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 George Frederick Basset Edward-Collins (26 December 1883 – 17 February 1958) was a British senior officer in 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 ...

during the first half of the twentieth century.

Early life

Edward-Collins was born 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, the son of Edward Charles Edward-Collins, of Trewardale, Blisland, a local landowner. He was the younger brother of

Charles Edward-Collins Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Charles Edward Edward-Collins (28 May 1881 – 21 November 1967) was a British Indian Army officer. Early life and marriage Edward-Collins was born in Bodmin, Cornwall, the son of Edward Charles Ed ...

, who served in both the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and Indian armies and rose to the rank of major general.

Naval career

Edward-Collins enrolled in the navy on 15 January 1898. As a

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 ...

he was appointed to on 27 March 1900, on her first commission, to the

China station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

. During the First World War Edward-Collins served on both and . Edward-Collins commanded the light cruisers from April till September 1925, and from September 1925 till April 1927. He was also captain of the battlecruiser from December 1930 till March 1932, and was appointed Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of 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 ...

on 13 September 1935. From 1938 until 1940 he commanded the

2nd Cruiser Squadron The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1904 to 1919 and from 1921 to 1941 and again from 1946 to 1952. History First formation The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was first formed in December, 1904 then placed ...

, and later in 1940 he became second in command of 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 ...

. From June to November 1940 he commanded the 18th Cruiser Squadron. In December 1940 Edward-Collins became

Flag Officer Commanding A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

, North Atlantic, at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, assuming duties on 1 January 1941. He flew his flag from

HMS Cormorant (1877) HMS ''Cormorant'' was an sloop launched at Chatham on 12 September 1877 and later the receiving ship at Gibraltar. She was renamed ''Rooke'' in 1946 and broken up in 1949. Design The ''Osprey'' class were of composite construction, with w ...

. He was acting Governor of Gibraltar from 08.05.1942–19 June 1942. He was promoted to

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 21 January 1943, and retired on 7 February 1944.

Awards and recognition

Edward-Collins became

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

on 17 June 1939. He was

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 ...

in 1940, and became

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 1 January 1941. He was awarded the Order Odrodzenia Polski (4th class) in recognition of services to the Polish Navy on 22 December 1942. He died on 17 February 1958, at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edward-Collins, Frederick 1883 births 1958 deaths foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit governors of Gibraltar Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order military personnel from Cornwall people from Bodmin recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Royal Navy admirals of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy personnel of the Boxer Rebellion sailors from Cornwall 19th-century Royal Navy personnel