British officers  |  RN  |  RNR  |  RM  |  WRNS  |  home
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers
1939-1945

Looking for details on a RNVR officer not listed here yet?
Just e-mail me, and I might be able to help out.
Of course, any additions, corrections etc. can also be e-mailed.


Note
. In naval circles it is custom to refer to the commander of a vessel as Captain. The Navy List bears the phrase "in command". Strictly out of practical considerations CO (Commanding Officer) is used here on this site. For some more explanations & abbreviations see the help page.

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

B      
Babington,
John Herbert
J.H. Babington
George Cross Database
06.02.1911
Tai Chow Foo, China
-
24.03.1992
West Oxfordshire
T/S.Lt. (Sp.Br.)
16.10.1940
T/A/Lt.Cdr. (Sp.Br.)
> 08.1942, < 02.1943 (reld < 04.1946)
George Cross GC 
27.12.1940
mine disposal [investiture 18.07.41]
Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE
08.06.1943
bomb disposal [investiture 15.02.44]
Education: Wyggeston School; St. Catharine's College, Cambridge (MA; BSc)
Physics teacher, King's College School, Wimbledon.
19.09.1940
-
(10.1944)
Department of Unexploded Bombs [later: Bomb Disposal], Admiralty [HMS President] (for duty inside Admiralty)



HMS Volcano (Bomb Disposal Training Establishment, Holmrook, Cumberland) (attached?) *
(07.1945)


no appointment listed
Assistant education officer in Hertfordshire; headmaster of Diss Grammar School, 1947; headmaster of the Royal Hospital School at Holbrook, 1951; headmaster of Ashlyn's School, Berkhamsted, 1955; retd, 1980.
* according to evidence given by a local resident
Baddeley,
Philip
P. Baddeley
Son of ... Baddeley, and ... Stagg.

His son writes: "I think that he joined up in 1939 to train as a pilot in the navy but failed the eye test and moved to the ships. He joined the London Division of the RNVR. By Christmas of 1940, he was on HMS Nigeria patrolling the Denmark Straits over Christmas. He then moved again. I think that he qualified in radio operations. The observation ship which was patrolling off the coast of Portugal was sunk and he was rescued by the HMS Scarborough and taken to Gibraltar.  He was then on the HMS Renown and taken back into the Med with three other injured people before being taken back to the UK. He recovered at Glen Eagles Hotel and then was stationed on the Tyne before going back to sea. He ended up rescuing Dutch women and children in Java in LST 371 under Lt.Cdr. C.R. Martin. As with so many people, he never talked about the war but recently answered my questions. He returned to work."
(06?).1920
Northwich district, Cheshire
-
13.06.2007
T/S.Lt.
01.05.1941
T/A/Lt.
24.10.1943 (reld < 04.1946)
1939?


joined RNVR
(12.1940)


HMS Nigeria (cruiser) (Denmark Straits)



HMS Duncan (destroyer)
15.11.1941
-
(10.)1944
HMS Calliope (RN base, Tyne)
13.11.1944
-
(07.1945)
HM LST 371 (landing ship, tank) (Java)
Bagg,
Sidney Cecil
S.C. Bagg
Married (16.10.1943) (marriage dissolved 11.1946); one son, one daughter.
(09?).1896
Weymouth, Dorset
-
Army:

T/2nd Lt. (prob)
04.12.1916
T/Lt.
04.06.1918 (reld 01.05.1919; retaining the rank of Lt.)
Lt.
12.10.1940 [123301] (reld 25.10.1943)
RNVR:

T/S.Lt. (Sp.Br.)
25.10.1943
T/A/Lt. (Sp.Br.)
09.11.1943 (reld < 07.1945)
04.12.1916


commissioned, Army Service Corps
12.10.1940


commissioned, Royal Army Service Corps [emergency commission]
25.10.1943


commissioned, RNVR (Special Branch) (as Mechanical Engineer?)
(10.1944)


no appointment listed
Baggott,
John Charles
J.C. Baggott
(06?).1924 ??
Swindon district, Wiltshire ??
-
T/S.Lt.
15.04.1944

 

?


Commanding Officer, LCT 7074 (landing craft, tank)
(10.1944)
-
(04.1946)
HMS Brontosaurus (Combined Operations base, Dunoon) *
* indexed, but not listed as such
Bailey,
George Edward
G.E. Bailey
Son of Charles Frederick and Catherine Cormack Bailey.
Husband of Lilias Stark Bailey, of South Harrow, Middlesex.
1905 ?
-

06.07.1944 
(KIA) [age 29]
[Portsmouth Naval Memorial, panel 88, colum 1]
Prob. T/S.Lt.
26.04.1940
T/Lt.
26.04.1941
T/A/Lt.Cdr.
?
Distinguished Service Order DSO 
29.09.1942
attack superior ship & E-boats 29.07.42 [investiture 17.11.42]
(02.1941)


HMS Osprey (anti-submarine establishment, Portland) *
01.04.1941
-
(12.1941)
Commanding Officer, HM MGB 63 (motor gun boat) [HMS Beehive (Coastal Forces base, Felixstowe)]
(07.1942)


Commanding Officer, HM MGB 67 (motor gun boat)
1944
-
06.07.1944
HMS Trollope (frigate) (torpedoed off Normandy)
* indexed, but not listed as such
Bailey,
Harry Winston [Hardicker]
H.W. Bailey
(03?.)1904
Brentford, Middlesex
-

26.04.1965 
Emery Down, Lyndhurst, Hampshire
T/S.Lt. (A)
08.09.1939
T/Lt. (A)
23.03.1940 (reld > 04.1946)
A/T/Lt.Cdr. (A)
< 12.1941
T/A/Cdr. (A)
< 07.1945
(04.1940)


no appointment listed
12.10.1940
-
(02.)1941
pilot, 752 Squadron FAA [HMS Goshawk (RN Air Station, Pairco, Trinidad)]
07.1941
-
(06.)1943
HMS Buzzard (RN Air Station, Palisadoes, Kensington, Jamaica) (for some period perhaps as Execeutive Officer)
1943?
-
1945?
served at the Isle of Man
(10.1944)
 
 
HMS Urley (RN Air Station, Ronaldsway, Isle of Man) *
(07.1945)


no appointment listed
Company director.
* indexed, but not listed as such
Bailey,
Leslie James
L.J. Bailey
Son of Reginakd Percy Bailey.
Married (27.02.1949, Newton Abbot, Devon) Elisabeth Cornish-Bowden (born 02.08.1915), daughter of William Cornish-Bowden, and Henrietta Edith Kitson & sister of Lt. E.J. Cornish-Bowden, RN & Cdr. (S) W.K. Cornish-Bowden, RN; four daughters, one son.
19.10.1913
Pill, Somerset
-
27.11.1965
Torquay, Devon
T/Sg.Lt. (D)
12.03.1943
T/A/Sg.Lt.Cdr. (D)
> 07.1945, < 04.1946 (reld > 04.1946)
Education: LDS
25.05.1943
-
(10.)1944
HMS Duke (RN training establishment, Great Malvern, Worcestershire)
21.11.1944
-
(07.1945)
HMS Fieldfare (RN Air Station, Evanton, Ross-shire)
(04.1946)
 
 
no appointment listed
Bailey,
Richard Thurston
R.T. Bailey
Son of ...Bailey, and ... Smith.
23.08.1912
Amersham district, Buckinghamshire
-
02.1997
Chichester district, Sussex
T/S.Lt.
15.11.1940
T/Lt.
15.11.1941
T/A/Lt.Cdr.
< 04.1946
Mention in Despatches MID
13.03.1945
assault on Normandy
(02.1941)


no appointment listed
10.06.1941
-
(12.1941)
HMS Arpha (armed merchant cruiser)
(06.1944)
-
(05.1945?)
Commanding Officer, [HD]ML 1001 (Normandy, Arromanches; for hydrographic duties)
(04.1946)


no appointment listed
Baker,
Geoffrey Herbert
G.H. Baker
?
-
T/S.Lt.
21.02.1941
T/Lt. 
16.07.1943 (reld < 04.1946)

