1. Varyl Begg fought in the Second World War as gunnery officer on a cruiser taking part in the North Atlantic convoys, the Norwegian campaign and the occupation of Iceland and then as gunnery officer on a battleship operating in the Mediterranean Fleet during the Battle of Cape Matapan.
Varyl Begg was First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the late 1960s.
Varyl Begg was in charge of Warspites main 15-inch guns during the Battle of Cape Matapan on the night of 28 March 1941.
Varyl Begg was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the action.
Varyl Begg was promoted to commander on 31 December 1942 and then went to the gunnery division in the Admiralty, where he remained until after the war.
Cossack took part in the Korean War, being involved in the pre-invasion shelling and blockade of Inchon and Varyl Begg was mentioned in despatches and appointed to the Distinguished Service Order on 3 October 1952.
Varyl Begg was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1962 New Year Honours.
Varyl Begg was promoted to full admiral on 8 March 1963, on appointment as Commander-in-Chief of Far East Command and British military adviser to the South East Asia Treaty Organization, at a time of when President Sukarno of Indonesia was stepping up pressure on Malaysia.
Varyl Begg was appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, following the sudden resignation of his predecessor Sir David Luce, in March 1966.
Varyl Begg strongly believed that the future of the Navy depended as much on surface-to-air missiles as on naval air power, and he vehemently opposed plans to introduce large new aircraft carriers.
Varyl Begg was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on his retirement on 12 August 1968.
Varyl Begg became a Knight of the Order of St John in March 1969.
In March 1969 Varyl Begg was appointed Governor of Gibraltar where a residential development is still named after him.
Varyl Begg left Gibraltar in 1973 and retired to his home at Stockbridge in Hampshire.
Varyl Begg suffered from Alzheimer's disease and died on 13 July 1995.