Admiral Sir Trevor Alan Soar, KCB, OBE, DL (born 21 March 1957) is a retired Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief Fleet from 2009 to 2012.

Sir Trevor Soar
Admiral Soar in 2010
Born (1957-03-21) 21 March 1957 (age 67)
Belper, Derbyshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1975–2012
RankAdmiral
CommandsFleet
HMS Invincible
HMS Chatham
HMS Talent
HMS Ocelot
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Early life

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Soar was born in Belper and educated at Loughborough Grammar School. He joined the Royal Navy in 1975, attending Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth.[1]

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Soar commanded the submarines HMS Ocelot from 1987 to 1990 and HMS Talent from 1991 to 1994. He went on to command the frigate HMS Chatham from 1997 to 1998. His next appointment was ashore as Director of Naval Staff Duties at the Ministry of Defence from September 2000 to August 2002. Next appointed as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible from 2002 to 2004. Trevor Soar was appointed Capability Manager (Precision Attack) in 2004 in the rank of rear admiral and was promoted to Chief of Materiel (Fleet), Defence Equipment & Support in the rank of vice admiral in 2007.[2]

Soar was promoted to admiral and appointed as Commander-in-Chief Fleet and Allied Maritime Component Commander, Northwood,[3] on 10 June 2009.[4] He also held the honorary position of Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2012.[5] His role as Allied Maritime Component Commander, Northwood was redesigned as Commander Allied Maritime Command in 2010.[6]

In an October 2012 article, the Sunday Times alleged that Soar was among several retired military leaders who had offered to lobby and influence MPs and government defence ministers on behalf of arms firms.[7] He resigned, after admitting he had to be slightly careful of lobbying ministers. "There's no reason I can't see them but there's again some criteria on that." However, he claimed that he had not broken Whitehall rules.[8][9]

Private military career

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After leaving the military, Soar has worked for several private arms or security companies. In 2012, he took up roles with British Maritime Security, Vessel Protection Services and Babcock International.[10]

Honours

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Personal life

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In 1978 Soar married Anne Matlock. They have two sons (Gareth and David), who attended Denstone College. They live in Boylestone in Derbyshire. He is President of Royal Navy Rugby Union.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Admiral Sir Trevor Soar takes up Navy fleet position". Portsmouth News. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
  2. ^ Whitaker's Almanack 2008.
  3. ^ "Announcement of new First Sea Lord and Commander in Chief Fleet". News Distribution Service. 17 October 2008. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  4. ^ London Gazette Supplement 59100 dated 15 June 2009.
  5. ^ Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010, ISBN 978-1-408-11414-8
  6. ^ "Assignments". Navy News. 1 November 2011. p. 38. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Inquiry into Legion lobby claim". BBC News. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  8. ^ Kim Sengupta (15 October 2012). "Royal British Legion president Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely resigns over lobbying allegations". The Independent. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Ministry of Defence to investigate Sunday Times lobbying story – BBC News". BBC News. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Resources – Influence – Person – 241 – Trevor Soar". CAAT. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  11. ^ a b "No. 58929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2008. p. 2.
  12. ^ a b "New Year honours list: Military". The Guardian. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  13. ^ "Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh & Scottish Borders: Annual Review 2004". www1.hw.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  14. ^ "RN Women and mariners face the army at Kneller Hall". Navy Rugby Union. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
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Military offices
Preceded by
Amjad Hussain
(as Chief of Fleet Support)
Chief of Materiel Fleet
2007–2009
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief Fleet
2009–2012
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Sir Mark Stanhope
Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom
2009–2012
Succeeded by
Sir George Zambellas