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 ...

Sir Eric George Anderson Clifford, (3 September 1900 – 7 September 1964) 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 Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff from 1954 to 1957.

Early life and education

Clifford was born in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, Sussex, the son of Captain William Trannock Clifford RNR of Poplar and his wife, Clara Strutt, born in

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. Like his father, Clifford was educated at the Thames Nautical Training College and aboard . In January 1917, he joined the Royal Naval Reserve as a midshipman, and then entered the

Naval career

Clifford 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 ...

in 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 ...

s and and then specialised in navigation.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He was appointed Fleet Navigating Officer, for the China Station in 1938. He 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 Commanding Officer of 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 ...

s and HMS ''Salisbury'' and then as Naval Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet from 1941 to 1943. In the closing stages of the war he commanded 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 ...

. After the war Clifford became Chief of Staff in Hong Kong and then was given command of the Navigation School in 1947. He went on to command the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

in 1949 before becoming Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1951 and Flag Officer commanding the 5th Cruiser Squadron and Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet in 1952. In the latter role he saw action during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He was made Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty in 1954; he retired in 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Eric 1900 births Military personnel from East Sussex 1964 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Lords of the Admiralty People from Hove Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Korean War Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II