Hugh Richard Marrack (5 July 1888 – 12 February 1972) was a submarine specialist serving in the British

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 ...

, who commanded both the Portland and China Submarine flotillas and was Commodore Superintendent,

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 ...

, 1943–45. Marrack later became an

ADC ADC may refer to: Aviation * ADC Aircraft, a British firm established in 1920 * ADC Airlines, based in Ikeja, Nigeria * Aerospace Defense Command, of the U.S. Air Force * Air data computer, an essential avionics component found in modern glass coc ...

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

Early life

Hugh Marrack was born in

Walton in Gordano Walton in Gordano is a village and civil parish in the North Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is situated in a small valley at the side of the south-western end of the Gordano Valley, about a mile from Clevedo ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, the fourth child of John Reed Marrack and his wife Mary (nee Saunders). He was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...

in Tiverton, before joining the Royal Navy as a cadet on 15 January 1903, being trained aboard HMS ''Britannia''.

Service biography

Marrack 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 July 1904, and on 20 May 1908

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

Sub-lieutenant Marrack was confirmed in his rank with seniority from 15 October 1907. After serving for a short time aboard the battleship , Marrack joined the Submarine Branch of the Royal Navy, and on 15 August 1908 was appointed to the

submarine depot ship A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of food ...

at Portsmouth 'for Instruction in Submarine Boats'. In August 1909 he was transferred to the submarine depot ship at Queenstown 'for Submarines'. Marrack was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 30 June 1910. On 26 October 1911 Marrack was appointed to at Devonport to take command of the submarine , then serving as commander of into 1912. On 15 August 1912 he was appointed to submarine tender at

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

to command . Marrack remained in command of ''C19'' after the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

, based at various ports, until 1 December 1916 when he was appointed to at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

to command . In mid-April 1918 Marrack was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

, and was promoted to lieutenant commander on 30 June 1918. After the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

in November 1918 Marrack remained in command of ''E51'' going to then command the submarines , and . On 14 April 1923 he was appointed to command of , the depot ship of the Periscope School at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, and on 30 June was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. Marrack was 'loaned' to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

on 1 April 1927 to command the submarine HMAS ''Oxley'', until 5 September 1928. On 26 March 1929 he was appointed to command of the submarine depot ship and the 6th Submarine Flotilla at Portsmouth, moving his command to the depot ship on 1 October 1930, and being promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 31 December 1930. On 2 February 1931 Marrack was appointed to command of the submarine depot ship and of the 4th Submarine Flotilla on 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 ...

. From 5 May to 3 June 1933 Marrack was commodore-in-charge of naval establishments at

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

() with the temporary rank of commodore, 2nd class. He then returned to England to attend the senior officers' war course at the RN War College, Greenwich, as well as the tactical course, at HM Dockyard, Portsmouth (), before being appointed to command of the light cruiser on 5 September 1934, as part of the

6th Cruiser Squadron The 6th Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1915 and again from 1925 to 1945. The Royal Navy's cruiser squadrons usually contained a maximum of five to six ships but down but sometimes as low as two ...

under the Commander-in-Chief, Africa, Vice Admiral Edward Evans, serving until mid-1937 when his ship returned to England to refit. Marrack then served as captain superintendent of HM Dockyard Sheerness, and, from 12 December 1939, as commodore-in-charge, until 15 January 1941 when he was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

and the following day placed on the Retired List. However, despite this Marrack remained in active service, being made a

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 the

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

of 2 June 1943, and serving as Commodore Superintendent at

Gibraltar Dockyard Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean (Strait of Gibraltar). It has an area of ...

from 1943 until the end of the war in 1945.

Personal life

Marrack married Christine Banbury Pilkington (nee Hallett) at the Old Parish Church in Upper

Dovercourt Dovercourt is a seaside town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Harwich, in the Tendring district, in the county of Essex, England. It is older than its smaller but better-known neighbour, the port of Harwich. The name is common B ...

on 7 July 1917. Christine Pilkington was the widow of Lieutenant George Pilkington who died when was lost on 7 January 1915. They had no children. Rear Admiral Marrack died in the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar on 12 February 1972.

Papers

The

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

holds the papers of Rear Admiral Hugh Marrack 1932–1937 (ref: 72/52/1), including his account of the seizure of the Chinese quarter of Shanghai by the Chinese Nationalist Army led by General Chiang Kai-shek in April 1927 (written 1932); an account of his service as commanding officer, HMS ''Carlisle'', Africa Station 1934–1937; an account of a visit of ''Carlisle'' to

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascensi ...

in 1937; and two files of papers relating to submarines.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marrack, Hugh 1888 births 1972 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Navy submarine commanders Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire