To   have   joined   the   Royal   Navy as   a   Junior   or   Ordinary   Seaman, or      Artificer      Apprentice,      and reached   the   rank   of   Commander is     an     achievement     of     huge proportions    and    one    that    only about   2%   attained.   Far   greater   is their    achievement    than    that    of many   other   officers   in   the   Royal Navy. Tony Dyer  

A short history The     Special     Duties     List     Commanders'    Association     was founded   in   1990   and   comprises   a   group   of   serving   and   retired naval   officers   of   the   Special   Duties   List   of   all   branches,   who during    their    distinguished    careers    achieved    the    rank    of Commander.   They   all   started   their   careers   in   the   ranks,   either as ordinary ratings or Artificers. The   Special   Duties   List   of   officers   was   originally   established   in 1956   and   the   first   Commander   was   promoted   12   years   later   in 1967.   The   last   promotions   to   the   rank   of   Commander   on   the Special     Duties     List     were     in     1998,     coinciding     with     the amalgamation   of   the   three   officer   lists   (Special   Duties   List, General    List    and    Supplementary    List)        into    one.    Officers serving   in   the   rank   of   Special   Duties   List   Commander   at   the time     the     officer     lists     amalgamated     were     automatically transferred   to   the   new   combined   General   List   and   two   have since    achieved    the    rank    of    Captain,    one    being    further promoted   to   the   rank   of   Commodore.   This   would   have   been impossible   under   the   former   system   whereby   the   ceiling   rank was Commander. The   opportunity   for   promotion   to   officer   from   the   ranks,   and   to achieve   promotion   to   higher   levels   still   exists,   but   the   notion   of a   highly   specialised   branch   officer   such   as   was   a   Special Duties   List   officer   has   now   been   abandoned   in   favour   of   the new system. Please   use   the   toolbar   at   the   head   of   this   page   to   navigate through   the   pages   of   the   site,   including   the   Galleries   Please also   peruse   the   Membership   List   to   check   your   entry   is   correct or    needs    to    be    updated.    If    you    see    any    errors    or    detect omissions,   please   contact   Tony   Dyer.   Please   also   advise   if you spot anyone no longer with us!