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Royal Navy (RN) Officers
1939-1945

 

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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. Abbreviations and explanations can be found at the help page.
 

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Abbey, G.J.H.
to
Adams, R.R.
Adams, S.J.
to
Alderson, T.R.
Alderton, H.
to
Allen, G.E.
Allen, G.R.G.
to
Anderson, B.J.
Anderson, C.C.
to
Appleton, C.
Appleton, K.H.
to
Arnold, L.J.
Arnold, P.J.
to
Atkins, R.H.
Atkins, R.H.W.
to
Ayton, J.

 
K.H. Appleton    to    L.J. Arnold
Appleton,
Karl Hermann
K.H. Appleton
?
-
12/13.03.1943
(KIA)
[Catania War Cemetery, Sicily, IK 29]
RAF:

(A) P/O (prob)
01.07.1937
P/O
06.05.1938
RN:

S.Lt. (A)
09.05.1939, seniority 06.05.1938
Lt. (A)
06.01.1940
01.07.1937
-
09.05.1939
commissioned into the Royal Air Force [short service commission]:
(02.1939)


short course
27.02.1939
-
(04.1939)
TSR Squadron 811, FAA [HMS Courageous (aircraft carrier)] (Home Fleet)
09.05.1939
-
(08.1939)
transferred to the Fleet Air Arm
28.12.1939
-
(02.1941)
818 Squadron FAA [HMS Ark Royal (aircraft carrier)]
30.01.1942
-
(08.1942)
823 Squadron FAA [HMS Landrail (RN Air Station, Machrihanish, Argyllshire)]
12.01.1943
-
13.03.1943
828 Squadron FAA [HMS St Angelo (RN base, Malta)]
Appleton,
Maurice
M. Appleton
(09?).1897
Oldham
-
09.12.1962
S.Lt.
30.09.1917
A/Lt.
?
Lt.
14.02.1921, seniority 30.09.1919 (retd 09.11.1922; own request)
Lt.Cdr. (retd)
30.09.1927
14.12.1918
-
(01.1919)
HMS Wolsey (destroyer)
(02.1941)
-
(04.1946)
no appointment listed
Appleyard,
Percy
P. Appleyard
17.07.1900
Birmingham, Warwickshire
-
died between 07.1952 and 07.1959
Gnr.
01.01.1928
Cd.Gnr.
01.01.1938
Lt.
25.06.1945 (retd 16.12.1946)
Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE
11.06.1946
wind up Far East



...
13.02.1939
-
(04.1940)
Gunnery School, Chatham [HMS Pembroke]
17.04.1940
-
(08.1943)
HMS Arethusa (cruiser)
20.10.1943
-
(06.1944)
HMS Pembroke (RN base, Chatham)
01.01.1945
-
(07.1945)
HMS Duke of York (battleship)
(04.1946)


no appointment listed
Apps,
Albert Edward
A.E. Apps
11.08.1884
Frant, Sussex
-
27.10.1955
Weymouth
[age 71]
Boatsw.
17.05.1916 (retd < 01.1925)
Cd.Boatsw. (retd) = Sen.Cd.Boatsw. (retd)
01.05.1941 (reverted to retd 1945/46)



...
11.09.1939
-
(08.1942)
HMS Boscawen (RN base, Portland) (for service at Weymouth)
01.09.1942
-
(12.1943)
HMS Bee (Coastal Forces base, Weymouth / Holyhead)
02.1944
-
(04.1944)
HMS Grasshopper (Coastal Forces base, Weymouth)
05.1944
-
(06.1944)
HMS Boscawen (RN base, Portland) *
* (07.1945) still indexed, but no longer listed as such
Apps,
Edgar Stephen
E.S. Apps

Son of late Engineer Lieut­Comdr H.E.G. Apps, RN; married 1920, Alice Muriel Loyd, daughter of late
Rev. W. Loyd Protheroe, Llanasa, Flintshire; one daughter.
(09?).1893
Portsea Island, Hampshire
-
30.04.1958
[Christchurch, Hants. ?]
Paym.Lt.
15.10.1917
Paym.Lt.Cdr.
15.10.1923
Paym.Cdr.
15.10.1931
Paym.Capt. = Capt. (S)
30.06.1942 (retd 05.07.1948)
A/R.Adm. (S)
1946
Companion of the Order of the British Empire CBE
01.01.1948
New Year 48
1910


