Arthur Hezlet
Encyclopedia
Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Richard "Baldy" Hezlet, KBE
, CB, DSO and Bar
, DSC
, Legion of Merit (United States)
(7 April 1914 – 7 November 2007) was a decorated Royal Navy
submarine
r. He became the Royal Navy's youngest captain, aged 36, and its youngest admiral, aged 45.
.
Hezlet joined the Royal Navy
in January 1928, aged 13. He attended the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and went to sea in 1932, serving as a midshipman
on the battleship
s HMS Royal Oak and HMS Resolution. By 1936, he was the correspondence officer on the destroyer
HMS Daring
, later volunteering to serve on submarine
s. He served on HMS Regulus
.
at the outbreak of the Second World War, but quickly became First Lieutantant aboard the submarine HMS Trident
. By early 1940, he was engaged in operations in the Norwegian Sea
, as the Germans launched their occupation of Norway. He was mentioned in dispatches
. Following the military disaster in Dunkirk, Trident was re-positioned in the English Channel
to assist in repulsing an expected German
attempt at invasion of mainland Britain
.
He passed the "perisher"
exam to become a submarine CO in 1940, and took command of the obsolete coastal submarine HMS H44
from December 1940. He was then sent to Malta
as a "spare CO". He commanded the submarine HMS Unique
, one of the "Fighting" 10th Submarine Flotilla based in Malta
from 1941 to 1944. The flotilla helped sink over 1,000,000 tonnes of Axis shipping. Hezlet was awarded the DSC
for sinking the 11,000 tonne Italian troopship Esperia. He also commanded HMS Ursula
on six patrols, and HMS Upholder
on one patrol.
He returned to the UK in September 1941, with Ian McGeoch
as his first lieutenant, to take command of Trident again. In May 1942, he was involved in protecting convoys to North Russia. He sank the German ore carrier Hoedur, and picked up survivors from sunk merchant vessels. He also operated on the surface as escort vessel for the large convoy PQ16, and was mentioned in dispatches
again. He became a special training officer on the banks of the River Clyde
in September 1942, at the informally named "HMS Varbel", training the crews of midget submarine
s to attack the German battleship Tirpitz
. He invented the "Hezlet Rail", bar and strap that kept men aboard the vessel. He was mentioned in dispatches after commanding the towing submarine HMS Thrasher
.
He then took command of the submarine HMS Trenchant
, based at Trincomalee
, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
). He undertook long-range patrols in the Indian and Pacific oceans, earning him his first DSO
. He sunk the long-range German U-boat
U-859, on 22 September 1944, near the Sunda Strait
, as a result of Enigma
intelligence information. The Trenchant also sank numerous Japanese submarine chaser
s, landing craft
, coasters and a minelayer
.
His crew conducted the last attack by two-man "chariot"
submarines, on the Japanese-held harbour of Phuket
in Thailand
.
On 8 June 1945, Hezlet took Trenchant into shallow mined
water in the Banka Strait off Sumatra
, to intercept Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara
. Despite being attacked by the Japanese destroyer Kamikaze
, five out of eight torpedoes that he fired hit Ashigara, which quickly sank. It was the largest Japanese
warship sunk by a Royal Navy warship during the war. Hezlet was ordered to Subic Bay
in the Philippines
, where he was awarded the U.S. Legion of Merit by U.S. Admiral James Fife, Jr.
. He was also awarded a Bar to his DSO. Ordered to return to the UK, he ended the war as he began it, serving on a submarine.
s. In 1946, he was one of a small group of Britons permitted to observe the U.S. nuclear bomb tests at Bikini Atoll
. He commanded the destroyer HMS Scorpion
, and then served in the Admiralty
, and as Chief Staff Officer to the Flag Officer Submarines, before taking command of the destroyer HMS Battleaxe
and becoming Captain D of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in 1955.
In 1956, Hezlet was appointed as Director of the Naval Staff College at Greenwich. After commanding the cruiser
HMS Newfoundland, he was appointed as Flag Officer Submarines and promoted to rear admiral
in 1959, aged 45, a post he held for 3 years. The submarine HMS Dreadnought
, Britain's first nuclear attack submarine, was launched in early 1960. The task of the Flag Officer Submarines was to help formulate plans for support and training facilities in a force as yet unfamiliar with nuclear propulsion. He was also in office later that year, when the preferred option for the UK's nuclear deterrent moved from the air-launched Skybolt missile
to the Polaris missile
launched by ballistic missile submarine
s. He was appointed CB in 1961.
Hezlet's final tour was Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland
(FOSNI). He was promoted to vice-admiral and appointed KBE
before his retirement in 1964.
in County Londonderry
. He was Northern Ireland president of the Royal British Legion for 25 years. He also served with the RNLI, a member of the general synod
of the Church of Ireland
, and was an original council member of the University of Ulster
. He was a keen yachtsman, and his yacht Agivey was a familiar sight on the coast of Ireland and Scotland.
He also wrote a history of the Ulster Special Constabulary
, the "B Specials", in 1972. He reviewed the use of electricity and electronics in naval warfare in The Electron and Sea Power (1976). He published a memoir, HMS Trenchant at War: from Chatham to the Banka Strait, in 2001, and his last book, the authoritative History of British and Allied Submarine Operations (2002), listed every patrol taken by an Allied submarine in the Second World War.
He died at Bovagh age 93 in 2007.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CB, DSO and Bar
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, DSC
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
, Legion of Merit (United States)
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
(7 April 1914 – 7 November 2007) was a decorated Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
r. He became the Royal Navy's youngest captain, aged 36, and its youngest admiral, aged 45.
Early life
Hezlet was born in Pretoria, South Africa, where his father Major-General RK Hezlet, CB, CBE, DSO, was serving in the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
Hezlet joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in January 1928, aged 13. He attended the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and went to sea in 1932, serving as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
on the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s HMS Royal Oak and HMS Resolution. By 1936, he was the correspondence officer on the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
HMS Daring
HMS Daring (H16)
HMS Daring was a D-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. The ship spent the bulk of her career on the China Station. She was briefly commanded by Louis Mountbatten before World War II. Daring escorted convoys in the Red Sea in October–November 1939 and then returned to the UK...
, later volunteering to serve on submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s. He served on HMS Regulus
HMS Regulus
Four vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Regulus, after the star: was a wooden fifth rate of 44 guns, launched at Northam in January 1785 and converted to a troopship in 1793. The ship was broken up in March 1816. was a French privateer captured in December 1804 by HMS Princess Charlotte...
.
Second World War
He was serving on the submarine HMS H43HMS H43
HMS H43 was a British H class submarine built by Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle Upon Tyne. She was laid down on 4 October 1917 and was commissioned on 25 November 1919....
at the outbreak of the Second World War, but quickly became First Lieutantant aboard the submarine HMS Trident
HMS Trident (N52)
HMS Trident was a British T class submarine built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. She was laid down on 12 January 1937 and was commissioned on 1 October 1939...
. By early 1940, he was engaged in operations in the Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...
, as the Germans launched their occupation of Norway. He was mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
. Following the military disaster in Dunkirk, Trident was re-positioned in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to assist in repulsing an expected German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
attempt at invasion of mainland Britain
Operation Sealion
Operation Sea Lion was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War, beginning in 1940. To have had any chance of success, however, the operation would have required air and naval supremacy over the English Channel...
.
He passed the "perisher"
Submarine Command Course
The Submarine Command Course , previously known as the Commanding Officers Qualifying Course , and informally known as the Perisher because of its low success rate, is a training course for naval officers preparing to take command of a submarine.Created by the Royal Navy during World War I, the...
exam to become a submarine CO in 1940, and took command of the obsolete coastal submarine HMS H44
HMS H44
HMS H44 was an H-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong Whitworth and launched on 17 February 1919. She served in the Second World War.She was sold in 1944 and was broken up at Troon in February 1945....
from December 1940. He was then sent to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
as a "spare CO". He commanded the submarine HMS Unique
HMS Unique (N95)
HMS Unique was a British U class submarine, of the second group of that class, built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 30 October 1939 and was commissioned on 27 September 1940.- Career :...
, one of the "Fighting" 10th Submarine Flotilla based in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
from 1941 to 1944. The flotilla helped sink over 1,000,000 tonnes of Axis shipping. Hezlet was awarded the DSC
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
for sinking the 11,000 tonne Italian troopship Esperia. He also commanded HMS Ursula
HMS Ursula (N59)
HMS Ursula was a British U class submarine, of the first group of that class, built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 19 February 1937 and was commissioned on 20 December 1938....
on six patrols, and HMS Upholder
HMS Upholder (P37)
HMS Upholder was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 30 October 1939, launched on 8 July 1940 by Mrs. Doris Thompson, wife of a director of the builders. The submarine was commissioned on 31 October 1940...
on one patrol.
He returned to the UK in September 1941, with Ian McGeoch
Ian McGeoch
Vice-Admiral Sir Ian Lachlan Mackay McGeoch KCB DSO DSC was a commissioned officer in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom...
as his first lieutenant, to take command of Trident again. In May 1942, he was involved in protecting convoys to North Russia. He sank the German ore carrier Hoedur, and picked up survivors from sunk merchant vessels. He also operated on the surface as escort vessel for the large convoy PQ16, and was mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
again. He became a special training officer on the banks of the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in September 1942, at the informally named "HMS Varbel", training the crews of midget submarine
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...
s to attack the German battleship Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
. He invented the "Hezlet Rail", bar and strap that kept men aboard the vessel. He was mentioned in dispatches after commanding the towing submarine HMS Thrasher
HMS Thrasher (N37)
HMS Thrasher was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead, launched in November 1940, and had an active career in the Mediterranean and Pacific Far East.-Mediterranean:...
.
He then took command of the submarine HMS Trenchant
HMS Trenchant (P331)
HMS Trenchant was a British T class submarine of the Second World War.On completion she was given over to the crew of HMS Thrasher whose submarine was due for a refit.-Service:...
, based at Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
). He undertook long-range patrols in the Indian and Pacific oceans, earning him his first DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
. He sunk the long-range German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
U-859, on 22 September 1944, near the Sunda Strait
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean...
, as a result of Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
intelligence information. The Trenchant also sank numerous Japanese submarine chaser
Submarine chaser
A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for anti-submarine warfare. Although similar vessels were designed and used by many nations, this designation was most famously used by ships built by the United States of America...
s, landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
, coasters and a minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
.
His crew conducted the last attack by two-man "chariot"
Human torpedo
Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of rideable submarine used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic design is still in use today; they are a type of diver propulsion vehicle....
submarines, on the Japanese-held harbour of Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
On 8 June 1945, Hezlet took Trenchant into shallow mined
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
water in the Banka Strait off Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, to intercept Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara
Japanese cruiser Ashigara
Ashigara was a Myōkō class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The other ships of her class were Myōkō , Nachi , and Haguro...
. Despite being attacked by the Japanese destroyer Kamikaze
Japanese destroyer Kamikaze (1922)
was the lead ship of nine Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War.-History:Construction of the...
, five out of eight torpedoes that he fired hit Ashigara, which quickly sank. It was the largest Japanese
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
warship sunk by a Royal Navy warship during the war. Hezlet was ordered to Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, where he was awarded the U.S. Legion of Merit by U.S. Admiral James Fife, Jr.
James Fife, Jr.
Admiral James Fife, Jr. was a United States Navy admiral who was promoted to four star rank after retirement as a "tombstone admiral".-Biography:...
. He was also awarded a Bar to his DSO. Ordered to return to the UK, he ended the war as he began it, serving on a submarine.
