Stuart was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire in 1969. After A levels he travelled across Africa and Asia for two years, prior to joining the Royal Navy in 1989. He served in HMS BATTLEAXE during the 1991 Gulf War, followed by a period in Northern Ireland, before volunteering for the Submarine Service in 1993. After serving onboard HMS TRENCHANT, HMS SPARTAN and HMS TRIUMPH, as well as appointments within CTF 311, FOST Devonport and the MWC, Stuart was selected for, and passed, SMCC in 2005. He was appointed as XO of HMS TRAFALGAR and conducted operations in the Atlantic and Caribbean. His subsequent post was as the first XO of HMS ASTUTE. In 2008 Stuart moved on to HMS TRENCHANT, completing the first SSN(T) deployment to the Arabian Sea.
In 2009 Stuart returned to CTF 311 as SSN, then moved to Defence Intelligence in 2011 where he managed the SM Strategic Intelligence Collection Programme post SDSR. Following these successful and rewarding shore appointments, Stuart returned to sea as XO of HMS VICTORIOUS (Stbd). He was selected for promotion in 2013 and assumed Command of HMS VANGUARD (Port) in August the same year.
On completion of his Command, Stuart moved to Abbey Wood where he was the Senior Requirement’s Manager for all submarine related programmes including ASTUTE Class SSNs, Dreadnaught SSBNs and Submarine Combat Systems during the transition from DE&S control to the Submarine Delivery Agency. In 2018 he took ownership of the Defence Technical Officer and Engineer Entry Scheme (DTOEES), including Welbeck Defence Sixth form College (DSFC) and the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS). During this time, he oversaw the termination of the Scheme and closure of Welbeck DSFC.
Retiring from military service in 2022, Stuart transferred to the Civil Service