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 Richard George Onslow, (15 April 1904 – 16 December 1975) 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 went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.

Early life and family

Onslow was born in 1904 at Garmston (near Ironbridge),

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, second child and eldest son of George Arthur Onslow, farmer, and his wife Charlotte Riou Benson, daughter of clergyman the Reverend Riou George Benson. In 1932, Onslow married Kathleen Meriel Taylor, elder daughter of Edmund Coston Taylor, cotton manufacturer, of Bank House, Longnor, Shropshire; they had two sons.

Naval career

Educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Onslow joined the

in 1918 at the end of 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 ...

.Sir Richard Onslow
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich from 1934 to 1935. At the start of 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 ...

Onslow was on the Plans Division of the Naval Staff, with a combat interlude in 1940 on an unsuccessful attempt to evacuate the Belgian government and gold reserves from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

during the Fall of France, nearly becoming prisoner of the Germans. He next became captain of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

in 1941 in the role of defending Russian convoys, as well as the convoys 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 ...

. His services on the former convoys earned him the initial award of his

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 ...

(DSO) and the Soviet

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

. He took over the anti-submarine training establishment HMS ''Osprey'' in 1943 and went on to be captain of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla in November, in which capacity he earned the third of his three bars to his DSO in the attack on a Japanese base at Sabang, Sumatra. After the war Onslow attended the Imperial Defence College in London, and then became Senior Naval Officer 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 ...

and then, from 1948, Director of the Tactical Division at the Admiralty. After taking command of the training ship in 1951, he became Naval Secretary in 1952. He was made Flag Officer (Flotillas) for the Home Fleet in 1955 and Flag Officer commanding the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully Ship decommissioning, decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothba ...

in 1956. His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in 1958. He retired in 1962. In retirement Onslow became a Deputy Lieutenant for

on 13 April 1962 and served until his death in 1975, He settled in

after retirement, making his home at Ryton Grove, Great Ryton, near Dorrington, where he died on 16 December 1975.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Onslow, Richard 1904 births 1975 deaths Military personnel from Shropshire People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy lieutenants of Shropshire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies