Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945

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.

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

Nagle, A.M.
to
Nunneley, G.A.

A.M. Nagle to G.A. Nunneley

Nagle,
Arthur Michael
A.M. Nagle ?
-
21.11.1999
Somerset

Paym.Midsh.
?

Paym.S.Lt.
01.11.1935

Paym.Lt. = Lt. (S)
01.11.1937

Lt.Cdr. (S)
01.11.1945 (retd 29.09.1959)

...
-
...
...

05.07.1937
-
(04.1940)
HMS Dorsetshire (cruiser) (China)

(02.1941)

no appointment listed

01.04.1941
-
(12.1941)
HMS Tyne (destroyer depot ship) (for duty in Admiral's office Rear-Admiral (D) Commanding Home Fleet Destroyer Flotillas)

(08.1942)
-
(07.1945)
no appointment listed

...
-
...
...

Naish,
Ernest Frederick Edward
E.F.E. Naish (06?).1910
Sheffield, Yorkshire
-
2005
Gwynedd

A/S.Lt. (E)
?

S.Lt. (E)
01.03.1931

A/Lt. (E)
?

Lt. (E)
31.10.1932, seniority 01.06.1932 (emgcy 1938?) (mobilized 13.03.1944?)

A/Lt.Cdr. (E) (emgcy)
13.03.1944?

Lt.Cdr. (E) (emgcy)
11.10.1944

A/Cdr. (E) (emgcy)
< 07.1945

...
-
...
...

13.03.1944
-
(06.)1944
RN Aircraft Repair Yard Donibristle [HMS Merlin (RN Air Station, Donibristle, Fife)]

23.06.1944
-
(10.1944)
HMS Landrail (RN Air Station, Machrihanish, Argyllshire)

19.03.1945
-
(07.1945)
HMS Merganser (RN Air Station, Crimmond/Rattray, Aberdeenshire)

Naish,
George Oswald
G.O. Naish (Photo courtesy of Mr Richard Naish)
Eldest son of Dr A.E. Naish.
Married (1926) Jean Mary Westropp, daughter of late Capt. R.G. Westropp, of Cairo, Egypt; two sons, one daughter (and one son deceased).
04.08.1904
Sheffield, Yorkshire
-
18.05.1960
Gamdolbenmaen, Caernarvonshire

Midsh. (E)
15.09.1922

S.Lt. (E)
30.07.1925

Lt. (E)
30.04.1927

Lt.Cdr. (E)
30.04.1935

Cdr. (E)
31.12.1939

Capt. (E)
31.12.1948

R.Adm. (E)
29.08.1955 (retd 01.01.1959)

CB
01.01.1958
New Year 58 [investiture 11.02.58]

MID
08.12.1942
administration & defence Malta summer 42

Education: Dragon School, Oxford; RN Colleges, Osborne and Darmouth; RN Engineering College, Keyham.

1918

entered RN

15.09.1922
-
(05.)1926
engineering course, RN Engineering College, Keyham [HMS Vivid]

01.09.1926
-
(07.)1927
HMS Revenge (battleship) (Atlantic Fleet) (for engineering duties)

08.12.1927
-
(08.1929)
(Assistant) Engineer Officer, HMS Cumberland (cruiser) (China)

(04.1930)

no appointment listed

17.07.1930
-
(10.)1930
Assistant Engineer Officer, HMS Nelson (battleship) (Atlantic Fleet)

18.10.1930
-
(01.)1932
staff of Gun Mounting Overseer at Messrs. Vickers-Armstrong Ltd., Barrow in-Furness (under Engineer Inspector, Naval Ordnance Department, Admiralty) [HMS President]

29.03.1932
-
(01.)1934
Assistant to Engineer Managerfor Armament Work, HM Dockyard, Portsmouth [HMS Victory]

28.03.1934
-
(07.1935)
Assistant Engineer Officer, HMS London (cruiser) (Mediterranean)

(02.1936)

no appointment listed

20.02.1936
-
23.01.1939
an Engineer Inspector under Chief Inspector of Gun Mountings, Naval Ordnance Department, Admiralty [HMS President]

24.01.1939
-
(04.)1939
HMS President (for study of foreign languages in Germany)

1939

served at Alexandria [HMS Nile]

