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 William Gerrard Andrewes (3 November 1899 – 21 November 1974) 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 served in

World War I 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 ...

and

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 ...

, commanded the British and Commonwealth Naval Forces and Task Force 91 (part of the Joint Task Force 7, UN Combined Fleet) for the Inchon Landing during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, and went on to command of the America and West Indies Squadron and served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic.

Biography

Education and early career

William Andrewes was the second son of the Rev. Canon Gerrard Thomas Andrewes,

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, and Helena Louisa Kirby. He was educated at Twyford School, Winchester, before entering the Royal Naval College at Osborne in September 1912, moving to Dartmouth in 1914. Andrewes was assigned to the battleship in August 1915, seeing action at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

in May 1916. From February 1917 he attended the torpedo control officer's course, and was assigned to the destroyer for service in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

in February 1918. He received his commission as a sub-lieutenant on 15 May 1918, and promotion 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 ...

on 15 October 1919. Andrewes attended various short training courses in 1920 before serving aboard the destroyer ''Versatile'' into 1921. Between September 1921 and June 1923 he attended the torpedo officer's "long course" in torpedoes, mines, and electrical engineering at the Royal Naval College at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

and at the torpedo school at HMS ''Vernon'' at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. He was then an instructor at HMS ''Vernon'' until December 1924. Andrewes served as Torpedo Officer aboard the submarine depot ship ''Ambrose'' of the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station until February 1927. He returned to ''Vernon'' as an instructor until August 1929, receiving promotion to lieutenant-commander on 15 October 1927. From 6 January 1930 Andrewes served as Torpedo Officer on the battleship in the

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 ...

and Atlantic Fleets, then from 30 April 1931 aboard the heavy cruiser as Torpedo Officer, as well as Fleet Torpedo Officer for the 5th Cruiser Squadron, on the China Station. On 31 December 1932 he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. Andrewes spent almost all of the year 1934 attending a course at the Royal Navy Staff College at Greenwich, before serving as the Fleet Torpedo Officer in the 2nd Battle Squadron, Home Fleet, aboard the battleship from January 1935 to January 1937. He then spent six weeks in charge, as Executive Officer, of as that battleship was being extensively refitted at Portsmouth. After a tactical course at Portsmouth, he served as Executive Officer of the battleship in the Home Fleet from 26 July 1937 until receiving promotion to the rank of

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 ...

on 30 June 1938.

World War II

In 1939 he served on the Joint Planning Staff of the Committee of Imperial Defence, then as Commanding Officer of the seaplane carrier into 1940, before a short period as Chief Staff Officer at

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

. On 8 April 1940 he was appointed assistant director of the Plans Division at the Admiralty, not returning to sea duty until 19 September 1942 when he took command of the cruiser for service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, taking part in "Operation Husky", the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

, in July–August 1943, (for which he received a

Mention 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 ...

) and in "Operation Avalanche", the landings at Salerno, in September 1943 (for which he was awarded 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 ...

). On 28 February 1944 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to the

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Thomas Williams (Royal Navy officer), Si ...

, for administration and duties in preparation for the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

, with the rank of commodore, 2nd class. From November 1944 until July 1945 he served as Chief Staff Officer to Vice-Admiral James William Rivett-Carnac, who as Vice-Admiral (Q) was responsible for the entire logistical operation to support the British Pacific Fleet.

Post-war and Korean War

Andrewes was appointed Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier in August 1945, but a knee injury prevented him from assuming the post, and instead he commanded the carrier from December 1945 into 1947. He then served as Chief of Staff to Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth, and was appointed Naval Aide-de-camp to the King in July. In December 1947 he was appointed Senior Naval Member of the Directing Staff of the Imperial Defence College, and was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 8 January 1948. He was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 1 December 1950, and on the 17th was made commander of the 5th Cruiser Squadron and Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet, flying his flag in the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

. After the outbreak of the

in June 1950 he commanded British and Commonwealth Naval Forces, with the carrier as his flagship. He had two aircraft carriers available at any one time which he worked in eighteen-day cycles. and then Task Force 91 (comprising all Blockade, Covering Force and Escort ships in Korean waters, affiliated with the

United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first attempt at collective security by the U ...

) in 1951. From 15 October 1951 he served as Commander-in-Chief of the America and West Indies Station, and also as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (DSACLANT), from 1952 to 1953. Promoted to

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 ...

on 24 November 1954 he served as President of the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

, until 1956. Admiral Andrewes retired on 10 January 1957, and became a director of the shipbuilders John I. Thornycroft & Company having become a member of the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and information technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Tel ...

in May 1956. He died on 21 November 1974.

Personal life

He married Frances Audrey Welchman in 1927. They had one son and one daughter.

Awards

Admiral Andrewes was the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, as well as

campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a hi ...

s for World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrewes, William 1899 births 1974 deaths Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II Academics of the Royal College of Defence Studies Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Royal Navy personnel of the Korean War Admiral presidents of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the War Cross (Greece) Officers of the Legion of Merit People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Commanders of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Knights of the Order of the Sword Commanders of the Order of St John People educated at Twyford School Military personnel from Winchester