Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Alban Thomas Buckley Curteis KCB CVO DSO (13 January 1887 – 27 November 1961) 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 went on to be Senior British Naval Officer, Western Atlantic.

Education

Curteis was educated at

New Beacon School The New Beacon Preparatory School is an independent all-boys preparatory school, located at Sevenoaks in the English county of Kent. It admits both day students and boarders aged between 4 and 13. The school also now offers a co-educational nu ...

in Sevenoaks, followed by

HMS Britannia Six ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Britannia'', after Britannia, the goddess and personification of Great Britain: * was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line launched in 1682, rebuilt in 1719 and b ...

, Dartmouth.

Naval career

Curteis joined the

in 1902 and served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He was appointed Commanding Officer of HMS ''Verity'' in 1922 and Flag Captain commanding and Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the

America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...

in 1928. He was appointed Flag Captain commanding and Captain of the Fleet to the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet in 1931 before becoming Captain of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1933. He became Captain of the Fleet for the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

in 1935 and went on to be Commander of the Royal Naval Barracks at Devonport in 1938. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as Commander of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron from 1940 and then as Commander of the

2nd Battle Squadron The 2nd Battle Squadron was a Squadron (naval), naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to i ...

and Second-in-Command of the

from 1941. In June 1942 he led Operation Harpoon, a mission to re-supply

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

which was becoming very short of food and medical supplies; the plan was to despatch a naval convoy from

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

but in the event the convoy came under Italian naval attack and suffered heavy losses.Order of Battle Italian Attack on Operation Harpoon Convoy and Battle of Pantelleria 15 June 1942
/ref> He was made Senior British Naval Officer, Western Atlantic in 1942 and retired in 1944.

Family

In 1915 he married Helen Morrall; they had one son and one daughter. In 1941 he married Freda Morrall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curteis, Alban 1887 births 1961 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy admirals of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Place of birth missing Bermuda in World War II