joined RN



served European War, 1914-1918:
12.10.1918
-
(01.1919)
HMS Implacable (battleship)
09.01.1923
-
(01.1925)
HMS Columbine (RN base, Port Edgar)
28.09.1925
-
(07.1927)
HMS Barham (battleship) (Mediterranean)
12.06.1928
-
(04.1930)
RN Barracks Devonport [HMS Vivid]
23.04.1930
-
(01.1932)
HMS Scarborough (sloop) (America and West Indies Station)
16.08.1932
-
(01.1934)
HMS Lucia (submarine depot ship) (Home Fleet)
02.02.1934
-
(02.1936)
HMS Devonshire (cruiser) (Mediterranean)
16.11.1936
-
(10.1938)
HMS St Angelo (RN base, Malta)
(02.1939)
-
(04.1939)
no appointment listed
01.05.1939
-
(08.1939)
HMS Vernon (torpedo school and experimental establishment, Portsmouth)
15.01.1940
-
1942
HMS King George V (battleship)
21.08.1942
-
(12.1943)
RN Barracks, Portsmouth [HMS Victory]
(04.1944)
-
(06.1944)
Staff, Flag Officer-in-Charge, Greenock [HMS Orlando] *
10.05.1945
-
(04.1946)
RN Barracks, Chatham [HMS Pembroke]
Apps,
John Pollington
J.P. Apps
Married (25.07.1929) ...; one daughter.
(03?).1897
Watford, Herts.
-
died between 07.1962 and 08.1973
Midsh. RNR
?
A/S.Lt. RNR
?
S.Lt. RNR
21.08.1918, seniority 09.02.1918
S.Lt.
26.09.1918, seniority 09.02.1918
Lt.
1919?
27.10.1922, seniority 09.11.1919
Lt.Cdr.
09.11.1927 (retd 18.01.1934; own request)
Cdr. (retd)
09.02.1937
Distinguished Service Cross DSC
28.11.1944
Operation Neptune [investiture 20.07.45]
Mention in Despatches MID
01.07.1941
HM's birthday 41
Mention in Despatches MID
01.01.1946
New Year 46
06.08.1918
-
(01.1919)
First Lieutenant, HMS Zubian (destroyer)
26.09.1918


transferred from RNR to RN
08.08.1922
-
(08.1923)
HMS L 71 (submarine)
10.11.1924
-
(05.)1926
Commanding Officer, HMS L 6 (submarine) (for duty with Group "D" Submarines, in reserve at Portsmouth)
18.11.1926
-
(07.1927)
Commanding Officer, HMS R 10 (submarine)
31.12.1927
-
(08.1929)
HMS Emperor of India (battleship) (Atlantic)
13.12.1929
-
(04.1930)
HMS Douglas (submarine flotilla leader) (for submarines) (Mediterranean)
(02.1931)


no appointment listed
08.01.1932
-
(06.)1933
Commanding Officer, HMS L 6 (submarine) & in command of Group "Y" Submarines (in reserve at Portsmouth)
18.12.1933
-
(01.1934)
HMS Effingham (cruiser) (Reserve Fleet)
24.02.1939
-
(05.)1940
Commanding Officer, HMS Ross (minesweeper) (Mediterranean)
30.08.1940
-
(10.1941)
Executive Officer, HMS Epping (minesweepers base, Harwich)
25.04.1942
-
(06.)1943
Commanding Officer, HMS Gipsy (minesweepers base, Swansea)
29.07.1943
-
(08.)1943
Commanding Officer, HMS Fort York (Bangor class minesweeper)
11.09.1943
-
(10.1944)
Commanding Officer, HMS Tadoussac (Bangor class minesweeper) *
09.1945
-
(04.1946)
HMS Byrsa (RN base, Naples) (for duty with Captain Minesweepers, Mediterranean)
* (07.1945) still indexed, but no longer listed as such
Apps,
Joseph
J. Apps

Son of William and Phoebe Apps, of Hastings. Husband of Sarah Ann Harriet Apps, of Hastings.
22.01.1892
Hastings, Sussex
-
10.03.1941
(KIA) [age 49]
[Hastings Cemetery, Sussex, O.A.76]
A/Gnr.
01.11.1918
Gnr.
?, seniority 28.09.1918 (retd > 01.1925, < 07.1927)



served Great War:
11.11.1918
-
(01.1919)
patrol craft
01.11.1923
-
(01.1925)
HMS Birmingham (cruiser) (for instructional duties) (Africa)
21.09.1939
-
(04.1940)
HMS Ranpura (destroyer depot ship)
11.06.1940
-
(02.1941)
HMS St George (training establishment, Douglas, Isle of Man)
?
-
10.03.1941
HMS Excellent (training establishment, Whale Island, Portsmouth)
Apps,
Ralph
R. Apps
14.09.1903
Kingston, Portsmouth
-
02.1997