Post-war career
After the war, he attended naval and three-service staff collegeStaff college
Staff colleges train military officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career...
s. In 1946, he was one of a small group of Britons permitted to observe the U.S. nuclear bomb tests at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
. He commanded the destroyer HMS Scorpion
HMS Scorpion
Ten vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Scorpion after the carnivorous arthropod:* HMS Scorpion , a 14-gun sloop which sank in the irish Sea in 1762.* HMS Scorpion , a 16-gun sloop sold in 1802....
, and then served in the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, and as Chief Staff Officer to the Flag Officer Submarines, before taking command of the destroyer HMS Battleaxe
HMS Battleaxe (D118)
HMS Battleaxe was a Weapon class destroyer of the Royal Navy, completed just after the Second World War....
and becoming Captain D of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in 1955.
In 1956, Hezlet was appointed as Director of the Naval Staff College at Greenwich. After commanding the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
HMS Newfoundland, he was appointed as Flag Officer Submarines and promoted to rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
in 1959, aged 45, a post he held for 3 years. The submarine HMS Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (S101)
The seventh HMS Dreadnought was the United Kingdom's first nuclear-powered submarine, built by Vickers Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness. Launched by Queen Elizabeth II on Trafalgar Day 1960 and commissioned into service with the Royal Navy in April 1963, she continued in service until 1980...
, Britain's first nuclear attack submarine, was launched in early 1960. The task of the Flag Officer Submarines was to help formulate plans for support and training facilities in a force as yet unfamiliar with nuclear propulsion. He was also in office later that year, when the preferred option for the UK's nuclear deterrent moved from the air-launched Skybolt missile
AGM-48 Skybolt
The Douglas GAM-87 Skybolt was an air-launched ballistic missile , equipped with a nuclear warhead, developed by the United States during the late 1950s. The UK joined the program in 1960, intending to use it on their V bomber force...
to the Polaris missile
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....
launched by ballistic missile submarine
Ballistic missile submarine
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine equipped to launch ballistic missiles .-Description:Ballistic missile submarines are larger than any other type of submarine, in order to accommodate SLBMs such as the Russian R-29 or the American Trident...
s. He was appointed CB in 1961.
Hezlet's final tour was Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland
Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland
The Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland is a senior post in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is based at HM Naval Base Clyde and the holder of the post is the Royal Navy’s senior officer in Scotland with representational duties everywhere north of the M4. The...
(FOSNI). He was promoted to vice-admiral and appointed KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
before his retirement in 1964.
Later life
He returned to his family home, Bovagh House, at AghadoweyAghadowey
Aghadowey is a village and townland in east County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in Aghadowey civil parish, and is part of Coleraine Borough Council...
in County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
. He was Northern Ireland president of the Royal British Legion for 25 years. He also served with the RNLI, a member of the general synod
General Synod
-Church of England:In the Church of England, the General Synod, which was established in 1970 , is the legislative body of the Church.-Episcopal Church of the United States:...
of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
, and was an original council member of the University of Ulster
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
. He was a keen yachtsman, and his yacht Agivey was a familiar sight on the coast of Ireland and Scotland.
Writings
In retirement, he wrote many books on naval matters. His first book, The Submarine and Sea Power (1967), foresaw the continuing invulnerability of the seaborne nuclear deterrent. In Aircraft and Sea Power (1970), he took the view that the Atlantic could be defended by land-based aircraft and submarines, with no surface vessels.He also wrote a history of the Ulster Special Constabulary
Ulster Special Constabulary
The Ulster Special Constabulary was a reserve police force in Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the founding of Northern Ireland. It was an armed corps, organised partially on military lines and called out in times of emergency, such as war or insurgency...
, the "B Specials", in 1972. He reviewed the use of electricity and electronics in naval warfare in The Electron and Sea Power (1976). He published a memoir, HMS Trenchant at War: from Chatham to the Banka Strait, in 2001, and his last book, the authoritative History of British and Allied Submarine Operations (2002), listed every patrol taken by an Allied submarine in the Second World War.
Family
He married Anne Joan Patricia Clark in 1948. He was survived by his wife and their two daughters.He died at Bovagh age 93 in 2007.