Admiral Sir Michael Maynard Denny (3 October 1896 – 7 April 1972) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer who went on to be

Third Sea Lord The post of Controller of the Navy (abbreviated as CofN) was originally created in 1859 when the Surveyor of the Navy's title changed to Controller of the Navy. In 1869 the controller's office was abolished and its duties were assumed by that of ...

Naval career

Educated at Queen Elizabeth's School, Wimborne Minster,Obituary: Admiral Sir Michael Denny
The Times, April 1972 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 las ...

and 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 Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

, Denny joined the

in 1909.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and, after the War, specialised in gunnery. In 1932 he joined the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. He spent two years at sea as an Executive Officer before becoming assistant director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty in 1937. He was appointed deputy director of Naval Ordnance in 1938. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as Senior Naval Officer for the Åndalsnes landing and then as Chief Staff Officer for the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the n ...

in 1940. In 1942 he was given command of the cruiser HMS ''Kenya''. He became Chief of Staff to the

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet H, or h, is the eighth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches''), or regi ...

later that year. In 1943 he took command of the aircraft carrier from which he conducted air strikes against

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

in Japan. After the War he became Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel and Director of Personal Services and then, from 1947, Flag Officer (Destroyers) for the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1949 he became Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy and in 1954 he was made

and Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic. He was appointed Chairman of the British Joint Services Mission to Washington, D.C. and UK Representative on the NATO Standing Group in 1956. He retired in 1959. In retirement he became a Director of

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

Family

In 1923 he married Sara Annie Esme Welman.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Michael 1896 births 1972 deaths Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal Navy admirals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Lords of the Admiralty People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Wimborne Minster People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne British naval attachés Military personnel from Gloucestershire Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy personnel of World War II