Bristol, Gloucestershire
T/Wt.Eng. = T/A/Sen.Cd.Eng.
09.12.1940 (retd < 05.1950)
T/A/Cd/Eng. = A/Sen.Cd.Eng.
18.06.1945
02.01.1941
-
(12.1943)
HMS Versatile (destroyer)
(04.1944)
-
(06.1944)
no appointment listed
06.1944
-
(07.1945)
HMS Rowena (minesweeper)
(04.1946)


no appointment listed
Apthorp,
John Dudley
J.D. Apthorp
?
-
Cadet
01.09.1943
Midsh.
01.05.1944 (reld 1946?)
01.05.1944
-
(06.1944)
HMS Ramillies (battleship)
19.10.1944
-
(07.1945)
HMS Colossus (aircraft carrier)
(04.1946)


no appointment listed
Arathoon,
Edward Benedict
E.B. Arathoon
?
-
died between 07.1952 and 07.1959
A/S.Lt.
30.04.1904?
S.Lt.
15.01.1905, seniority 30.04.1904
Lt.
30.06.1907
Lt.Cdr.
30.06.1915 (retd 01.01.1926; own request)
(01.1919)


HM Dockyard Rosyth
24.01.1924
-
(01.1925)
HMS Dido (cruiser) (for destroyers in reserve) (Reserve Fleet, Portsmouth)
23.01.1940
-
(04.1940)
RN Barracks, Portsmouth [HMS Victory]
(02.1941)
-
(04.1946)
no appointment listed 
Arber,
John Frederick
J.F. Arber
09.02.1888
Purley, Surrey
-
died between 07.1962 and 08.1973
Gnr.
07.06.1917
Cd.Gnr. (T)
07.06.1927 (retd 09.02.1938)
Lt. (retd)
09.02.1938
Lt.Cdr. (retd)
09.02.1946



...
21.12.1939
-
(04.1946)
Whitehead Department, HMS Vernon (training establishment, Brighton) (for duty at STS Stokes Bay)
Arbury,
John Dennis
J.D. Arbury
?
-
A/Gnr. (T)
06.01.1945 (reld 1946?)
26.06.1945
-
(07.1945)
HMS Scourge (destroyer)
06.02.1946
-
(04.1946)
HMS Rocket (destroyer)
Arbuthnot,
Archibald Hugh Gough
A.H.G. Arbuthnot

Son of Lt.Col. Archibald Hugh Arbuthnot, Indian Army, and Gertrude Alice Green. Married first 02.07.1935 Molly Irene Frances Weeks (1908-2001) (divorced 1944); married second 18.02.1955 Emma Mary Bell (novelist under the name of Mary Bell, died 26.09.1994); one daughter.
12.11.1900
-
02.01.1959
A/S.Lt.
15.11.1918
A/Lt.
?
Lt.
15.12.1920 (retd 27.09.1922; own request)
Lt.Cdr. (retd)
15.12.1928 (reverted to retd 1945/46)
17.02.1918
-
(01.1919)
HMS Vendetta (destroyer)
23.08.1939
-
(04.1940)
HMS Ganges (training establishment, Shotley)
(02.1941)


HMS Aurora (cruiser) *
11.03.1942
-
(08.1942)
HMS Eland (RN base, Freetown, Sierra Leone) **
27.05.1943
-
(07.1945)
Captain Superintendent's Department, HMS Eaglet (RN base, Liverpool)
* indexed, but not listed as such
** (02.1943) still indexed, but no longer listed as such
Arbuthnot,
B K C

will be added at a later date
?
-
Lt.Cdr. (retd)