Distinguished Service Cross

DSC
21.11.1944
Operation Neptune, Normandy 06.44 [investiture 18.05.45]
03.05.1941
-
(12.1941)
HMS Drake (RN base, Devonport) (for miscellaneous services)
13.03.1943
-
(12.1943)
Commanding Officer, HM MTB 250 (motor torpedo boat)
24.01.1944
-
(10.1944)
HMS Aggressive (Coastal Forces base, Newhaven)
(07.1945)


no appointment listed
Baker,
Joseph
J. Baker
Son of William John and Maud Annie Baker (née Hayes), of Alford.
(09?).1917
Spilsbury district, Lincolnshire
-
13.01.1942
[age 24]
[Alford Cemetery, Lincolnshire, V.53]
T/Paym.S.Lt.
25.08.1939
T/Paym.Lt. 
25.08.1941
25.08.1939
-
(04.)1940
HMS Beaver (RN base, Humber)
01.07.1940
-
(02.)1941
Confidential Book Officer, HMS Minos (RN base, Lowestoft)
25.03.1941
-
13.01.1942
HMS Europa (Patrol Service Central Depot, Lowestoft)
Baker,
Richard Douglas James
R.D.J. Baker
15.06.1925
Willesden, London
-
T/Midsh.
03.03.1944
T/A/S.Lt.
15.12.1944
T/S.Lt.
15.06.1945

Officer of the Order of the British Empire

OBE
1976
?
RD
1979
?
Education: Kilburn Grammar School; Peterhouse, Cambridge (MA)
1943
-
1946
served RN:
01.05.1944
-
(10.1944)
HMS Peacock (sloop)
(07.1945)
 
 
no appointment listed
27.03.1946
-
(04.1946)
HMS Merganser (RN Air Station, Rattray)
Actor, 1948; Teacher, 1949; Third Programme Announcer, 1950-1953; BBC TV Newsreader, 1954-1982; broadcaster & author; Member, Broadcasting Standards Council, 1988-1993.
Published:
Here is the News (broadcasts), 1966; The Terror of Tobermory, 1972; The Magic of Music, 1975; Dry Ginger, 1977; Richard Baker's Music Guide, 1979; Mozart, 1982, rev. edn 1991; London, a theme with variations, 1989; Richard Baker's Companion to Music, 1993
Balfour,
Ronald Egerton
R.E. Balfour
Son of Alfred Granville Balfour and Frances Elizabeth Simpson. 
Married Deirdre Phyllis Ulrica Hart-Davis (24.04.1930); two daughters.
1896
Scotland
-
17.04.1941
Surbiton Hospital (car accident)
[Chatham Naval Memorial, panel 86]
T/Lt.
18.09.1939
A/T/Lt.Cdr.
> 04.1940, < 04.1941
18.09.1939
-
17.04.1941
Operations Division, Admiralty [HMS President]
Balfour,
William
W. Balfour
Son of James Murdoch McDonald Balfour and Isabella Murray Balfour; husband of Doris Irene Balfour, of Holyhead, Anglesey.
1912 ?
-
02.07.1944
(KIA) [age 32]
[Lowestoft Naval Memorial, panel 13, column 2]
T/S.Lt.
03.01.1940
T/Lt.
01.12.1940
03.01.1940
-
(02.)1941
HMS Marmion (Algerine class minesweeper)
09.06.1941
-
(12.1941)
HMS Bacchante (RN base, Aberdeen) (for miscellaneous duties)
08.08.1943
-
02.07.1944
Commanding Officer, HM MMS 1019 (motor minesweeper) (killed in action when the ship struck a moored mine off Cherbourg and sunk within a few minutes)
Barber,
Douglas Ralph William
D.R.W. Barber
Son of ... Barber, and ... Grace.
(03?).1920
Brentford, Middlesex
-
T/S.Lt.
28.08.1941
T/A/Lt.
? (reld 1943?, medically unfit?)
22.09.1941
-
(06.1943)
Department of Unexploded Bombs [later: Bomb Disposal] [HMS President] (for duty outside Admiralty)
Bardner,
Edward Erskine
E.E. Bardner
Son of James and Catherine Erskine Bardner, of Culross, Fife.
1924
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
-
06.04.1945
(MIA) [age 20]
[Lee-on-Solent Memorial, bay 6, panel 3]
T/A/S.Lt.(A)
19.06.1944
T/S.Lt. (A)
1945?
01.08.1944
-
(10.1944)
pilot, 1849 Squadron FAA
?
-
06.04.1945
pilot, 1850 Squadron FAA [HMS Vengeance (aircraft carrier)]
[Chance Vought FG-1A Corsair IV (KD 163) had low oil pressure in interception exercise from Hal Far, Malta. Bailed out but not found despite extensive air/sea search.]
Barfield,
James Colin
J.C. Barfield
?
-
T/S.Lt.
?
T/Lt.
04.03.1942 (reld > 04.1946)
07.10.1944
-
?
HMS Pennywort (corvette)
(07.1945)
-
(04.1946)
no appointment listed
Barge,
Ronald Mansfield "Ronnie"
R.M. Barge
10.11.1920
Rawalpindi, India
-
Midsh.
02.06.1938
T/A/S.Lt.
10.11.1940
T/S.Lt.
?
T/Lt.
01.01.1943 (reld < 04.1946)
Distinguished Service Cross DSC
13.10.1942
action against R-boats 16.08.42
Mention in Despatches MID
14.07.1942
attack armed raider Dover Straits 13.05.42
Mention in Despatches MID
03.08.1943
action against trawlers & R-boats 28.05.43
Mention in Despatches MID
15.05.1945
action against E-boats 02.-03.45
06.09.1939
-
(04.)1940
HMS Revenge (battleship)
10.11.1940
-
(02.1941)
Commanding Officer, HM MASB 63 (motor anti-submarine boat) [HMS Osprey (anti-submarine establishment, Portland)]
(12.1941)
 
 
HMS St Christopher (Coastal Forces training establishment, Fort William) *
(05.1942)


Commanding Officer, HM MGB 9 (motor gun boat)
16.03.1942
-
30.05.1943
HMS Wasp (Coastal Forces base, Dover):
?
-
(08.1942)
Commanding Officer, HM MGB 6 (motor gun boat)
(02.1943)
-
30.05.1943
Commanding Officer, HM MGB 108 (motor gun boat)
02.09.1944
-
(10.1944)
on staff of Captain Coastal Forces, Channel [HMS Hornet (Coastal Forces base, Gosport)]
(05.1945)


HMS Riou (frigate)
05.1945
-
(07.1945)
Commanding Officer, HM MTB 504 (motor torpedo boat)
* indexed, but not listed as such
Barnes,
Clifford William Stephen
C.W.S. Barnes
08.08.1908
Hackney district, London / Middlesex
-
09.1995
Norwich district, Norfolk
T/Lt.
15.01.1940
T/A/Lt.Cdr.
? (reld > 06.1944, < 07.1945)
20.01.1937


joined Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve (attached London Division, RNVR)
01.03.1940
-
(04.1940)
HMS Badger (minesweeping base, Harwich)
01.01.1941
-
(02.1941)
Commanding Officer, HMS Valesca (minesweeping trawler)
20.07.1942
-
(06.1944)
Department of Unexploded Bomb Disposal, Admiralty [HMS President]
20.07.1942
-
(08.1942)
for duty outside Admiralty
(02.1943)
-
(06.1943)
for duty inside Admiralty
(08.1943)
-
(06.1944)
for duty outside Admiralty
Barnes,
Dennis Arthur Eustace
D.A.E. Barnes
Son of ... Barnes, and ... Smith.
Married Jo ... (predeceased him); ... children.
(03?).1921
Barnet district, Greater London
-
26.03.2008
Willowmead Residential Home, Essex [previously of "Casa Perro", West Hanningfield]
T/A/Lt.
01.09.1943
Lt. (L)
23.10.1947, seniority 01.09.1943
Lt.Cdr. (L)
01.09.1951
Cdr.
31.12.1957 (retd 31.12.1966)
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Decoration VRD
?
?
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Decoration VRD
31.01.1967
first clasp
Education: CEng; MIERE
...
-
...
...
?
-
(07.1945)
HMS Orlando (RN base, Greenock)
23.10.1947
 
