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 ...

Frederick Michael Alexander Torrens-Spence, (10 March 1914 – 12 December 2001) 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 ...

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

pilot 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 ...

. Torrens-Spence earned the distinction of holding commissions in the Royal Navy, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

Early life

Known as "Tiffy", Torrens-Spence was born in

Whiteabbey Whiteabbey () is a townland (of 406 acres) in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The original village of Whiteabbey stood at the foot of the Three Mile Water, on the shore of Belfast Lough. In 1958, it and six othe ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

the son of a professional soldier. Educated at Mourne Grange Public School,

Kilkeel Kilkeel () is a small town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish on the Irish Sea coast of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the main fishing port on the Down coast, and its harbour is home to the largest fishing fleet in Northern Irel ...

, at the age of 13 he attended

Dartmouth Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

.Michael Torrens-Spence
''The Daily Telegraph''. Retrieved 27 February 2007

Military career

After initial service in the fleet Torrens-Spence volunteered for flying duties with the

, which at that time was under the command of the Royal Air Force. After flying training, he was commissioned as a pilot in both the RAF and the Navy. His first postings were on the carriers and, in 1937, .

Second World War

When war broke out, Torrens-Spence was serving on ''Glorious'' which was sent through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

to hunt German surface raiders. He was then sent home from

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

to join the new carrier . Whilst serving on ''Illustrious'', which had been dispatched to the Mediterranean in September 1940, he took part in the attack on Italian

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

s in the

Battle of Taranto The Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11/12 November 1940 during the Second World War between British naval forces (Admiral Andrew Cunningham) and Italian naval forces (Admiral Inigo Campioni). The Royal Navy launched the first all ...

as a

Swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

pilot. During the Swordfish attack in

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

harbour, he torpedoed one of Italy's newest and largest battleships, the , sinking her in shallow water. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for this action.Obituary 13 December 2001

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

He was also involved when ''Illustrious'' was badly damaged; ''Illustrious'' was escorting a convoy to

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 ...

when she was attacked by three squadrons of German

Stuka The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

dive bombers A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

. Suffering multiple bomb hits (including to Torrens-Spence's wardroom) and more than 200 casualties, ''Illustrious'' limped to Malta and eventually to America for repairs. Her aircraft were disembarked in Malta, and Torrens-Spence flew to

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

, near

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, with elements of 815 and

819 __NOTOC__ Year 819 ( DCCCXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Louis I marries Judith of Bavaria in Aachen.Rogers, Barbara, Bernhard W. Scholz, and Nithard ...

Squadrons for an active anti-shipping campaign which later earned him the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

. At the

Battle of Cape Matapan The Battle of Cape Matapan () was a naval battle during the Second World War between the Allies, represented by the navies of the United Kingdom and Australia, and the Royal Italian Navy, from 27 to 29 March 1941. Cape Matapan is on the so ...

, Torrens-Spence was ordered to find and attack a large Italian naval force. After observing an attack by aircraft from the carrier achieve no result, he found a hole in the enemy smokescreen and was confronted with the , which he torpedoed from close range. The cruiser immediately slowed to six knots and the Italian admiral decided to divide his force, leaving a large detachment to escort ''Pola'' and sail for home. That night, the Royal Navy engaged with the Italian force off Cape Matapan, and with the aid of radar sank the major part of them. ''Pola''s captain was rescued by the destroyer and was heard to remark, "Either that pilot was mad or he is the bravest man in the world". Admiral Andrew Cunningham wrote in his dispatch after the battle: "An example of the spirit of these young officers is the case of Lieutenant F.M.A. Torrens-Spence who rather than be left out, flew with the only available aircraft from Eleusis to Maleme ... arranged his own reconnaissance and finally took off with a second aircraft in company and took part in the dawn attack." Fairey Swordfish on Airfield

From March to October 1941, Torrens-Spence commanded 815 Squadron in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, where he added to his tally. Unfortunately, this included a hospital ship which the Italians had failed to mark and illuminate. No blame was ever attached to Torrens-Spence, but he was forever saddened by the incident. From 1942, Torrens-Spence was posted to the UK to become a leading Admiralty

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

at RAF

Boscombe Down MOD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the D ...

where he remained for the next three years, and worked closely with fellow former HMS Glorious and 819 Naval Air Squadron pilot Lieutenant Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner in developing and test flying the

Fairey Barracuda The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber designed by Fairey Aviation. It was the first aircraft of this type operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy to be fabricated entirely from metal. The Barra ...

aircraft prior to its operational service in the Fleet Air Arm. He was posted back to ''Illustrious'' for the closing stages of the war.

