Bernard Rawlings (Royal Navy Officer)
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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 Henry Bernard Hughes Rawlings GBE, KCB (21 May 1889 – 30 September 1962) 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 served as Flag Officer, Eastern Mediterranean 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 ...
.


Naval career

Rawlings was born in St Erth,
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England, on 21 May 1889.uboat.net Sir Henry Bernard Rawlings OBE, RN
/ref> Following education at Stubbington House School, Rawlings joined the
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 ...
in 1904 and 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 ...
.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> After the war he worked for the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
and undertook Military Missions in Poland. He then commanded 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 ...
and then the
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
s and before becoming Naval Attaché in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
in 1936. Rawlings 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 ...
, initially commanding 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 ...
, then commanding the 1st Battle Squadron from 1940 with the acting rank of Rear-Admiral before being promoted to the rank in January 1942. He was appointed in command of the 7th Cruiser Squadron in May, and became Assistant Chief of Naval Staff in April 1942. He was appointed Flag Officer, West Africa in March 1943 with the acting rank of Vice-Admiral before being promoted to the rank in November, and in December became Flag Officer, Eastern Mediterranean. He went on to be second-in-command of the British Pacific Fleet with his flag in . He commanded the British Carrier Force, ''Task Force 57'', in the Pacific from 1944 through the
Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...
in the spring of 1945, and retired in 1946. Rawlings died in
Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
, Cornwall, England, on 30 September 1962.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlings, Bernard 1889 births 1962 deaths Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Stubbington House School People from St Erth Recipients of the Order of George I Recipients of the War Cross (Greece) Royal Navy admirals of World War II Royal Navy personnel of World War I Military personnel from Cornwall