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 ...

Benjamin Bryant, (16 September 1905 – 23 November 1994) 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 noted for his submarine exploits during 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 ...

. In terms of ships sunk, Bryant was the most successful British submarine commander to survive the war. He was appointed Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel, (Training) from July 1954 to February 1957.

Early life

Bryant was born in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, then the winter capital of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

; his father, John Forbes Bryant, was a member of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

. His mother was Mary Ada (née Genge). He had an elder brother Joseph and elder sister May. Bryant returned from India as a boy and attended

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 ...

and then the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

and

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth 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 * Royal, ...

. Bryant published a book, ''One Man Band: The Memoirs of a Submarine C.O.'', in 1958 about his experience up to and including the Second World War.

Second World War

As a lieutenant commander, Bryant served aboard from 3 September 1938 to 12 October 1941. He then commanded from 14 October 1941 to 27 April 1943, the submarine depot ship from 16 June 1944 to 10 October 1944, and the submarine depot ship from 30 October 1944 to 4 February 1945. Following promotion 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 ...

, he commanded the submarine depot ship from 5 February to 11 May 1945, which was followed by command of from 26 June 1945 to 4 June 1947. For his services during the Second World War, Bryant was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on 9 May 1940,

Mentioned in Despatches 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 ...

on 12 May 1942, and 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 ...

(DSO) on 23 March 1943, which was followed by two Bars to the DSO on 11 May and 6 July the same year. He was later 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 ...

in 1956.

References

External links

Portrait of Bryant by

Robert Sivell Robert Sivell (1888–1958) was a Scottish portrait artist active in the first half of the 20th century. He was a founder member of the Glasgow Society of Artists and Sculptors in 1919. Biography Sivell was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, but l ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Benjamin 1905 births 1994 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Oundle School People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Military personnel of British India Military personnel from Chennai