Rear Admiral Roy Clare CBE DL
Drawing on a lifetime at sea and twenty years’ experience heading world-class collections in two leading institutions - north and south of the equator - Roy brings a unique combination of deep professional insight and a passion for history. He served worldwide in the Royal Navy, from Junior Seaman to Rear Admiral. He was second in command to His Majesty King Charles III in HMS Bronington in 1976. His own commands included destroyers, the aircraft carrier Invincible and Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He took early retirement from the navy in 2000 to become the Director (CEO) of the National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House and Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Later, he became the Director (CEO) of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand. Currently, he is a non-executive director and trustee of several charities. An active yachtsman, Roy took part in the first Whitbread Round the World yacht race in 1973 and he has participated in many ocean races, including the Fastnet and Sydney-Hobart. Nowadays he sails purely for pleasure in his own boat, mainly in British waters. He and his wife Sarah – an Anglican Minister – live in Tollesbury, Essex, and have three adult children and two granddaughters. In 2007 Roy was made CBE ‘for services to museums’ and awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Greenwich. In 2022 he was appointed Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Essex.