Geoffrey Layton
Encyclopedia
Admiral
Sir Geoffrey Layton GBE
, KCB
, KCMG
, DSO
(20 April 1884 – 4 September 1964), was a British
Royal Navy
officer.
as a naval cadet on 15 May 1899 on HMS Britannia
. Following this he served as a Midshipman
aboard cruisers in the English Channel
and off the south coast of the United States
.
He took his Lieutenant
's course and was promoted to that rank on 30 November 1905. Layton then he joined the submarine
branch of the navy, in which he had his first command. From 1910 he did two years general service and returned to submarines in 1912, commanding several of them during the First World War.
was ordered to the Baltic to assist the Russians, but he ran aground on Saltholm
off the Danish
coast. E13 was destroyed early the following morning by a German
torpedo boat
, killing half his men. Layton and the others were interned at Copenhagen
. Three months later, disguised as a local sailor, he managed to return to Britain. In 1916-17 he commanded the experimental steam submarine S-1
. At the end of the war he was awarded the DSO
.
on 31 December 1922 and held the post of Chief of Staff to the Rear Admiral
(Submarines). In the late 1920s he was appointed Deputy Director of Operations at the Admiralty
and in 1930 he attended a course at the Imperial Defence College
. From 1931 to 1933, he was posted as Chief of Staff on the China Station
. He commanded the Royal Naval Base at Portsmouth from 1934 to 1936 when he became Director of Personnel Services at the Admiralty
.
Layton then transferred to battleships, firstly the Renown
. Then, following another period at the Admiralty, he commanded the Battlecruiser Squadron
, flying his flag on the Hood
, from August 1938 until August 1939. Layton was then appointed second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet, firstly under Admiral Dudley Pound
and later under Admiral Andrew Cunningham. He is recorded as commanding the 1st Battle Squadron, consisting of Barham, Warspite, and Malaya
, on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939.
in September 1940. In May 1941, he was informed that Admiral Sir Tom Phillips would succeed him. The battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse
were deployed to Singapore
in December 1941 as a deterrent to Japanese attack, with Phillips in the Prince of Wales. Layton broadcast a message to the Malayan people, telling them of the improvements to defence on the arrival of these two capital ships in Singapore. On 10 December, he handed over the naval command to Phillips and prepared to return home. Later that day, Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk off Malaya by Japanese air attack
. Layton was then recalled as Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet.
In January 1942, the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
(ABDACOM) was formed, to direct Allied forces in South East Asia and the South West Pacific. On January 5, the deputy commander of ABDA naval forces, Rear Admiral Arthur Palliser
made Layton the senior naval officer at Tanjong Priok, the port for Batavia
(Jakarta), Java. His main role was organising better convoy protection.
Following the fall of Singapore
and dissolution of ABDA, command of the Eastern Fleet was given to Sir James Somerville
. Layton was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in March 1942, with wide-ranging powers that subordinated the civilian authorities. There was much to be done. Defences and organisation were inadequate; harbour facilities were inefficiently run with many transports left waiting in exposed anchorages and Layton was horrified. He immediately set about improvements to radar, civil defence and Colombo
's air raid system.
Time was against Layton, however, as were the current appreciations of Japanese capabilities. On 5 April, 130 Japan
ese aircraft attacked Colombo
, Ceylon, sinking an auxiliary cruiser, a submarine depot ship and a destroyer. It could have been far worse; reacting to intelligence reports, warships and merchant ships had been ordered to disperse from harbours where they would have been easy targets. Two cruisers, however, were found at sea and sunk. On 9 April the Japanese attacked Trincomalee
harbour and later found and sank an aircraft carrier, a destroyer and a corvette, all at sea. There were further Japanese raids on shipping along India's east coast. The Japanese returned to the Pacific, and on 11 April Layton sent a signal that the enemy had withdrawn from Ceylon to Singapore.
The defence of the island of Ceylon had not been a total fiasco, even though there was criticism that the radar system had been switched off as it was a Sunday. The RAF and FAA
squadrons on the island, although with few effective aircraft (50 Hurricanes against some 300 Japanese aircraft) plus some obsolete or unsuitable ones (Catalinas, Blenheims and Fulmars) provided some defence. Up to 19 Japanese aircraft were shot down during the Colombo raid, for the loss of 27 Hurricanes and 12 other aircraft. There was a similar number of Japanese aircraft shot down over Trincomalee for the loss of 11 Hurricanes and Fulmars (of 25 available aircraft).