       
Arbuthnot,
Clive Denison
C.D. Arbuthnot

Son of Harold Denison Arbuthnot, stockbroker, and Anne Grace Lambert; married, 15.04.1935, Pansy Alexander, née Davis (22.12.1903-16.02.1983); one son, one daughter.
01.08.1900
Chelsea, London
-
15.02.1965
Barbados
A/S.Lt.
15.09.1918
A/Lt.
?
Lt.
15.01.1921
Lt.Cdr.
15.01.1929
Cdr.
31.12.1935
Capt.
31.12.1943 (retd 01.08.1949)
14.12.1916
-
(01.1919)
HMS Resolution (battleship)
03.01.1924
-
(01.1925)
HMS Valorous (destroyer) (Atlantic Fleet)
27.06.1927
-
(07.1927)
signals course, HM Signal School, Portsmouth [HMS Victory]
03.01.1928
-
(08.1929)
HMS Colombo (cruiser) (America and West Indies)
10.04.1930
-
(02.1931)
HMS Broke (flotilla leader) (Mediterranean)
08.06.1931
-
(01.1932)
RN Barracks, Portsmouth [HMS Victory]
11.04.1932
-
(01.1934)
HMNZS Dunedin (cruiser)  (New Zealand) *
(02.1936)


no appointment listed
03.04.1936
-
(07.1937)
Maintenance Commander, Hong Kong [HMS Tamar (receiving ship)]
(02.1938)
-
(08.1938)
no appointment listed
15.09.1938
-
(04.1940)
HMS Forth (submarine depot ship) (Home Fleet)
(02.1941)


no appointment listed
(08.1942)


no appointment listed
23.11.1942
-
(12.1943)
Executive Officer, HMS Malaya (battleship)
17.04.1944
-
(07.1945)
Commanding Officer, HMS Patroller (escort carrier)
(04.1946)


HMS President **
* (07.1935) still indexed, but no longer listed as such
** indexed, but not listed as such
Arbuthnot,
Sir Geoffrey Schomberg
G.S. Arbuthnot

Son of late Admiral Charles Ramsay Arbuthnot and late Emily Caroline, daughter of R­Adm. C.F. Schomberg; married 22.10.1913, Jessie Marguerite (died 03.08.1947), daughter of Wm Henderson of Berkley House, Frome; two sons (Lt. Peter C.R. Arbuthnot, RN & Lt. Michael G.H. Arbuthnot, RNVR),  one daughter.

Portrait at National Portrait Gallery.
18.01.1885
Havant, Hampshire
-
04.10.1957
Heyshott, Sussex
A/S.Lt.
?
S.Lt.
25.08.1905, seniority 15.08.1904
Lt.
15.11.1906
Lt.Cdr.
15.11.1914
Cdr.
31.12.1918
Capt.
30.06.1926
Cdre. 2nd cl.
< 02.1935
R.Adm.
11.12.1936
V.Adm.
06.05.1940 (retd 07.02.1944)
Adm. (retd)
07.02.1944
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath KCB
11.06.1942
HM's birthday 42
Companion of the Order of the Bath CB
09.06.1938
HM's birthday 38
Distinguished Service Order DSO
21.06.1919

as Executive & Gunnery Officer, HMS Inconstant in the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron

Chevalier, Légion d'Honneur (France) LegH
15.09.1916
services during the war
Mention in Despatches MID
WW I
?
Erepenning voor Menslievend Hulpbetoon in zilver (The Netherlands) Koninklijk Besluit No. 17, 3 okt, 1931: "wegens zijne leiding bij de redding van de leden der bemanning van den Nederlandschen motorschoener “Hedwig”, die den 2den December 1930 op de Chineesche kust nabij Hongkong schipbreuk heeft geleden." MHz
03.10.1931
rescue of survivors of the Dutch schooner Hedwig near Hong Kong 02.12.30

 

Education : HMS Britannia
1900


joined RN
1914
-
1918
served European War (DSO, Chevalier Legion of Honour)
22.04.1918
-
(01.1919)
Gunnery Officer, HMS Danae (cruiser)
10.02.1923
-
(08.1923)
Executive Officer, HMS Calcutta (light cruiser)
(01.1925)


no appointment listed
26.08.1925
-
(05.1926)
Commanding Officer, HMS Seawolf (destroyer) (Reserve Fleet, Devonport)
07.03.1927
-
14.03.1927 HMS President
14.03.1927
-
1929
Naval Member of the Ordnance Committee at Woolwich [HMS President]
12.01.1929
-
(02.)1931
Commanding Officer, HMS Suffolk (cruiser) (China)
(01.1932)


no appointment listed
14.03.1932
-
19.06.1933
Deputy Director of Training, Admiralty [HMS President]
19.06.1933
-
(01.)1934
Director of Training and Staff Duties, Admiralty [HMS President]
01.08.1934
-
(02.)1935
Commodore Commanding Home Fleet Destroyer Flotillas [HMS Cairo (cruiser)]
(07.1935)


no appointment listed
14.12.1935
-
(02.)1937
Commanding Officer, HMS Valiant (battleship) (Mediterranean)
15.03.1937
-
(07.1937)
Senior Officers' War Course, RN War College, Greenwich [HMS President]
1936


also: Naval ADC to the King
01.10.1937
-
(02.)1941
a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty: Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport
22.04.1941
-
1942
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station [HMS Lanka (RN base, Colombo, Ceylon)
(08.1942)


no appointment listed
27.10.1942
-
(04.1946)
Chairman Honours and Awards Committee [HMS President]
Arbuthnot,
John Keith
"Jake"
J.K. Arbuthnot

