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 Arthur Gordon Voules Hubback

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 (11 September 1902 – 25 August 1970) 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 went on to be

Fourth Sea Lord The Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Supplies, originally known as the Fourth Naval Lord, was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty, which controlled the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The post is currently ...

Early life

Gordon Hubback was born on 11 September 1902 to Margaret Rose Frances (Daisy) Voules and

Arthur Benison Hubback Arthur Benison Hubback (13 April 1871 – 8 May 1948) was a British Army officer and architect who designed several important buildings in British Malaya, in both Indo-Saracenic architecture and European "Wrenaissance" styles. Major works cr ...

who was working as an architect in Malaya. He was educated at 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 then at the

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, ...

. He was appointed captain on 15 May 1916.

Naval career

Hubback served in

World War II 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 ...

at the Plans Division at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

where he helped plan the Norwegian campaign.Unit Histories
/ref> After serving in various ships from 1940, he was appointed

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of HMS ''Gregale'' in March 1943. In July of that year he joined the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet and in July 1944 he became Assistant Director of Plans at the Admiralty. After the War he was given command 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 ''Glasgow'' before being appointed Commodore Superintendent at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in 1947 and then Commodore at the Royal Naval Barracks at

Lee-on-the-Solent Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a resi ...

in 1950. He went on to be Admiral Superintendent at HM Naval Base Portsmouth in 1951. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 16 December 1954, and served as Director of Dockyards at the Admiralty from 1954 to 1957. He was then appointed

in 1958, and retired from the navy in November 1958. Hubback was appointed a Companion 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 ...

in 1953, and made a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1957. In retirement he became Managing Director of the newly

privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...

Bailey's Dockyard in

.Malta
Hansard, 31 July 1958

Personal life

Hubback married Elizabeth Pearson Rogers in 1930, with whom he had one son. His first wife died in 1949, and he married Sheila Mary Roberton the same year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubback, Gordon 1902 births 1970 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Lords of the Admiralty People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne