the reduction in the size of the fleet under the Options for Change restructuring programme and on the deployment of Naval Support for the Gulf War in 1991: he also made the decision that members of the Women's Royal Naval Service should be allowed to serve in Royal Navy ships. He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on his retirement in March 1993. Later career In retirement Oswald became Chairman of Aerosystems International and of Sema Group plc, an Information Technology business, until the latter was acquired in 2001. He was also President of the Sea Cadet Association, Vice-President of the Royal United Services Institute and a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum. His interests included walking, stamp-collecting, family and fishing. He died at his home at Shedfield in Hampshire on 19 July 2011. Family In 1958 he married Veronica ('Roni') Thompson; they had two sons and three daughters. His nephew is the playwright Peter Oswald. References Sources External links Imperial War Museum Interview |- 1933 births 2011 deaths Graduates of the Royal College of Defence