Admiral Sir William Edward Parry, KCB (8 April 1893 – 21 August 1972) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Parry joined the Royal Navy 1905 and served in the First World War.^[2] He was appointed Officer in charge of the Anti-Submarine Establishment at Portland in 1936.^[2] In 1938 he attended the Imperial Defence College.^[1]

During the Second World War, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the New Zealand Division commanding HMNZS Achilles at the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939.^[2] In this battle he was wounded in the legs when shrapnel hit the bridge. He assumed command of HMS Renown in 1943.^[2] He took part in the Normandy landings and served on the staff of Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force in 1944.^[2] After the war he became Deputy Head of the Naval Division at the Allied Control Commission in Germany.^[2] Parry became Director of Naval Intelligence in July 1946 and Chief of Naval Staff (Commander-in-Chief) of the Royal Indian Navy in August 1948.^[2] He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1950 New Year Honours^[3] before retiring in 1951.^[2]

In the 1956 film The Battle of the River Plate, Parry was played by Jack Gwillim.