Frederic Wake-Walker
Encyclopedia
Admiral Sir Frederic Wake-Walker CB
CBE
(24 March 1888 – 24 September 1945) was a British admiral who served in the Royal Navy
during World War I
and World War II
, taking a leading part in the destruction of the German battleship Bismarck
, and in Operation Dynamo
, the evacuation at Dunkirk.
, Surveyor of the Navy
from 1848 to 1861.
After attending Haileybury
school, Wake-Walker entered the Royal Naval College
at Dartmouth
as a cadet in 1903, and went to sea the following year as midshipman
aboard , the flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron.
he had risen to the rank of lieutenant
, and served as torpedo lieutenant on from 1913 to 1915. He was promoted to lieutenant-commander in July 1916 and after training at , was appointed to the new battleship , serving in her until the end of the war.
He was promoted to captain
in 1927, and commanded from 1928 to 1930 on the Mediterranean and China Station
s. From September 1932 to July 1935 he served as captain of on the America and West Indies station, and from January 1938-1939 as captain of in the Home Fleet. From 1930 to 1943 he was Deputy Director of the Training and Staff Duties Division of the Admiralty
naval staff. From 1935 to 1938 he was also Director of Torpedoes and Mining at the Admiralty.
Wake-Walker achieved flag rank
on 10 January 1939.
The admiralty action was heard by the Exchequer Court of Canada (Quebec Admiralty District), which held that Wake-Walker was liable. Wake-Walker appealed to to the Supreme Court of Canada
, which upheld the finding of liability on a 3-2 majority. Speaking for the majority, Davis J.
held that when a vessel under steam collides with a moored vessel, the commander of the vessel under steam is presumed liable for the collision, and has the onus of proving that he was not negligent. Wake-Walker had not done so. In addition, the trial judge had found actual fault by Wake-Walker in his navigation of Dragon and there was no basis to set aside that finding on appeal. Wake-Walker then appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Imperial Privy Council
, at that time the highest court of appeal for the British Empire. That court dismissed the appeal. Speaking for the Judicial Committee, Viscount Sankey agreed with the courts below that Wake-Walker had not discharged the onus to prove that the accident had been inevitable.
In May 1940 Wake-Walker was appointed rear-admiral, Dover
, in command of all ships and vessels off the Franco-Belgian coast for the evacuation of Dunkirk. Wake-Walker reached Dunkirk in the minesweeper on 30 May. On 1 June his flagship, the destroyer , was sunk by Ju 87 Stukas
, and he thereafter directed operations from the Motor Torpedo Boat
MTB 102
in the harbour. For his role in the evacuation he was appointed Companion of the Bath
.
From June to December 1940 he commanded the 1st Mine Laying Squadron, responsible for setting up the east coast mine barrier, and after a brief time as commander of Force K
, flying his flag in the aircraft carrier , he was made commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron.
to intercept and shadow the if she attempted to break out into the Atlantic. Bismarck sortied
from Bergen towards the Denmark Straits on 21 May in company with the heavy cruiser .
On 23 May 1941 at 7.22 pm the Suffolk sighted the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. After a brief exchange of fire, the heavily out-gunned British ships took cover in nearby fog and tracked the enemy by radar
. They maintained contact with the two German ships through the night despite appalling weather, and successfully guided Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland
's two capital ships and into position to intercept the Bismarck. The two forces came together in the battle of the Denmark Strait
the next day.
In the subsequent battle, Vice-Admiral Holland was killed when Hood was destroyed, and many of Prince of Waless senior officers were killed or wounded, which left Wake-Walker in command of the surviving ships, Norfolk, Suffolk and the damaged Prince of Wales. He decided not to risk continuing the battle and decided to continue to shadow the German ships, believing that Admiral John Tovey
, with powerful elements of the Home Fleet, was approaching.
Wake-Walker stayed in the trail of the Bismarck, but radar contact was lost early on the 25 May. Wake-Walker sent Suffolk to search to the southwest, and thus she played no further in the battle. However Norfolk turned east, and was present during the final part of the battle, the following day.
Later, moves were made to court-martial Wake-Walker and Captain John Leach of Prince of Wales. The view was taken that they were wrong not to have continued the battle with Bismarck after Hood had sunk. John Tovey, Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, was appalled at this criticism. A row ensued between Tovey and his superior, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound
. Tovey stated that the two officers had acted correctly, not endangering their ships needlessly and ensuring that the German ships were tracked. Tovey threatened to resign his position and appear at any court-martial as 'defendant's friend' and defence witness. No more was heard of the proposal.