(08.1939)
-
(09.1939)
no appointment listed

31.12.1939
-
1942
Assistant for Gun-Mounting Work, Engineering Department, HM Dockyard Malta [HMS St Angelo]

30.06.1942
-
(12.1943)
an Assistant for Gun-Mounting Work, Engineering Department, HM Dockyard Portsmouth [HMS Victory]

(04.1944)

HMS President *

(06.1944)

no appointment listed

13.07.1944 -
(04.)1946
an Engineer Inspector under Chief Inspector of Gun Mountings, Naval Ordnance Department, Admiralty [HMS President]

1947
-
1948
passed RN and Joint Services Staff Colleges

01.03.1948
-
(07.1948)
Engineer Officer, HMS Duke of York (battleship)

(05.1949)

no appointment listed

10.10.1949
-
(05.)1950
Admiralty [HMS President]

07.08.1950
-
(05.)1953
Admiralty Ordnance Engineer Overseer, Northern Area [HMS President]

12.1953
-
(04.)1955
Fleet Engineer Officer, Mediterranean

29.08.1955
-
1958
Command Engineer Officer Portsmouth [HMS Victory (RN base, Portsmouith)]

MIMechE 1951.
* indexed, but not listed as such

Naish,
John Michael
J.M. Naish 1915 ?
London
-
16.04.2005
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
[aged 90]

T/Instr.Lt.
28.09.1938

Instr.Lt.Cdr. (emgcy)
?

Education: MSc

...
-
...
...

10.07.1944
-
(07.1945)
HMS Merlin (RN Air Station, Donibristle, Fife)

Inventor of the Heads Up Display, which relays flight data to pilots by projecting information about air speed and angle of attack onto a semitransparent screen, died after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. His invention revolutionized modern aviation and is installed in aircraft worldwide and in the space shuttle. Born in London, Naish taught science and math at a grammar school, then joined the Royal Navy in 1938, where he trained in meteorology and navigation. During his service on the cruiser, HMS Renown, he saved the daughter of Prime Minister Winston Churchill from being swept into the sea. He trained officers to navigate landing craft for the D-Day invasion and came to the U.S. in 1965 to work in the aircraft industry. He moved to Santa Fe in 1984.

Nalder,
Harold Fielding

(12?).1895
Chelsea, Greater London
-
16.07.1977

...
...

Cdr.
30.06.1931

Capt.
31.12.1938 (retd 15.04.1946)

...
-
...
...

07.02.1936
-
30.12.1937
Commanding Officer, HMS Grimsby (escort vessel) (China)

(02.1938)

no appointment listed (aboard "Empress of Asia" reaching Vancouver, Canada, 12.03.1938)

(06.1938)

no appointment listed

10.07.1938
-
(02.)1939
Executive Officer, HMS Dunedin (boys' seagoing training ship and T/B training ship) (Reserve Fleet Portsmouth)

(04.1939)

no appointment listed

26.08.1939
-
(04.)1940
Naval Attaché, Athens [HMS President]

01.07.1940
-
(12.1941)
Commanding Officer, HME Erebus (monitor)

02.06.1942
-
(08.)1942
Commanding Officer, HMS Danae (cruiser)

05.10.1942
-
(10.)1943
Commanding Officer, HMS Carlisle (cruiser)

20.03.1944
-
(10.1944)
Commanding Officer, Damage Control School [HMS President]

07.1945
-
(07.1945)
Captain-in-Charge, HMS Eland (RN base, Freetown, Sierra Leone)

Nall,
[Sir] Michael Joseph;
2nd Baronet (cr. 1954)
M.J. Nall
Elder son of Col. Sir Joseph Nall, 1st Bt; succeeded father, 1958.
Married (03.04.1951) Angela Loveday Hanbury, eldest daughter of Air Chief Marshal Sir Alec Coryton,
KCB, KBE, MVO, DFC; two sons.
06.10.1921
-
08.09.2001
Nottingham

Cadet
01.01.1939

Midsh.
01.09.1939

S.Lt.
01.08.1940

Lt.
01.05.1942

Lt.Cdr.
01.05.1950 (retd 1961)

Education: Wellington College, Berkshire; RN Staff College (1949; psc)

01.01.1939
-
20.08.1939
special entry cadet, HMS Vindictive (cadet training cruiser)

26.08.1939
-
04.12.1940
HMS Hood (battlecruiser)

05.12.1940
-
04.03.1941
HMS Matabele (destroyer)

05.03.1941
-
(04.)1941
HMS Hood (battlecruiser)

28.08.1941
-
(08.1942)
HMS Wolsey (destroyer)

02.02.1943
-
(07.1945)
HMS Tyrian (destroyer)

?
-
(04.1946)
qualifying for gunnery duties

...
-
...
...

General Manager, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, 1961-1964. Appeal Commissioner, Inland Revenue, 1981-1996. President, Nottingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 1972-1974. DL Notts, 1970; High Sheriff, Notts, 1971. Vice LordLieutenant of Nottinghamshire, 1989-1991. Chairman: Notts Scout Assoc., 1968-1988 (Silver Acorn, 1979; Silver Wolf, 1989); Papplewick Pumping Station Trust, 1974-.

Nannestad,
Charles
C. Nannestad (06?).1913
Glanford Brigg, Lincolnshire
-
19.04.2002
Lincolnshire

...
...

Lt.
16.05.1939

Lt.Cdr.
16.05.1947 (retd 01.02.1957)

...
-
...
...

08.07.1939
-
(02.)1941
HMS Lowestoft (escort vessel)

26.08.1941
-
(12.1941)
HMS Kent (cruiser)

05.1942
-
17.03.1943
Commanding Officer, HMS Scottish (anti-submarine warfare trawler)

06.1943
-
(12.1943)
HMS Scott (Halcyon class minesweeper) (in lieu of specialist Navigating Officer)

(04.1944)
-
(06.1944)
no appointment listed

31.07.1944
-
(10.1944)
on staff of Commander Mineweeping and Patrol, Dover [HMS Lynx]

?
-
(07.1945)
HM HDML 1085 (harbour defence motor launch) *

31.03.1946
-
(04.1946)
Commanding Officer, HM ML 585 (motor launch)

...
-
...
...

* indexed, but not listed as such

Napier,
Laurence Egerton Scott
L.E.S. Napier
Son of Francis Horatio Napier (1861-1949), and Margaret Elizabeth Horatio Hope.
Married 1st ((06?).1921) Nora Creina Christian (marriage dissolved).
Married 2nd (27.06.1930) Florence Silvia Jack (marriage dissolved); one daughter.
1896
-
19.08.1969

Lt.
? (retd 23.06.1922; own request)

Lt.Cdr. (retd)
15.03.1926

DSO
04.05.1920
*

* For distinguished services in command of H.M. Coastal Motor Boat 24A in the attack on Kronstadt Harbour on the 18th August, 1919.

...
-
...
...

(02.1941)
-
(06.1943)
no appointment listed

(08.1943)
-
(12.1943)
HMS Hamilcar (Combined Operations base, Djedjelli) *

(04.1944)
-
(10.1944)
no appointment listed

(07.1945)

no appointment listed

Napier,
Lennox William
L.W. Napier
Married 1st (1944) Eve Lindsay (divorced 1975); two sons, one daughter.
Married 2nd (1975) Delia Conway.

Guardian obituary
The Independent obituary

02.05.1912
Corfe Castle, Dorset
-
19.08.2001
Donhead St Andrew, Wiltshire

Cadet
01.09.1929

Midsh.
01.05.1930

A/S.Lt.
01.09.1932

S.Lt.
1934?

Lt.
16.08.1934

Lt.Cdr.
16.08.1942

Cdr.
30.06.1945

Capt.
31.12.1952 (retd 28.12.1961)

DSO
29.06.1943
minelaying & passages to Malta &tc.

DSC
29.02.1944
2 supply ships sunk, 300MnLd [= men landed?] Eastern Mediterranean

Education: RN College, Dartmouth (1926-1929)

05.09.1929
-
(09.1932)
HMS Nelson (battleship) (Home Fleet)

03.04.1933
-
(06.1933)
promotion course, Portsmouth

(01.1934)

no appointment listed

14.04.1934
-
(02.)1935
HMS Porpoise (submarine) (5th Submarine Flotilla, Portsmouth)

12.04.1935
-
(07.)1935
HMS Oberon (submarine) (5th Submarine Flotilla)

28.08.1935
-
(02.)1936
HMS L 27 (submarine) (2nd Submarine Flotilla)

01.10.1936
-
(02.)1937
HMS President (for 6 months' study of German at Freiburg University)

24.05.1937
-
(07.)1937
First Lieutenant, HMS L 23 (submarine) (5th Submarine Flotilla)

12.12.1937
-
(02.)1938
HMS Medway (submarine depot ship) (China) (for submarines)

04.1938
-
(04.1940)
First Lieutenant, HMS Olympus (submarine)

05.1940
-
(12.1940?)
submarine Commanding Officers' course

13.01.1941
-
(02.)1941
HMS Elfin (submarine base, Blyth) (for submarines)

01.06.1941
-
01.1942
Commanding Officer, HMS Rorqual (minelaying submarine) (Mediterranean)

01.1942
-
15.04.1942
Commanding Officer, HMS Tigris (submarine)

16.04.1942
-
01.12.1943
Commanding Officer, HMS Rorqual (minelaying submarine) (Mediterranean) [fell ill with jaundice]

03.1944
-
(07.1945)
HMS Dolphin (submarine depot, Gosport) (for submarines)

(04.1946)

no appointment listed

31.03.1947
-
(05.)1949
HMS Terror

14.01.1949
-
1952
Excutive Officer, HMS Vengeance (aircraft carrier)

(05.1953)

HMS Montclare *

05.10.1954
-
(04.)1955
Commanding Officer, HMS Adamant & as SM3

05.09.1955
-
(01.1957)
Deputy Director of Plans (J), Admiralty [HMS President]

Captain of the 7th and 5th Submarine Squadrons

13.01.1959
-
(07.1961)
Commanding Officer, Fort Blockhouse [Deputy Flag Officer Submarines & NATO's Deputy Commander Submarines, Eastern Atlantic] & Captain (S) 1st Submarine Squadron [HMS Dolphin (submarine depot, Gosport)]

07.07.1961
-
07.01.1962
also: Naval ADC to the Queen

An accomplished artist & cricketer.
* indexed, but not listed as such

Napier,
Mark
M. Napier
Son of Adm. William Rawdon Napier, CB, CMG, DSO (1877-1951).
Married (1945) Jean Astley (1917-); one son.
(06?.)1911
Tendring, Essex
-
08.02.1962

...
...

Lt.
01.08.1934

Lt.Cdr.
01.08.1942 (retd 1954/55?)

...
-
...
...

04.12.1939
-
(04.1940)
Assistant Gunnery Officer, HMS Royal Sovereign (battleship)

(02.1941)

no appointment listed

19.11.1941
-
(08.)1942
Gunnery Officer, HMS Griffin (destroyer)

25.10.1942
-
(02.)1943
HMS Afrikander (for flotilla duties)

18.05.1943
-
(12.1943)
Gunnery Officer, HMS Birmingham (cruiser)

28.02.1944
-
(06.1944)
HMS Sheba (for miscellaneous duties at Aden)

(10.1944)
-
(07.1945)
HMS Nile (RN base, Alexandria, Egypt)

18.02.1946
-
(04.1946)
HMS Excellent (gunnery school, Portsmouth)

03.1947
-
(08.1947)
Fleet Gunnery Officer, America and West Indies Station [HMS Sheffield]

...
-
..
...

Napier,
the Hon. Neville Archibald John Watson Ettrick
N.A.J.W.E. Napier
Son of Francis Edward Basil Napier, 12th Lord Napier and Ettrick (1876-1941), and Hon. Clarice Jessie Evelyn Hamilton (died 1951).
Married 1st (01.05.1937) Catherine Eileen Thorne (died 18.01.1965).
Married 2nd (06.06.1967) Helen Catherine Sanderson.
25.01.1904
Elham, Kent
-
08.10.1970

...
...

Lt.Cdr.
30.05.1935 (retd 24.01.1949)

Cdr. (retd)
24.01.1949

39|45 St
-
-

...
-
...
...

20.04.1938
-
(04.1940)
Flag Lieutenant-Commander to Rear-Admiral (D) Commanding, Home Fleet Destroyer Flotillas [HMS Aurora, later HMW Woolwich]

08.01.1941
-
(12.1941)
HMS Victory, from 08.1941 HMS Mercury (signal school, nr Petersfield)

09.05.1942
-
(10.1944)
Staff Communications Officer, Navy Office, Wellington [HMNZS Cook]

(07.1945)

no appointment listed

...
-
...
...

