Richard Hill (1929-2017)

摘要

Richard Hill was an unusual naval officer, whose main achievements were to be intellectual rather than seafaring. Born in 1929, he entered the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, as a 13-year-old in 1942, passing out just after the end of the Second World War. For the next 16 years his career was conventional, and he served at sea in a variety of ships, specializing in navigation. However, his early selection to commander in 1962 changed matters, because he was placed on what was termed the 'dry list'. This was a peculiarity of the navy in that it recognized his ability with early promotion, while at the same time informing him that his career had received the 'kiss of death' because he was not considered eligible to command a warship, which distinctly limited his further promotion prospects. It took exceptional ability to rise above that setback, one that must have been all the more galling given that he was a navigation specialist.