Presidents and Directors

Presidents and Directors of the RIN

Presidents of the RIN

From its very beginning, the RIN has had a President. Presidents have frequently served terms of two or three years, including since our Incorporation by Royal Charter. The Institute has been very fortunate to number some of the leading lights in nearly 70 years of navigation among its presidents, and we thank them all for their service to the Institute.

Term President

1947-1949 Sir Harold Spencer Jones KBE

1949-1951 Sir Robert Watson-Watt CB

1951-1953 Vice Admiral Sir Archibald Day KBE CB DSO RN

1953-1955 D H Sadler OBE

1955-1957 A M A Majendie

1957-1959 Captain F J Wylie OBE RN

1959-1961 Wing Commander E W Anderson OBE DFC AFC RAF

1961-1964 Sir George Deacon CBE

1964-1967 Rear Admiral Sir Edmund Irving KBE CB RN

1967-1970 Dr A Stratton

1970-1972 Rear Admiral G S Ritchie CB DSC RN

1972-1975 G E Beck

1975-1978 Sir Edward Fennessy CBE

1978-1981 Captain R Maybourn OBE

1981-1984 Captain B J Calvert

1984-1987 J E D Williams

1987-1990 Sir John Charnley CB

1990-1993 N B Dahl

1993-1996 W F Blanchard

1996-1999 Air Commodore D F H Grocott CBE AFC RAF

1999-2002 Captain R A Smith RN

2002-2005 Air Commodore N Bonnor RAF

2005-2008 Professor J D Last

2008-2011 Group Captain D H Barnes OBE RAF

2011-2013 C M D Beatty

2013-2015 R A McKinlay

2015-2018 Captain J B Taylor OBE RN

2018-2021 Professor Terry Moore OBE

2021-2024 Cynthia Robinson OBE

2024- Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng CBE EBS

Directors of the RIN

It takes a very special skillset to guide the Royal Institute of Navigation - to oversee innovations to ensure the Institute stays relevant, to ensure the delivery of its core value to members, and to lead the world's foremost institute of navigation in both its day-to-day and its longer-term strategic affairs. To date there have been only five Directors of the Institute, their careers in the role spanning 70 years of navigation development and radical changes to the navigation world.