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 Michael Maynard Denny, (3 October 1896 – 7 April 1972) 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 served as

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 o ...

from 1949 to 1953.

Naval career

Educated at

Queen Elizabeth's School, Wimborne Minster Queen Elizabeth's School (also known as QE) is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. Introduction QE is an upper school, taking students between the ages of 13 and 18. In November 2014 there wer ...

,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 lasting ...

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 or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

, Denny joined the

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

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 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 ...

in 1937. He was appointed deputy director of Naval Ordnance in 1938. Denny 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 ...

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 ...

in 1940. In 1940 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 ...

. He became chief of staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet in 1942. In 1943 he took command of the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

, from which he conducted air strikes against

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

in Japan. After the war Denny 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 Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet and Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic. He was appointed Chairman of the British Joint Services Mission to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and UK Representative on the NATO Standing Group in 1956. He retired in 1959. In retirement Denny 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 Denny 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 Naval attachés for the United Kingdom Military personnel from Gloucestershire Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy personnel of World War II