Post-war

He remained in the Navy after the war, becoming chief inspector of the

Empire Test Pilots' School The Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type. ...

. He then served in the carrier , and as commanding officer of

RNAS Eglinton Royal Naval Air Station Eglinton (RNAS Eglinton, also known as HMS ''Gannet'') was a Royal Navy airbase located north east of Eglinton, in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It opened as a Royal Air Force Station (RAF Eglinton) in 1941, be ...

(HMS ''Gannet'') in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

.''Obituary: Capt F M A Torrens-Spence''

The News Letter The ''News Letter'' is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in September 1737. The ...

, 6 November 2001 In 1952, he was promoted captain and sent to the Admiralty to look after future aircraft requirements as deputy director of the Air Warfare Division, naval staff. He wrote the staff requirement for the

Buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...

strike aircraft and steered it through the

Admiralty Board The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is ...

. In 1955, he took command of , a Daring class destroyer deploying in British and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

waters. Afterwards he commanded a training establishment,

RNAS Lossiemouth Lossiemouth () is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 year ...

(HMS ''Fulmar''), before taking 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 ...

in 1959 where he spent the next two years, most of it in the Far East.

Northern Ireland

After leaving the Royal Navy Torrens-Spence was appointed as the Commandant of the

Ulster Special Constabulary The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military Military reserve, reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, short ...

(the "B" Specials) in

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

. When the Specials were disbanded in 1970 and replaced by the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

, Torrens-Spence took control of the County Armagh Battalion (2 UDR), as a lieutenant colonel, to get it up and running. He retired in 1972.

Later life

In 1981, he became

Lord Lieutenant of Armagh This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Armagh. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II of England, James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated o ...

, after

Norman Stronge Sir Charles Norman Lockhart Stronge, 8th Baronet, MC, PC, JP (23 July 1894 – 21 January 1981) was a senior Ulster Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland. Before his involvement in politics, he fought in the First World War as a junio ...

was killed by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

in an armed assault on his home,

Tynan Abbey Tynan Abbey in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was a large neo-gothic-romantic country house built c. 1750 (later renovated c. 1815) and situated outside the village of Tynan. It was home to the Stronge family until 1981, when it was set on ...

. During this time, he resided at Laurelvale House,

Laurelvale Laurelvale is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is beside the smaller village of Mullavilly and the two are sometimes referred to as Laurelvale-Mullavilly or Mullavilly-Laurelvale. The village is three miles south of Portadown and ...

– originally the home of industrialist

Thomas Sinton Thomas Sinton, JP (February 1826 – 20 August 1887) was an Irish industrialist and magistrate. Sinton made a significant impact upon the Irish linen trade; not least establishing the village of Laurelvale, County Armagh. Thomas Sinton was born ...

. He was also a justice of the peace, served as

High Sheriff of Armagh The High Sheriff of Armagh is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Armagh. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his/her ...

in 1979 and was aide-de-camp to the Queen. He was never overtly involved in politics, but remained throughout his life a committed Unionist, holding senior office in the County Armagh Unionist Association, yet saddened by what he saw as the government's appeasing of terrorism. He married Rachel Torrens-Spence, with whom he had four children. One of his sons, Brigadier Edward John (Johnny) Torrens-Spence CBE, was British Embassy military attaché to the United States.A story of love.

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

; 13 May 2005

References

Bibliography

* Lamb, Charles, ''War in a Stringbag''. Cassell and Collier Macmillan (1977) * Wragg, David, ''Stringbag: The Fairey Swordfish at War''. Leo Cooper Ltd (2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrens-Spence, Michael 1914 births 2001 deaths Military personnel from County Antrim Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College High sheriffs of Armagh Lord-lieutenants of Armagh Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force officers Ulster Defence Regiment officers Royal Navy captains Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II British World War II pilots British World War II bomber pilots British test pilots Fleet Air Arm aviators Ulster Special Constabulary officers Irish officers in the Royal Navy