Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Sir Richard Tobias Frere (born Frere-Reeves; 4 June 1938 – 5 March 2020) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who ended his career as Chief of Fleet Support.

Early life and education

Frere was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the son of publisher Alexander Stuart Frere-Reeves and Patricia Marion Caldecott Wallace. His mother was the daughter of writer

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer of crime and adventure fiction. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was ...

. J. B. Priestley was his godfather. He was named after his great-grandfather Henry Tobias Frere, a first-class cricketer. When he was 1, his father legally dropped Reeves from their surname. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

Naval career

Frere joined the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

through

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in 1955 and was commissioned into the

in 1958.''Debrett's People of Today'' 1994 During the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

in 1962, as a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

r based at Halifax, he was involved in setting up a barrier patrol with American air support off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. He commanded the

s HMS ''Andrew'', HMS ''Odin'' and HMS ''Revenge'' before taking charge of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

HMS ''Brazen''. Promoted to Rear-Admiral, he was appointed Director-General, Fleet Support (Policy & Services) in 1988 and then Flag Officer, Submarines and Commander Submarines for the Eastern Atlantic in 1991 before becoming Chief of Fleet Support in 1994 and retiring in 1997. In retirement, he became the First Chairman of The Prison Service Pay Review Body as well as Chairman of the Governors of

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire ...

.Oundle School
Independent Schools Inspectorate, March 2008

Family

In 1968, he married Jane Barraclough; they had two daughters.

References

External links

Telegraph obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frere, Toby 1938 births 2020 deaths People educated at Eton College Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath

Toby Toby is a given name in many English-speaking world, English speaking countries. The name is derived the Middle English vernacular form of Tobias. Tobias itself is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew טוביה ''Toviah'', which translates t ...

Military personnel from the City of Westminster People from Marylebone