Napleton,
A G
A.G. Napleton ?
-

T/Wt.Eng.
17.06.1942

?
-
(07.1945)
no appointment listed

Napper,
C
C. Napper ?
-

Lt. (retd)
?

?
-
(07.1945)
HMS Drake

Nash,
Henry Freston
H.F. Nash 21.01.1886
Victoria, BC, Canada
-
19.02.1972
Maenporth, Falmouth, Cornwall

S.Lt. RNR
?

Lt. (Supplementary List)
01.04.1914

Lt.Cdr. (Supplementary List)
01.04.1922 (retd 31.05.1927; own request)

Cdr. (retd)
31.05.1927

A/Capt. (retd)
1941? (reverted to retd < 04.1946)

MID
25.08.1942
Murmansk convoys 03-05.42

25.08.1917
-
(1919)
Navigating Officer, HMS Greenwich (destroyer depot ship)

01.03.1922
-
(08.1923)
HMS Woolwich (torpedo-boat destroyer depot ship) (for torpedo-boat destroyers in reserve)

20.03.1924
-
(01.1925)
HMS Woolwich (destroyer depot ship) (Reserve Fleet, Devonport) (for emergency destroyers)

(05.1926)

no appointment listed

01.01.1940
-
(04.)1940
Commanding Officer, HMS Kiloran (armed yacht)

23.10.1940
-
28.02.1941
Commanding Officer, HMS Montgomery (destroyer)

10.03.1941
-
(02.)1943
Commanding Officer, HMS Alynbank (auxiliary anti-aircraft ship (seagoing))

03.1943
-
(08.)1943
Commanding Officer, French Ship Courbet

02.10.1943
-
(12.1943)
HMS Copra (Combined Operations accounting base) (for LCI(L) duties)

15.02.1944
-
(04.)1944
Commanding Officer, HMS Ranpura (armed merchant cruiser)

17.04.1944
-
(06.)1944
Commanding Officer, HMS Capetown (cruiser)

(07.1945)

no appointment listed

Naylor,
Cedric
C. Naylor
1891 ?
-
12.01.1949
Deal, Kent

T/Lt. RNR
?

Lt.
09.10.1917, seniority 19.12.1916 *

Lt.Cdr.
19.12.1924 (retd 12.06.1935)

Cdr. (retd)
12.06.1935

A/Capt. (retd)
17.08.1942? (reverted to retd 1945/46)

DSO
29.08.1917
?

DSO
02.11.1917
?

DSO
22.02.1918
?

DSC
16.02.1917
?

DSC
23.05.1917
?

MID
25.08.1942
Operation Ironclad

* Special promotion "for distinguished service in action".

26.03.1918
-
(1919)
Commanding Officer, HMS Polyanthus (Q ship)

(08.1923)

no appointment listed

22.09.1924
-
(01.1925)
Executive Officer, HMS Wistaria (sloop) (North America and West Indies)

(05.1926)

no appointment listed

16.10.1926
-
(07.1927)
HMS Emperor of India (battleship) (Atlantic)

09.01.1928
-
(08.1929)
Commanding Officer, HMS Scarab (gunboat) (China)

(04.1930)

no appointment listed

17.11.1930
-
(09.1932)
HMS Titania (depot ship for submarines) (6th Submarine Flotilla)

09.01.1933
-
(01.1934)
staff, Rear-Admiral Submarines [HMS Dolphin (submarine depot, Gosport)]

10.01.1940
-
(02.)1941
HMS Calliope (RN base, Tyne)

02.09.1941
-
(08.)1942
Commanding Officer, HMS Karanja (landing ship infantry, mercantile conversion)

17.08.1942
-
(02.)1943
Commanding Officer, HMS Salsette (Combined Operations base, Bombay)

06.1943
-
(12.1943)
Commanding Officer, HMS Braganza (RN base, Bombay)

(04.1944)
-
(06.1944)
no appointment listed

21.02.1945
-
(07.1945)
HMS Spartiate (RN base, Glasgow)

Naylor,
Guy Everitt Morland
G.E.M. Naylor ?
-
12.2002 still alive

Cadet
01.05.1939

Midsh.
01.01.1940

A/S.Lt.
01.09.1941

S.Lt.
02.1942, seniority 01.02.1941

Lt.
01.10.1942

Lt.Cdr.
01.10.1950

Cdr.
30.06.1954 (retd 28.11.1965)

01.01.1940