For his part in the destruction of the Bismarck, Wake-Walker was awarded the CBE
.
In April 1942 he was promoted to vice-admiral and was appointed Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy
. His main task was the creation of the huge fleet of landing craft
needed to carry out the amphibious landings that began with "Operation Torch
", and ended on D-Day.
On 8 May 1945 he was promoted to full admiral, and in September was appointed Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, but on 24 September 1945 he died unexpectedly at his home in London.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(24 March 1888 – 24 September 1945) was a British admiral who served in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, taking a leading part in the destruction of the German battleship Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
, and in Operation Dynamo
Operation Dynamo
The Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were...
, the evacuation at Dunkirk.
Early days
Born William Frederic Wake-Walker, he was the son of Frederic George Arthur Wake-Walker and Mary Eleanor Forster, and the grandson of Baldwin Wake WalkerBaldwin Wake Walker
Admiral Sir Baldwin Wake Walker, 1st Baronet KCB was Surveyor of the Navy from 1848 to 1861. and was responsible for the Royal Navy's warship construction programme during the 1850s naval arms race and at the time of the introduction of the Ironclad warship; it was his decision to build HMS...
, Surveyor of the Navy
Surveyor of the Navy
The Surveyor to the Navy was a civilian officer in the Royal Navy. He was a member of the Navy Board from the inauguration of that body in 1546, and held overall responsibility for the design of British warships, although until 1745 the actual design work for warships built at each Royal Dockyard...
from 1848 to 1861.
After attending Haileybury
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...
school, Wake-Walker entered the Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
at Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
as a cadet in 1903, and went to sea the following year as midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
aboard , the flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron.
World War I
By the start of the World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he had risen to the rank of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, and served as torpedo lieutenant on from 1913 to 1915. He was promoted to lieutenant-commander in July 1916 and after training at , was appointed to the new battleship , serving in her until the end of the war.
Commands and Promotions
Wake-Walker was promoted to commander in June 1920, serving aboard from 1919 to 1921. Between 1921 and 1925 he served at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, on the naval staff, and then at the Tactical School, Portsmouth. He returned to sea as Commander of from 1925 to 1927.He was promoted to captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
in 1927, and commanded from 1928 to 1930 on the Mediterranean and China Station
China Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
s. From September 1932 to July 1935 he served as captain of on the America and West Indies station, and from January 1938-1939 as captain of in the Home Fleet. From 1930 to 1943 he was Deputy Director of the Training and Staff Duties Division of the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
naval staff. From 1935 to 1938 he was also Director of Torpedoes and Mining at the Admiralty.
Wake-Walker achieved flag rank
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...
on 10 January 1939.
Liability for Collision between H.M.S. Dragon and the Maplebranch
On August 13, 1934, Dragon under Wake-Walker's command was entering the Market (or Victoria) Basin in the harbour of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, when it collided with an oil bunkering steamer, the Maplebranch, which was securely moored at the time of the collision. The Maplebranch sank. Its owners sued Wake-Walker for the damages to the Maplebranch and its cargo, alleged to have been caused solely by the improper and negligent navigation and mismanagement of Dragon by Wake-Walker. In his defence, Wake-Walker pled inevitable accident, caused by the maneuvering of a third vessel, the Saguenay Trader, which Wake-Walker was trying to avoid hitting.The admiralty action was heard by the Exchequer Court of Canada (Quebec Admiralty District), which held that Wake-Walker was liable. Wake-Walker appealed to to the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
, which upheld the finding of liability on a 3-2 majority. Speaking for the majority, Davis J.
Henry Hague Davis
Henry Hague Davis was a Canadian lawyer and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.Born in Brockville, Ontario, the son of William Henry Davis and Eliza Dowsley, he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1907, a Master of Arts in 1909 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1911 all from the University of Toronto...
held that when a vessel under steam collides with a moored vessel, the commander of the vessel under steam is presumed liable for the collision, and has the onus of proving that he was not negligent. Wake-Walker had not done so. In addition, the trial judge had found actual fault by Wake-Walker in his navigation of Dragon and there was no basis to set aside that finding on appeal. Wake-Walker then appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Imperial Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
, at that time the highest court of appeal for the British Empire. That court dismissed the appeal. Speaking for the Judicial Committee, Viscount Sankey agreed with the courts below that Wake-Walker had not discharged the onus to prove that the accident had been inevitable.
