Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

Sir Algernon Usborne Willis (17 May 1889 – 12 April 1976) 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. He served in the

First World War 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 ...

and saw action at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

in May 1916. He also served in the

Second World War 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-in-Chief, South Atlantic in which capacity he led actions against German and Japanese raiding ships. He was Flag Officer commanding 3rd Battle Squadron and Second in command of the Eastern Fleet and then Flag Officer commanding Force H, which covered North African Operations, the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

in July 1943 and then the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. T ...

in September 1943. Willis spent the final years of the war as Commander-in-Chief, Levant, in which capacity he conducted naval operations in support of the Dodecanese Campaign, and then as

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer currently to serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore estab ...

, when he arranged the manpower for the campaign in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

against the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

. After the war he served as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, in which role he was faced with unrest in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, before he became

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Thomas Williams (Royal Navy officer), Si ...

Naval career

Early career

Born the son of Herbert Bourdillon Willis and Edith Florence Willis (née Moore), Willis was educated at

Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, for boarding school, boarding and Day school, day pupils aged 13–18, in ...

before joining the training ship HMS ''Britannia'' as a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

in 1903 and being promoted to

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on 15 September 1905.Heathcote, p. 263 He was first appointed to the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

HMS ''Hindustan'' in the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

before transferring to the battleship HMS ''Glory'' in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

in September 1907. Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 November 1908 and to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 15 November 1909, he joined the

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

HMS ''Donegal'' in 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 May 1910. He then transferred to the armoured cruiser HMS ''Good Hope'' in the Mediterranean Fleet in 1911 and attended the

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

school HMS ''Vernon'' in 1914. Willis served in the

initially as torpedo officer in the battleship HMS ''Magnificent'' in the Grand Fleet before returning first to the torpedo school HMS ''Vernon'' in Spring 1915 and then to the armoured cruiser HMS ''Donegal'', now in the Atlantic Fleet, later that year. He next spent a tour at the torpedo school HMS ''Defiance'' at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

before transferring to the

scout cruiser A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. Intended for fleet scouting duties a ...

HMS ''Fearless'' in the Grand Fleet in which he saw action at the

in May 1916. After that he returned to HMS ''Vernon'', where he was promoted to lieutenant commander on 15 November 1917, before transferring to the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

HMS ''Saumarez'' in September 1918. HMAS Vampire Allan-Green

Willis transferred to the destroyer HMS ''Wallace'' in November 1918 and saw action against the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

in early 1919, for which service he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

on 8 March 1920. He transferred to the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...

later that year and took part in the visit by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He returned to HMS ''Vernon'' again in 1921 and, having been promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 30 June 1922, attending the Royal Naval Staff College. He became torpedo officer in the cruiser HMS ''Coventry'' in the Atlantic Fleet in December 1923 and then returned to the destroyer HMS ''Wallace'' as commanding officer in October 1927. HMS-Resolution

Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 30 June 1929, Willis joined the directing staff at the Royal Naval Staff College in February 1930. He went on to be Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief, China Station in the cruiser in January 1933 and Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet in the battleship HMS ''Nelson'' in May 1934.Heathcote, p. 264 After that he became captain of HMS ''Vernon'' in September 1935 and commanding officer of the battleship in the Mediterranean Fleet in April 1938. Promoted to commodore on 2 February 1939, he became Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, from February 1939 under Sir Dudley Pound, and, from June 1939 under Sir Andrew Cunningham.

The Second World War

Willis served in the

initially on Cunningham's staff in which capacity, after promotion to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 5 January 1940, he was involved in planning operations against the (Italian Navy). Appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

on 11 July 1940, he became Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic with acting rank of

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 vic ...

in 1941, leading actions against German and Japanese raiding ships. He then became Flag Officer commanding 3rd Battle Squadron and Second in command of the Eastern Fleet under Sir James Somerville with his flag in the battleship in February 1942. In February 1943 he became Flag Officer commanding Force H, the force which covered North African Operations, the

in July 1943 and then the

in September 1943. Promoted to the substantive rank of vice admiral on 12 April 1943, he was advanced to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

on 2 June 1943. Willis went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Levant in October 1943, he conducting naval operations in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

in support of the Dodecanese Campaign and then became

in March 1944. In this capacity he arranged the manpower for the campaign in the

against the

, earning promotion to full

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 ...

on 16 October 1945. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

on 18 December 1945 and also awarded the Greek Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Phoenix with Swords, First Class and the Greek War Cross, Second Class. He was also twice

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

Later career

Willis became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in April 1946, in which role he was faced with unrest in

but rewarded with advancement to

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

on 12 June 1947. Appointed a Knight of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem on 5 January 1948, he became

in July 1948 and was promoted to

on 20 March 1949 before retiring in 1950. He attended the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in June 1953. In retirement Willis lived in

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. He became Deputy Lieutenant of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and Chairman of the Trustees of the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

. He died at the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar on 12 April 1976.

Family

In September 1916 Willis married Olive Christine Millar, daughter of Henry Edward Millar and sister of Violet Helen Millar (who married

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

): they had two daughters.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Papers of Admiral Sir Algernon U. Willis
held at Churchill Archives Centre
Additional documents held by the National Archives
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Algernon 1889 births 1976 deaths Military personnel from the London Borough of Camden People from Hampstead People from Petersfield Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy personnel of the Russian Civil War Royal Navy admirals of World War II Royal Navy admirals of the fleet Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Admiralty personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich