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 Geoffrey Alan Brooke Hawkins

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

CB MVO

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

(13 July 1895 – 5 October 1980) 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 became Flag Officer, Malta.

Naval career

Hawkins was 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 January 1913 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 ...

. 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 ...

becoming commanding officer of the

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

HMS ''Queen of Bermuda'' in December 1939, Chief Staff Officer,

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 ...

in June 1941 and commanding officer of 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 ...

HMS ''Kent'' in July 1943. He went on to be Commodore, Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth in May 1945, Vice-Controller of the Navy in June 1947 and Flag Officer, Malta in July 1950.

Marriage and family

He married Lady Margaret Ida Montagu Douglas Scott on 16 February 1926. Lady Margaret (known as Mida among family) was the eldest daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch. Her younger sister was

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; 25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004) was a member of the British royal family. She was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King ...

. She was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline; 25 February 1883 – 3 January 1981) was a member of the British royal family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal, and one of the longest-lived Britis ...

, at the time of her marriage, and as the Earl and Countess of Athlone were living in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, the Earl being Governor General of South Africa, the marriage between Lady Margaret and Commander Hawkins took place in a newly built cathedral in Cape Town. The bride's maternal uncle, Colonel Harry Bridgeman, gave her away and young Lady Alice (future Duchess of Gloucester) attended the wedding and was a guest of the newlyweds for a while. The marriage produced three children: * (Alice) Anne Hawkins (31 March 1928 – 28 October 2016); she married Commander Michael Edward St. Quintin Wall (25 August 1926 – 5 October 2017) on 27 June 1975. * Renira Margaret Ida Hawkins (born 29 September 1930); she married Alistair Allan Horne (9 November 1925 – 25 May 2017) on 28 November 1953 (their marriage was dissolved), and had three daughters. * James Walter Hawkins (16 March 1933 - 4 January 2021); never married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Geoffrey 1895 births 1980 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Members of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)