World War II
Wake-Walker's first appointment, in September 1939, was rear-admiral commanding the 12th Cruiser Squadron. This appointment lasted only a short time as he soon returned to the Admiralty as head of a special group created to develop magnetic mine countermeasures.In May 1940 Wake-Walker was appointed rear-admiral, Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, in command of all ships and vessels off the Franco-Belgian coast for the evacuation of Dunkirk. Wake-Walker reached Dunkirk in the minesweeper on 30 May. On 1 June his flagship, the destroyer , was sunk by Ju 87 Stukas
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...
, and he thereafter directed operations from the Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
MTB 102
MTB 102
MTB 102 is one of few surviving motor torpedo boats that served with the Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy in the Second World War. She was built as the Vosper Private Venture Boat as a prototype, but was purchased and taken into service by the Admiralty....
in the harbour. For his role in the evacuation he was appointed Companion of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
.
From June to December 1940 he commanded the 1st Mine Laying Squadron, responsible for setting up the east coast mine barrier, and after a brief time as commander of Force K
Force K
Force K was the designation for three British Royal Navy task forces during World War II. The first Force K operated from West Africa in 1939. The second and third Force Ks operated from Malta in 1941-1943.-First Force K:...
, flying his flag in the aircraft carrier , he was made commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron.
Sinking the Bismarck
In late May 1941, two of Wake-Walker's heavy cruisers – and his flagship - were positioned north west of IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
to intercept and shadow the if she attempted to break out into the Atlantic. Bismarck sortied
Operation Rheinübung
Operation Rheinübung was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II...
from Bergen towards the Denmark Straits on 21 May in company with the heavy cruiser .
On 23 May 1941 at 7.22 pm the Suffolk sighted the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. After a brief exchange of fire, the heavily out-gunned British ships took cover in nearby fog and tracked the enemy by radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. They maintained contact with the two German ships through the night despite appalling weather, and successfully guided Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland
Lancelot Holland
Vice Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland, CB commanded the British force in the Battle of Denmark Strait in May, 1941 against the German battleship Bismarck. Holland was killed during the battle.-Early life:...
's two capital ships and into position to intercept the Bismarck. The two forces came together in the battle of the Denmark Strait
Battle of the Denmark Strait
The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a Second World War naval battle between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine, fought on 24 May 1941...
the next day.
In the subsequent battle, Vice-Admiral Holland was killed when Hood was destroyed, and many of Prince of Waless senior officers were killed or wounded, which left Wake-Walker in command of the surviving ships, Norfolk, Suffolk and the damaged Prince of Wales. He decided not to risk continuing the battle and decided to continue to shadow the German ships, believing that Admiral John Tovey
John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey
Admiral of the Fleet John Cronyn "Jack" Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey GCB, KBE, DSO, DCL was a Royal Navy admiral who served in both World Wars. He signed himself as "Jack", not "John". Tovey joined the Royal Navy before World War I, and commanded destroyers in that war. He rose, with several senior...
, with powerful elements of the Home Fleet, was approaching.
Wake-Walker stayed in the trail of the Bismarck, but radar contact was lost early on the 25 May. Wake-Walker sent Suffolk to search to the southwest, and thus she played no further in the battle. However Norfolk turned east, and was present during the final part of the battle, the following day.
Later, moves were made to court-martial Wake-Walker and Captain John Leach of Prince of Wales. The view was taken that they were wrong not to have continued the battle with Bismarck after Hood had sunk. John Tovey, Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, was appalled at this criticism. A row ensued between Tovey and his superior, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound
Dudley Pound
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound GCB OM GCVO RN was a British naval officer who served as First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy from June 1939 to September 1943.- Early life :...
. Tovey stated that the two officers had acted correctly, not endangering their ships needlessly and ensuring that the German ships were tracked. Tovey threatened to resign his position and appear at any court-martial as 'defendant's friend' and defence witness. No more was heard of the proposal.
For his part in the destruction of the Bismarck, Wake-Walker was awarded the CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
In April 1942 he was promoted to vice-admiral and was appointed Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy
Third Sea Lord
The Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy was formerly the Naval Lord and member of the Board of Admiralty responsible for procurement and matériel in the British Royal Navy...
. His main task was the creation of the huge fleet of landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
needed to carry out the amphibious landings that began with "Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
", and ended on D-Day.
On 8 May 1945 he was promoted to full admiral, and in September was appointed Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, but on 24 September 1945 he died unexpectedly at his home in London.