Son of Capt. Ernest Kennaway Arbuthnot, DSO, RN, and Gladys Mann. Married, 02.07.1949, Susan Philippa Letts (born 02.03.1929), only daughter of Kenneth Petrie Letts of Tickerage Mill, Blackboys, Sussex and of Mrs John Stephen Giles Eyre; two sons, two daughters. Lived at Ipswich, Suffolk.
15.08.1927
-
25.06.1998
Midsh.
01.01.1945
Lt.
01.09.1948
Lt.Cdr.
01.09.1956 (retd > 01.1967, < 02.1969)
Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE
01.01.1967
New Year 67



served Fleet Air Arm
19.01.1945
-
(07.1945)
HMS London (cruiser)
10.08.1945
-
(04.1946)
HMS Nelson (battleship)
05.01.1949
-
(05.1950)
HMS Merlin (miscellaneous duties)
(1951)


Korea
(05.1953)


HMS Gannet *
(1954)


Korea
10.01.1955
-
(01.1956)
HMS Excellent (miscellaneous duties)
(07.1961)


Naval Air Warfare Division *
(02.1963)


HMS Falcon (RN Air Station, Halfar, Malta) *
Till 1992 Chief executice Malta-Gozo Air Services. Later went into partnership at Columbus Worldwide Travel.
* indexed, but not listed as such
Arbuthnot,
Peter Charles Reginald
P.C.R. Arbuthnot

Son of Adm. Sir Geoffrey Schomberg Arbuthnot, KCB, CB, DSO, RN, and Jessie Marguerite (Henderson) Arbuthnot.
16.09.1915
-
19.12.1941

(KIA) [age 26]
[Plymouth Naval Memorial, panel 44, column 2]
Midsh.
01.09.1933
A/S.Lt.
01.01.1936
S.Lt.
01.05.1936
Lt.
01.03.1938
Education: RN College, Dartmouth
02.09.1933
-
(01.1934)
HMS Hood (battlecruiser) (Home Fleet)
22.06.1935
-
(07.1935)
HMS Hood (battlecruiser) (Home Fleet)
01.01.1936
-
(02.1936)
promotion course, RN College, Greenwich [HMS President]
31.08.1936
-
(02.1937)
promotion course, Portsmouth
01.05.1937
-
(07.1937)
HMS Victoria and Albert (HM's yacht) (Portsmouth)
15.10.1937
-
(02.1938)
HMS Saltburn (minesweeper; signal and navigation schools sloop)
23.05.1938
-
(04.1940)
HMS Kent (cruiser) (The Nore & China)
10.01.1941
-
(02.1941)
Navigation School, Portsmouth [HMS Dryad]
?
-
19.12.1941
HMS Neptune (cruiser) (mined & sunk off Libyan coast)
Arbuthnott,
James Gordon
J.G. Arbuthnott (Photo courtesy of Mr Ian Sayer)

Son of Donald Stuart Arbuthnott, CE (1860-1918) and Anne ("Annie") Elizabeth Brand (died 1944).
Married (21.04.1931) Margaret Georgiana ("Bobbie") Hyde (12.05.1910-07.1993), daughter of John Woolley Hyde of Seaview, Instow, North Devon; two sons, two daughters.
Lived at Rye, East Sussex.

10.03.1894
Scotland
-
02.05.1985
Hastings and Rother, East Sussex
Lt.
15.05.1916 (retd 17.05.1920; own request)
Lt.Cdr. (retd)
15.05.1924
Cdr. (retd)
10.03.1934 (reactivated 1939) (reverted to retd 02.02.1945)
Education: Stonyhurst College, Clitheroe, Lancs.; RN College, Osborne
Tea planter in Ceylon, 1926-1939 (rose to Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Lands (largest tea planters in Ceylon).
23.11.1918
-
(01.1919)
HMS Curacoa (light cruiser)
01.12.1939
-
(04.1940)
HMS Gloucester II (RN base, Colombo, Ceylon) (for miscellaneous services)
12.1940
-
(02.1941)