Michael Layard
{{Short description|Royal Navy Admiral (born 1936)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Admiral
| name = Sir Michael Layard
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|CBE}}
| image =
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1936|1|3|df=y}}
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| allegiance = United Kingdom
| branch = Royal Navy
| serviceyears = 1954–1996
| rank = Admiral
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| commands = Naval Home Command
{{HMS|Cardiff|D108|6}}
RNAS Culdrose
899 Naval Air Squadron
| battles = Falklands War
| awards = Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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Admiral Sir Michael Henry Gordon Layard, {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCB|CBE}} (born 3 January 1936) is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord from 1992 to 1995.
Naval career
Educated at Pangbourne College and the Britannia Royal Naval College, Layard was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1954.Debretts People of Today 1994 He trained as a fighter pilot and in 1970 he took command of 899 Naval Air Squadron flying Sea Vixens. He became Commander (Air) in {{HMS|Ark Royal|R09|6}} in 1977 and Chief Staff Officer to the Flag Officer, Naval Air Command in 1979. Promotion to captain followed on 30 June 1979.{{London Gazette|issue=47904 |supp=y|page=8997|date=16 July 1979 |nolink=y}} During the Falklands War he was Senior Naval Officer in the MV Atlantic Conveyor, which was sunk by two exocet missiles.{{cite news| last = Evans| first = Michael| title = Legal fears left Atlantic Conveyor defenceless| work = The Times| date = 11 December 2007| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3031542.ece | location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
Layard became Commander of RNAS Culdrose in 1982, Captain of the destroyer {{HMS|Cardiff|D108|6}} in 1984 and Director Naval Warfare (Air) at the Ministry of Defence in 1985. He went on to be Flag Officer Naval Air Command in 1988, Director General, Naval Manpower and Training in 1990 and Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel in 1992 (and, concurrently, President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich from 1993). From 1994 he was asked to combine this role with that of Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command.
Later life
In retirement Layard became a Trustee of the Fleet Air Arm Museum, and a Governor of Pangbourne College.{{cite web|url=http://oldpangbournian.co.uk/op-admiral-and-college-governor-criticises-defence-review/|title=OP Admiral and College Governor criticises defence review|publisher=Old Pangbournian Society|accessdate=9 September 2015}}
Layard owns a 32-foot yacht, Banjo.{{cite web|url=http://www.directart.co.uk/mall/profiles.php?SigID=1357|title=Admiral Sir Michael Layard, KCB, CBE – Art prints and originals signed by Admiral Sir Michael Layard, KCB, CBE|work=directart.co.uk|accessdate=9 September 2015}}
Family
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef | before=Sir Michael Livesay}}
{{s-ttl | title=Second Sea Lord | years=1992–1995}}
{{s-aft | rows=2 |after=Sir Michael Boyce}}
|-
{{s-bef | before=Sir John Kerr}}
{{s-ttl | title=Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command | years=1993–1995}}
|-
{{s-court}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir Edward Burgess}}
{{s-ttl|title=Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State|years=1997–2005}}
{{s-aft|after=Sir John Allison}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Layard, Michael}}
Category:Admiral presidents of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Category:People educated at Pangbourne College
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath