The vast majority of the Royal Navy's senior officers, and several of its captains, had served in combat roles during WWI. Many of these officers would then go on to see combat during WWII. As an example, the Mediterranean Fleet at Cape Matapan in 1941 had three admirals and three senior captains. Of these, all had served in WWI, though several had not seen combat. Vice Admiral Andrew Cunningham, commanding the fleet, had commanded the destroyers Scorpion and Termagant in WWI, seeing action during the Gallipoli campaign and in the English Channel. Rear Admiral Henry Pridham-Wippell, commanding his cruiser screen, served aboard the battleship Audacious when she was sunk by a mine in 1914. He would then go on to command destroyer flotillas in the Mediterranean, taking part in the Gallipoli and Adriatic campaigns. Rear Admiral Bernard Rawlings, who was in command of the 1st Battle Squadron, had served aboard several cruisers, but saw no combat. Of the three senior captains, commanding the fleet's destroyer flotillas, the RAN's "Hec" Waller and the RN's Hugh Nicolson had served as a midshipman with the Grand Fleet during the closing months of the war. Philip Mack of the 14th Destroyer Flotilla had served on the River Clyde, used as a landing ship at Gallipoli, and commanded two Q-ships (disguised freighters used as anti-submarine craft), engaging and damaging a submarine while commanding one.

As another example, in 1939 Home Fleet had a significant number of WWI veterans who would go on to see combat during the Norwegian Campaign. It was commanded by Admiral Sir Charles Forbes, who had been executive officer of Queen Elizabeth during the Gallipoli campaign, and served as Jellicoe's Flag Commander at Jutland in 1916. His flagship, Rodney would be damaged by German bombs during the campaign. Vice Admiral William Whitworth served aboard the destroyer Cockatrice, which mainly served on ASW patrols. He would see action at the battles of the Lofoten Islands and at the 2nd Battle of Narvik. Lionel Wells, commanding the fleet's carriers, had been gunnery officer aboard Repulse at the 2nd Battle of the Heligoland Bight, while Thomas Troubridge, captain of the carrier Furious had served at Jutland. Vice Admiral John Cunningham (no relation) had served aboard HMS Russell, sunk by a mine in the Mediterranean, and aboard Renown at 2nd Heligoland. His cruisers would play an important part in the campaign, including evacuating the King of Norway to the UK, and he would later go on to command RN forces during Operations Menace (an unsuccessful invasion of Dakar), Shingle (landings at Anzio) and Dragoon (landings on the French Riviera). Geoffrey Layton, commanding the fleet's 18th Cruiser Squadron, had served in the submarine service during WWI, and had been interned in Denmark following an unsuccessful attempt to sneak into the Baltic. Beyond his service in the Norwegian Campaign, he would be in command of the RN base at Colombo on Sri Lanka when it was attacked by Japanese carrier aircraft. Philip Vian, of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, had served aboard the Morning Star at Jutland, and would be active in multiple roles throughout WWII, including commanding the British Pacific Fleet in 1945.

Many other significant RN officers had served in WWI. James Somerville, who would command Force H and the Eastern Fleet, had served with several ships of the Mediterranean Fleet during the Gallipoli campaign. Bruce Fraser, who commanded the force that sunk the German Scharnhorst at the Battle of North Cape, had served aboard the cruiser Minerva at Gallipoli. John Tovey, who commanded the force which hunted down the Bismarck, had commanded the destroyers Onslow at Jutland and Ursa at 2nd Heligoland Bight. Augustus Agar, captain of HMS Dorsetshire, a cruiser which sank the German raiders Atlantis and Python in late 1941 and which was sunk by Japanese aircraft in 1942, served in the Gallipoli campaign, took part in the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918, and won the VC for actions carried out with torpedo boats during the Russian Civil War. Arthur Lumley St George Lyster, who planned the raid on Taranto and was aboard Illustrious when she was heavily damaged by German bombers in February 1941 (as well as commanding air operations during Operation Pedestal), had won the DSO for his actions in the Mediterranean in WWI. Illustrious's captain, Denis Boyd, had served as a torpedo officer aboard HMS Fearless. William G Tennant, who had been the senior naval officer ashore at Dunkirk and commanded Repulse when she was sunk as part of Force Z, had also been sunk aboard HMS Nottingham in August 1916. Many others who had seen combat service in WWI would take roles that, while important, would not allow them to see combat. Max Horton, who had commanded submarines in WWI but won the Battle of the Atlantic as Commander, Western Approaches in WWII, is probably the most important. The young officers of WWI formed the backbone of commanders that gave the RN strength and capability in WWII.