[5] Deane was recalled to serve in the army in May 1651, before resuming his post as general at sea in 1652, but was killed at the start of the Battle of the Gabbard on 1 June 1653.

[6] Following the death of Deane, Blake and Monck continued to serve alone until 3 December 1653, when Parliament decided to increase the number of generals at sea to four, with a quorum of two, appointing Major-General John Desborow and Vice-Admiral William Penn (who had been recommended by Monck,[7] and who was the first sailor, rather than the traditional soldier, to be promoted to that rank[8]) to serve alongside Blake and Monck as generals at sea, with all four also serving as Commissioners for the Admiralty and Navy along with Colonel Philip Jones, Colonel John Clerk, John Stone, Major William Burton, Vincent Gooking and Lieutenant-Colonel Kelsey.

[1] Penn's naval career was suspended after the failure to successfully execute the Western Design against Spanish colonies in the West Indies in 1655, which resulted in his temporary imprisonment in the Tower of London.

[7] Although Penn was forced to resign his commission as a result of this, he must have been recalled by Cromwell later, as he was recorded by the Dutch Ambassador to England in March 1658 as being in charge of a fleet.

[10] However, his pre-eminence as a sailor was manifest in the fact that despite having been a leading naval officer under Cromwell, Penn was chosen by parliament to welcome King Charles II onto the Naseby to bring him back to England from his exile.