Sir Robert Atkinson, (7 March 1916 – 25 January 2015) was a British businessman and decorated

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. He served in the Royal Navy during

World War II 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 ...

and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

three times. Later, he was a businessman involved in

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

and served as Chairman of

British Shipbuilders British Shipbuilders (BS) was a public corporation that owned and managed the shipbuilding industry in Great Britain from 1977 through the 1980s. Its head office was at Benton House in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. History The corporation wa ...

from 1980 to 1984.

Early life

Atkinson was born on 7 March 1916 in

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

, England. He was one of three sons born to Nicholas Ridley Atkinson, a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

with the Tynemouth Improvement Commission, and his wife Margaret. He was educated at a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

, and then studied

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. His older brother was The Reverend Canon Professor James Atkinson, who was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

priest and academic specialising in

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

and the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. His other brother died in March 1943 with the sinking of a

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

on which he was serving. It had been torpedoed and Robert was close enough to his brother's vessel to hear its

distress signal A distress signal, also known as a distress call, is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals are communicated by transmitting radio signals, displaying a visually observable item or illumination, or making a sou ...

over his ship's radio but not close enough to reach it before it sank.

Military career

Following the completion of his university degree, Atkinson joined the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

. He was promoted from acting sub-lieutenant to sub lieutenant on 13 August 1939. His first command was a requisitioned private yacht, , which he sailed from the United Kingdom to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. From there, he was to conduct irregular operations in the

Mediterranean Sea 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 Eur ...

. One such operation was the seizure of an Italian tanker carrying

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are either petroleum-based or blends of petroleum and synthetic fuels, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground applications, such as heating and road transport, and they contain add ...

, which he then sailed back to the UK. He later described the act, committed against a country that had yet to enter

, as 'pure act of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

'. On 23 September 1940, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and granted seniority in that rank from 1 May 1940. He was awarded his first

in 1941. He was the

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...

of , a , and was involved in the dangerous duty of

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escort. He took command of another Flower-class corvette, , in 1942 and escorted three crucial convoys, including ONS 5 in spring 1943. He was awarded his second DSC for his actions during this mission, which included a possible sinking of a

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

. He received his third in 1945 for sinking

German submarine U-878 German submarine ''U-878'' was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. Design German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. ''U-878'' had a displacement of when at ...

in the . Atkinson was

demobbed Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

in 1946.

Business career

Following the war, Atkinson studied engineering at London University and

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, Montreal. Returning to the UK, he entered business and held managerial positions at William Doxford, Tube Investments, Unicorn Industries and Aurora Steel. In 1980, he was appointed Chairman of

. He retired from that position in 1984.

Personal life

In 1941, Atkinson married Joyce Forster. Together they had two children; one son and one daughter. His first wife died in 1973. In 1977, he married Margaret Hazel Walker. They did not have any children. Atkinson died on 25 January 2015, at the age of 98. He was survived by his daughter and his second wife.

Honours

On 4 March 1941, Atkinson was awarded the

(DSC) 'for courage and skill in a successful action against an enemy submarine in heavy seas'. On 19 October 1943, he was awarded a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to his Distinguished Service Cross (IE awarded the DSC for a second time) "For gallantry and devotion to duty in determined and successful attacks on U-boats while serving in H.M. Ships Duncan, Pink, Sunflower, Vidette, Tay, Loosestrife,

Alisma ''Alisma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alismataceae, members of which are commonly known as water-plantains. The genus consists of aquatic plants with leaves either floating or submerged, found in a variety of still water habit ...

, Spey, Pelican, Jed, Snowflake and Lagan on Convoy Escort duty". He was also

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

in 1943, and awarded a second bar to his DSC in 1944. In 1947, Atkinson was awarded the

Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve, commonly known as the Reserve Decoration (RD) was a medal awarded to officers with at least fifteen years service in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) of the United Kingdom. The medal was instit ...

, commonly known as the Reserve Decoration (RD), for long service in the Royal Naval Reserve. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in 1983, and therefore granted the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

''. He elected

Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and Scholarship, fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in United K ...

(FREng) in 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Robert 1916 births 2015 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople Alumni of the University of London British chairpersons of corporations British Shipbuilders Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Businesspeople from Tyne and Wear English business executives English manufacturing businesspeople Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Knights Bachelor Military personnel from Tyne and Wear People from Tynemouth Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Naval Reserve personnel Royal Navy officers of World War II