Vice Admiral Sir Richard Tobias Frere (born Frere-Reeves; 4 June 1938 – 5 March 2020) 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 ended his career as Chief of Fleet Support.

Early life and education

Frere was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of publisher Alexander Stuart Frere-Reeves and Patricia Marion Caldecott Wallace. His mother was the daughter of writer

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

. J. B. Priestley was his godfather. He was named after his great-grandfather Henry Tobias Frere, a first-class cricketer. When he was 1, his father legally dropped Reeves from their surname. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

Naval career

Frere joined the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

through National Service in 1955 and was commissioned into the

in 1958.''Debrett's People of Today'' 1994 During the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the Unite ...

in 1962, as a submariner based at Halifax, he was involved in setting up a barrier patrol with American air support off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He commanded the submarines HMS ''Andrew'', HMS ''Odin'' and HMS ''Revenge'' before taking charge of the frigate HMS ''Brazen''. Promoted to Rear-Admiral, he was appointed Director-General, Fleet Support (Policy & Services) in 1988 and then Flag Officer, Submarines and Commander Submarines for the Eastern Atlantic in 1991 before becoming Chief of Fleet Support in 1994 and retiring in 1997. In retirement, he became the First Chairman of The Prison Service Pay Review Body as well as Chairman of the Governors of

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the ...

.Oundle School
Independent Schools Inspectorate, March 2008

Family

In 1968, he married Jane Barraclough; they had two daughters.

References

External links

Telegraph obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frere, Toby 1938 births 2020 deaths People educated at Eton College Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Toby Military personnel from London