Commander Stuart McQuaker MSC Royal Navy
Stuart McQuaker was born in 1964, brought up in Fife and educated at The
Edinburgh Academy. He joined Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth in
September 1982 and his subsequent sea training took place in HM Ships
Fearless, Bronington and Charybdis.
In his early appointments he served in HM Ships Gavinton, London, and Sandpiper. As a Frigate Navigating Officer, he navigated HMS York for the Captain Third Destroyer Squadron, where he doubled as Staff Navigating Officer to the Senior Naval Officer Middle East in the first months following the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
After Initial Staff Course, he spent twenty months in command of the Northern Ireland Patrol Vessel, HMS Redpole. He then attended the Principal Warfare Officers’ Course followed by service in HMS Sheffield as the Above Water Warfare Officer. In 1996 he qualified as a Specialist Navigator with subsequent navigation appointments on the warfare staffs of the Captain First Frigate Squadron and of the Flag Officer Sea Training. During these appointments he completed a dissertation on the Certification and Training of Royal Navy Officers in relation to International Maritime Organisation requirements; he graduated from Plymouth University in 1998 with an MSc in Applied Navigation.
Following completion of the Joint Services Advanced Command and Staff Course, he enjoyed two busy years in command of HMS Northumberland (2000-2002). During this time he deployed to the Mediterranean as part of a French led Task Group, to the Arabian Gulf for Maritime Interdiction Operations and later to the Far East and Australia. Serving for two years as the Naval Desk Officer in the Directorate of Defence Resources and Plans in Whitehall, he subsequently joined HMS Illustrious in April 2004 as the Commanding Officer (Refit) and latterly as the Commander and Executive Officer. In this busy appointment, he oversaw the ship’s transition from ‘dock bottom’ to becoming the Fleet Flag- Ship and UK High Readiness Strike Carrier. He took Command of the RN Presentation Team in January 2006
HMS Illustrious
Commander McQuaker was recently married to Claire and lives in Suffolk where they are renovating an old cottage in a picturesque village. He is a competitive sailor, an enthusiastic social skier and a keen chef; at quieter moments he enjoys classical music and jazz and plays the violin and saxophone.