The early warning system set up by Layton was a shambles: the aircraft at Ratmalana
were still on the ground when the Japanese aircraft flew overhead. Japanese aircraft had flown over the Ceylonese coastline for half an hour, in full view of everybody, before reaching Ratmalana.
Despite the impact of the raids on Ceylon, Layton stayed as Commander-in-Chief until 1945 and was awarded the KCMG for his work and was promoted to Admiral
. He also received the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau
and the French Legion of Honour.
a post he held until his retirement in 1947.
Sir Geoffrey Layton died at Portsmouth on at the age of 80.
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath - 11 July 1940 (CB - 1936)
Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George - 1 January 1945, (CMG - ?)
Distinguished Service Order
- 1918
Grand Cross of the Order of Orange Nassau (Netherlands) - 19 January 1943
Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur
(France)
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Geoffrey Layton GBE
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...
, KCB
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...
, KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(20 April 1884 – 4 September 1964), was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
officer.
Early life and career
He was the son of a Liverpool solicitor, George Layton. He joined the Royal NavyRoyal 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...
as a naval cadet on 15 May 1899 on HMS Britannia
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...
. Following this he served as a 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 cruisers in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and off the south coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
He took his 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...
's course and was promoted to that rank on 30 November 1905. Layton then he joined the submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
branch of the navy, in which he had his first command. From 1910 he did two years general service and returned to submarines in 1912, commanding several of them during the First World War.
World War I
On 18 August 1915 his submarine HMS E13HMS E13
HMS E13 was a British E class submarine built by HM Dockyard, Chatham. E13 was laid down on 16 December 1912 and was commissioned on 9 December 1914. The hull cost £101,900.-Service history:...
was ordered to the Baltic to assist the Russians, but he ran aground on Saltholm
Saltholm
Saltholm is a Danish island in the Øresund, the strait that separates Denmark and Sweden. It is located to the east of the Danish island of Amager in Tårnby municipality and lies just to the west of the sea border between Denmark and Sweden. It is 7 km long and 3 km wide, covering an...
off the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
coast. E13 was destroyed early the following morning by a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
, killing half his men. Layton and the others were interned at Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. Three months later, disguised as a local sailor, he managed to return to Britain. In 1916-17 he commanded the experimental steam submarine S-1
HMS Swordfish (1916)
HMS Swordfish was an experimental submarine built for the Royal Navy before the First World War to meet the Navy's goal of an "overseas" submarine capable of on the surface. Diesel engines of the period were unreliable and not very powerful so steam turbines were proposed instead to meet the RN's...
. At the end of the war he was awarded the DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
.
Between the Wars
He was promoted to CaptainCaptain (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...
on 31 December 1922 and held the post of Chief of Staff to the Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
(Submarines). In the late 1920s he was appointed Deputy Director of Operations at 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...
and in 1930 he attended a course at the Imperial Defence College
Royal College of Defence Studies
The Royal College of Defence Studies is an internationally-renowned institution and component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom...
. From 1931 to 1933, he was posted as Chief of Staff on the 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....
. He commanded the Royal Naval Base at Portsmouth from 1934 to 1936 when he became Director of Personnel Services at 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...
.
Layton then transferred to battleships, firstly the Renown
HMS Renown (1916)
HMS Renown was the lead ship of her class of battlecruisers of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
. Then, following another period at the Admiralty, he commanded the Battlecruiser Squadron
Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service from 1919 to the early part of the Second World War.- Formation :...
, flying his flag on the Hood
HMS Hood (51)
HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. One of four s ordered in mid-1916, her design—although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction—still had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be...
, from August 1938 until August 1939. Layton was then appointed second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet, firstly under Admiral 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 :...
and later under Admiral Andrew Cunningham. He is recorded as commanding the 1st Battle Squadron, consisting of Barham, Warspite, and Malaya
HMS Malaya (1915)
HMS Malaya was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship of the British Royal Navy, built by Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Company at High Walker and launched in March 1915...
, on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939.
World War II
Layton became Commander of the Battle Cruiser Squadron in 1938 and Commander of 1st Battle Squadron and Second in Command of the Home Fleet in 1939. He took command of the China StationChina 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....
in September 1940. In May 1941, he was informed that Admiral Sir Tom Phillips would succeed him. The battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse
HMS Repulse (1916)
HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
were deployed to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in December 1941 as a deterrent to Japanese attack, with Phillips in the Prince of Wales. Layton broadcast a message to the Malayan people, telling them of the improvements to defence on the arrival of these two capital ships in Singapore. On 10 December, he handed over the naval command to Phillips and prepared to return home. Later that day, Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk off Malaya by Japanese air attack
Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse
The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a Second World War naval engagement that took place north of Singapore, off the east coast of Malaya, near Kuantan, Pahang where the British Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk by land-based bombers and...