 
transferred to List I of Permanent RNVR
...
-
...
...
Barnes,
Raymond Charles Arthur
R.C.A. Barnes
Son of Charles Frederick Barnes, wire muzzle maker, and Ellen Matilda Black, of Teviotside, Mellow Close, Banstead, originally from East London.
(06?).1921
Romford district, Essex
-
19.08.1942
[age 21]
[Portsmouth Naval Memorial, panel 71, column 1]
[commemorated at Banstead War Memorial]
T/A/SLt.
?
?
-
19.08.1942
HMS Tormentor (Combined Operations base, Warsash)
[probably killed in action during the Dieppe raid]
Barradale-Steel,
George
G. Barradale-Steel
?
-
T/Lt.
10.10.1942
31.08.1942
-
(06.1944)
Department of Unexploded Bomb Disposal [HMS President] (for duty outside Admiralty)
09.06.1945
-
(07.1945)
HMS Orlando (RN base, Greenock)
15.02.1946
-
(04.1946)
HMS Warren (Combined Operations base, Largs)
Barratt,
Peter Lockwood
P.L. Barratt
Son of ... Barratt, and ... Bridgeman.
17.08.1923
Chelmsford district, Essex
-
09.2000
Waveney district, Suffolk
T/S.Lt.
17.02.1944 (reld < 04.1946)
(06.1944)


took part in Operation Neptune (Normandy)
(07.1945)


no appointment listed
Barrett,
Maurice Agar
M.A. Barrett
From Pulborough.
?
-
A/S.Lt.
?
S.Lt.
28.03.1942, seniority 07.06.1941
T/Lt.
12.03.1943 (reld < 04.1946)
Mention in Despatches MID
21.11.1944
actions covering 2 years
12.01.1943
-
(06.1944)
MGB 3, renamed: HMS Grey Seal [HMS Attack (Coastal Forces base, Portland)]
(07.1945)


no appointment listed
Barry,
Adrian Michael
A.M. Barry
Son of Richard Alan Barry and of Gladys Isabel Barry (née Vander Byl), of Fransch Hoek, Cape Province, South Africa. 
1912 ?
-
01.05.1942
(KIA) [age 30]
[Plymouth Naval Memorial, panel 76, column 3]
A/S.Lt.
?
A/T/Sg.Lt.Cdr..
15.02.1940
T/Sg.Lt.
?, seniority 15.09.1939
Education: MB, BCh, double first Pathology (Cantab.), Gold Medallist University College Hospital.
21.11.1939
-
(04.)1940
HMS Carnarvon Castle (armed merchant cruiser)
28.09.1940
-
(12.1941)
HMS King George V (battleship)
?
-
01.05.1942
HMS Punjabi (destroyer)
[killed when battleship HMS King George V crashed into Punjabi's port side just abaft the engine room and went through her "like a butter knife at 25 knots". Punjabi's stern sank almost immediately.]
Barry,
John Campbell
J.C. Barry
?
-
T/A/S.Lt.
?
T/S.Lt.
03.06.1944 (reld 1945/46)



Ordinary Seaman, HMS Howe (battleship) (Sicily, 12.1943)
1944


HMS King Alfred (training establishment, Hove, Sussex)
1944


HM ML 222 (motor launch) (based at HMS Hornet, Gosport) (Channel convoys & working up for minesweeping)
01.05.1944
-
(06.1944)
First Lieutenant, HM ML 246 (motor launch) (navigating & escorting 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade from Southampton to Juno Beach, Normandy)
10.1944
-
01.1945
epic voyage with 20th ML Flotilla to Bombay, India
(07.1945)


no appointment listed
1945


Reserve Fleet MLs, Dartmouth
Barwell,
Terence Edgar
T.E. Barwell
Son of ... Barwell, and ... Whaits.
Married; at least one son.

memoirs (at RN Museum)
31.01.1916
Axbridge district, Somerset
-
Prob. T/Sg.Lt.
01.08.1940
T/Sg.Lt.
1941?, seniority 01.08.1940 (reld 11.03.1946)
Mention in Despatches MID
01.01.1946
New Year 46
Education: MB, BS, MRCS, LRCP
01.10.1940
-
(02.)1941
HMS Excellent (gunnery school, Portsmouth)
16.09.1941
-
06.11.1942
Medical Officer, HMS Express (destroyer)
06.06.1944
-
(07.1945)
Medical Officer, HMS Nadder (frigate)
Bate,
William Bruce Thornton
W.B.T. Bate
30.04.1908
Bristol district, Avon / Gloucestershire
-
02.1987
Torbay district, Devon
T/Lt.
23.11.1939
T/A/Lt.Cdr.
?

