List of captains of Deal Castle

Deal Castle is a defensive artillery fortress in Deal, Kent, England, which was built in 1540 by order of Henry VIII. The successive Captains of Deal Castle originally commanded a garrison based at the fortress, initially from quarters within the keep but later from purpose built quarters in a block between the keep and the outer wall. The accommodation block was demolished and rebuilt in 1802 and demolished a second time in 1943 following enemy action during the Second World War.^[1]

Deal Castle at the end of the 19th century; at the rear are the Captain's Quarters, destroyed in 1943

From the early 1700s the post of Captain became an honorary position benefitting from the residential accommodation provided by the castle's living quarters. After the wartime demolition the accommodation was provided elsewhere.

List of captains

Captains were as follows:^[2]

Appointed	Incumbent	Notes
1540	Thomas Wingfield	First incumbent
1551	Thomas Boys
1569	John Baker
1572	Peter Hammond
1599	Matthew Bredgate
1611	Erasmus Finch
1611	William Byng	Removed as a suspected Royalist[3]
1642	William Batten	Parliamentarian, who replaced Byng at the outbreak of the First English Civil War
1648	Col. Thomas Rainsborough	Parliamentarian; replaced after its Parliamentarian garrison switched sides during the Second English Civil War
1648	Capt. Wyne
1648	Maj. Samuel Kemm
1648	Col. Nathaniel Rich	Parliamentarian commander who recaptured the castle in August, 1648
1653	Samuel Taverner	Replaced Rich, who was removed due to his opposition to The Protectorate
1660	William Byng	Returned to office following the Stuart Restoration
1661	Col. Silius Titus
1671	Capt. Francis Digby
1672	Francis Hawley, 1st Baron Hawley
1673	Sir John Berry
1690	Lt. Col. Sir John Granville
1690	Sir Francis Wheler	Died in office, 1694
1745	John Norris	Died 1749
1777	Francis Osborne, Marquess of Carmarthen
1786	George North, Baron North
1802	Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington
1838	William Wellesley Pole, 1st Baron Maryborough
1843	James Broun-Ramsay, 10th Earl of Dalhousie
1847	Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam
1879	John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney
1890	Farrer Herschell, 1st Baron Herschell
1899	Lord George Hamilton
1923	Field Marshal John French, 1st Earl of Ypres
1925	Field Marshal Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
1927	Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading
1934	Field Marshal William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood
1951	Position vacant
1972	General Sir Norman Tailyour
1980	Maj. Gen. Ian Harrison
2008	Maj. Gen. Garry Robison	Henceforth tied to the appointment of the Commandant General Royal Marines[4]