. Layton was then recalled as Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet.
In January 1942, the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II...
(ABDACOM) was formed, to direct Allied forces in South East Asia and the South West Pacific. On January 5, the deputy commander of ABDA naval forces, Rear Admiral Arthur Palliser
Arthur Palliser
Admiral Sir Arthur Francis Eric Palliser KCB, DSC was a prominent British naval officer during World War II.-Early life and career:Palliser was born in Richmond, Surrey, the son of Arthur Palliser and Hester Brenda Boord...
made Layton the senior naval officer at Tanjong Priok, the port for Batavia
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
(Jakarta), Java. His main role was organising better convoy protection.
Following the fall of Singapore
Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
and dissolution of ABDA, command of the Eastern Fleet was given to Sir James Somerville
James Somerville
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville GCB, GBE, DSO was one of the most famous British Admirals of World War II.-Early career:...
. Layton was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in March 1942, with wide-ranging powers that subordinated the civilian authorities. There was much to be done. Defences and organisation were inadequate; harbour facilities were inefficiently run with many transports left waiting in exposed anchorages and Layton was horrified. He immediately set about improvements to radar, civil defence and Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
's air raid system.
Time was against Layton, however, as were the current appreciations of Japanese capabilities. On 5 April, 130 Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese aircraft attacked Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Ceylon, sinking an auxiliary cruiser, a submarine depot ship and a destroyer. It could have been far worse; reacting to intelligence reports, warships and merchant ships had been ordered to disperse from harbours where they would have been easy targets. Two cruisers, however, were found at sea and sunk. On 9 April the Japanese attacked Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
harbour and later found and sank an aircraft carrier, a destroyer and a corvette, all at sea. There were further Japanese raids on shipping along India's east coast. The Japanese returned to the Pacific, and on 11 April Layton sent a signal that the enemy had withdrawn from Ceylon to Singapore.
The defence of the island of Ceylon had not been a total fiasco, even though there was criticism that the radar system had been switched off as it was a Sunday. The RAF and FAA
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
squadrons on the island, although with few effective aircraft (50 Hurricanes against some 300 Japanese aircraft) plus some obsolete or unsuitable ones (Catalinas, Blenheims and Fulmars) provided some defence. Up to 19 Japanese aircraft were shot down during the Colombo raid, for the loss of 27 Hurricanes and 12 other aircraft. There was a similar number of Japanese aircraft shot down over Trincomalee for the loss of 11 Hurricanes and Fulmars (of 25 available aircraft).
The early warning system set up by Layton was a shambles: the aircraft at Ratmalana
Ratmalana Airport
Ratmalana Airport , formally known as Colombo Airport, is a major domestic airport and military base in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was once Colombo's international airport, until the current Bandaranaike International Airport opened in the 1960s...
were still on the ground when the Japanese aircraft flew overhead. Japanese aircraft had flown over the Ceylonese coastline for half an hour, in full view of everybody, before reaching Ratmalana.
Despite the impact of the raids on Ceylon, Layton stayed as Commander-in-Chief until 1945 and was awarded the KCMG for his work and was promoted to Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
. He also received the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
and the French Legion of Honour.
Later life
Following the war Layton returned to the UK as Commander-in-Chief, PortsmouthCommander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post.-History:...
a post he held until his retirement in 1947.
Sir Geoffrey Layton died at Portsmouth on at the age of 80.
Honours and awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire - 1 January 1947Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath - 11 July 1940 (CB - 1936)
Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George - 1 January 1945, (CMG - ?)
Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
- 1918
Grand Cross of the Order of Orange Nassau (Netherlands) - 19 January 1943
Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
(France)
See also
- Indian Ocean RaidIndian Ocean raidThe Indian Ocean raid was a naval sortie by the Fast Carrier Strike Force of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 31 March-10 April 1942 against Allied shipping and bases in the Indian Ocean. It was an early engagement of the Pacific campaign of World War II...
- Participation of Ceylon in World War IIParticipation of Ceylon in World War IIAfter the outbreak of the Second World War, in the British Crown Colony of Ceylon , the government of Sir Baron Jayatilleke assured the British king and his majesty's government of its continued support.-Preparations for war:...
- South-East Asian Theatre of World War II#Indian Ocean