Distinguished Service Cross

DSC
12.06.1945
offensive sweep Genoa 12.44
(1940)


Commanding Officer, HM MTB ... (motor torpedo boat)
(12.1944)


HMS Minuet
Bate,
William Osmund John
W.O.J. Bate
Son of ... Bate, and ... Cobb.
(03?).1913
Brentford district, Middlesex
-
T/Lt.
31.01.1942
T/A/Lt.Cdr.
?
Mention in Despatches MID
01.01.1943
New Year 43
(1942)


First Lieutenant, HM SGB 8 (steam gun boat)



served 29th (Canadian) MTB Flotilla
Bates,
Raymond Arthur
R.A. Bates
?
-
T/S.Lt.
?
T/A/Lt.
12.02.1943
16.03.1942
-
(06.1944)
Department of Unexploded Bomb Disposal [HMS President] (for duty outside Admiralty)
01.08.1944
-
(07.1945)
HMS Nile (RN base, Alexandria) (for mine disposal)
(04.1946)


no appointment listed
Battison,
Douglas Frederick
D.F. Battison
Son of ... Battison, and ... Sykes.
Married; children.
(06?).1920
Sheffield district, Yorkshire
-
02.01.2007
Felpham, West Sussex
T/S.Lt. (A)
?
T/Lt. (A)
09.04.1945
Lt. (A) RN
03.07.1946, seniority 09.04.1945
Lt.Cdr. RN
09.04.1953 (retd 29.06.1959)
...
-
...
...
23.06.1945
-
(07.1945)
pilot, 711 Squadron FAA [HMS Jackdaw (RN Air Station, Crail, Fife)]
03.01.1946
-
(04.1946)
pilot, 778 Squadron FAA [HMS Peregrine (RN Air Station, Ford, Sussex)]
03.07.1946


transferred to RN
...
-
...
...
Baxter,
Noel Edward Lindesay
N.E.L. Baxter
Son of Ferdinand and Amelia Aytone Lindesay Baxter (née Hogg), of Chelsea, London.
(03?).1913
Kensington district, Greater London
-
16.07.1942
(KIA) [age 29]
[Aelxandria (Hadria) War Memorial Cemetery, 3.C.26]
Cadet RN
01.05.1930
Midsh. RN
01.01.1931 (reld 1933)
Prob. T/S.Lt.
01.09.1939
T/A/Lt.
01.09.1940
26.04.1930
-
(02.)1931
HMS Malaya (battleship) (Atlantic Fleet)
01.09.1931
-
(01.)1932
HMS Durban (cruiser) (America and West Indies Station)
05.07.1932
-
(09.1932)
HMS Malaya (battleship) (Home Fleet)
(05.1933)
 
 
no appointment listed
01.09.1939
-
(02.)1941
HMS Cochrane II (supply & accounting base for tenders, Rosyth) (for duty at Inchkeith)
(12.1941)
 
 
no appointment listed
?
-
16.07.1942
HMS Nile (RN base, Alexandria) (additional; on passage) (killed on the launch Gulf Stream that exploded)
Bayley,
Kenneth Egremont Anson
K.E.A. Bailey
15.09.1903
-
(09?).1975
Chichester district
Prob. T/S.Lt.
?
T/S.Lt.
?
T/Lt.
03.08.1940
T/A/Lt.Cdr.
> 12.1943, < 07.1945 (reld < 04.1946)
Distinguished Service Cross DSC 
08.06.1944
HM's birthday 44 [investiture 12.12.1944]
Mention in Despatches MID
16.09.1940
Dunkirk 05-06.40
1939-1945 War Medal; Africa Star; Atlantic Star; Italy Star, 1939-1945 Star
(05/06.1940)


MB Princess Lilly (Dunkirk)
13.08.1940
-
(02.1941)
HMS Defiance (torpedo school, Devonport) (additional; for miscellaneous services)
(12.1941)


no appointment listed
13.12.1942
-
24.06.1943
Commanding Officer, HM MGB 648 (motor gun boat) [based at HMS St Christopher (Coastal Forces training establishment, Fort William)]
25.06.1943
-
07.09.1943