Admiral Sir Ralph Alan Bevan Edwards KCB CBE (31 March 1901 – 4 February 1963) 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 served as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.

Naval career

Edwards joined the

in 1914Sir Ralph Alan Bevan Edwards
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives and served in the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of at ...

HMS ''Tiger'' in the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the ...

during

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, ...

. 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 ...

, he served as Deputy Director and then as Director of the

Operations Division The Operations Division was a former directorate of the Admiralty Naval Staff responsible for the creation and implementation of long-term policy in regards to the composition of all Royal Navy fleets, squadrons and commands and including operat ...

for the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the Fi ...

. During this time, he oversaw the operation to sink the German battleship ''Bismarck''. He then became Chief of Staff for the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

and, from March 1945, was Captain of HMNZS ''Gambia''. After the war he was made Captain of the aircraft carrier . He became Assistant Chief of Naval Staff in 1948. In July, 1951, he returned to sea in command of the First Cruiser Squadron and as Flag Officer (Air), Mediterranean, hoisting his flag in his old ship the ''Gambia''. From November 1951, he was also Flag Officer, Second in Command of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

. He then became Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy in 1953. His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief,

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean in 1957. He retired in 1958.

Family

In 1932 he married Joan Le Fowne Hurt; they had one son and one daughter.

References

External links

Papers of Admiral Sir Ralph Alan Bevan Edwards
held at Churchill Archives Centre , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Ralph 1901 births 1963 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II