Ian Hogg (Royal Navy)
Encyclopedia
Vice Admiral
Sir Ian Leslie Trower Hogg KCB DSC & Bar
, RN
(30 May 1911 – 2 March 2003) was a Royal Navy
officer whose service extended the late 1920s through the early 1970s. He received several medals for his service as a navigator during World War II
. From 1967-1970 he served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff
.
colonel
, was born in India
on 30 May 1911. His mother died at Dehra Dun two months after his birth. He was educated at Cheltenham College
and joined the Navy in 1929 as a Special Entry — or ex-public school — cadet, earning a first-class certificate on graduation from the training ship HMS Erebus
.
He subsequently served in the battleships HMS Barham
and HMS Valiant
and the cruiser HMS Effingham
on the East Indies Station
. His aptitude for navigation was shown early when a lieutenant
in the destroyer HMS Acheron
in the Mediterranean in 1934 and the dispatch vessel HMS Bideford in the Persian Gulf
. His confidential reports during this period describe a capable leader, with a markedly beneficial influence over junior officers and the ship’s company.
Qualifying as a specialist navigator
in 1937, he was appointed to the cruiser HMS Southampton
. His war started in the obsolete light cruiser HMS Cardiff
on the arduous northern blockade patrol that deprived Germany of imports, and it continued briefly in the cruiser HMS Penelope
where his “somewhat casual manner” was perceptively diagnosed as “liable to mislead”. His war career showed that he was clearly able to differentiate the important from the unimportant and to “bear an even strain” under testing circumstances.
in May and June 1941. The Germans had intended to take Crete with combined airborne and seaborne attacks. Although the Royal Navy
was able virtually to annihilate the seaborne component, which carried much equipment in local caïques, the German paratroops — though at great loss to themselves — forced the under-equipped British
forces, many of whom were still in shock after being driven out of Greece
, into another evacuation.
Air attacks by an almost unopposed and expert Fliegerkorps VIII around Crete cost the British three cruiser
s and six destroyer
s sunk, with an aircraft carrier
, two battleship
s, five cruisers and seven destroyers badly damaged, bringing the Mediterranean Fleet almost to breaking point. The Commander-in-Chief
, Admiral
Andrew Cunningham
, was adamant that while ships were replaceable, the reputation of the Royal Navy was not, and that the evacuation of soldiers should continue to the limit. In the event 18,000 troops were rescued.
As the flotilla
operations and navigating officer to Captain
Stephen Arliss in the Royal Australian Navy
destroyer Napier
, Hogg was responsible on 28–29 May for organising hazardous feats of navigation on an unlit and badly charted coast near Sfakia
in southwest Crete for his ship and the destroyers HMS Nizam, HMS Kelvin
and HMS Kandahar
. Only two motorboat
s and four unpowered whaler
s were available to embark 700 men and, at the same time, land 15,000 badly needed rations for those troops still fighting onshore.
The need to make best use of available darkness required the anchorage for this operation to be perilously close inshore. On 30 May, reduced to only two ships through damage and defects but using abandoned landing craft to supplement these, Napier and Nizam saved more than 1,400 troops. Hogg received praise for his cool, calm and cheerful demeanour and his very good advice when the force came under intensive air attack on 31 May, during which Napier was damaged in the engine room by a near miss.
Hogg stayed with the Napier as the senior staff officer to Captain Arliss, who became the commodore
in command of Admiral Somerville’s Eastern Fleet destroyers, based in Ceylon, until early 1944.
As the navigating and signals officer of the cruiser HMS Mauritius
in August 1944, Hogg was awarded a second DSC for his outstanding zeal during prolonged and violent night actions against escorted enemy convoys close inshore near La Rochelle
and the Ile d'Yeu
. His captain remarked that Hogg was “cool, calm and collected and afforded advice that enabled us to take risks which with a less resolute and skilful officer would not have been justified”.
Hogg was known as a very good-looking man. It is recorded that during the war when Mauritius was refitting in Liverpool
and a drink was difficult to come by, his companions would always “put Ian into bat first with the barmaid” — with invariably satisfactory results. In 1945 he married Mary Marsden within three months of having met her in Liverpool on a Monday and becoming engaged on the Saturday.
. He was promoted to commander
in 1947 and sent to Washington as staff officer (plans) in the British Joint Services Mission until 1949.
Command of the destroyer Sluys
followed, his ship being noted for her good spirit and efficient gunnery. He was then selected as staff officer (plans) and fleet navigating officer in the Mediterranean where Admiral the Earl Mountbatten of Burma
appointed him as special assistant to the newly created Chief of NATO’s Allied Staff. On his promotion to captain, Mountbatten wrote of him: 'He was doing a job originally intended for captain’s rank and doing it brilliantly'.
After another staff tour in Washington and at the Admiralty
, Hogg was appointed to Cyprus
as the senior naval officer.
Medway
and Admiral Superintendent Chatham Dockyard
. He was appointed CB
in 1964.
As a vice-admiral he was the Defence Services Secretary
for two years, managing the relationship between the Ministry of Defence
and the Royal Family
and also maintaining the balance of appointments of senior officers to tri-service “defence department” posts — those posts which are rotated between the services. His final tour was as Vice-Chief of Defence Staff during a difficult period of retrenchment in the defence sector. He was appointed KCB and retired in 1970.
of the Royal Society of St George
, an institution founded in 1894 with the object of promoting the English way of life.
He died on 2 March 2003, aged 91.
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Sir Ian Leslie Trower Hogg KCB DSC & Bar
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
, RN
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...
(30 May 1911 – 2 March 2003) was a 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 whose service extended the late 1920s through the early 1970s. He received several medals for his service as a navigator during 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...
. From 1967-1970 he served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff
Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff
The Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff is the deputy to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces.-List of Vice Chiefs of the Defence Staff:*1964 to 1966 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Alfred Earle...
.
Early life and career
Ian Leslie Trower Hogg, the son of an Indian ArmyBritish Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
, was born in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on 30 May 1911. His mother died at Dehra Dun two months after his birth. He was educated at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
and joined the Navy in 1929 as a Special Entry — or ex-public school — cadet, earning a first-class certificate on graduation from the training ship HMS Erebus
HMS Erebus (I02)
HMS Erebus was a World War I monitor launched on 19 June 1916 and served in both world wars. She and her sister HMS Terror are known as the Erebus class...
.
He subsequently served in the battleships HMS Barham
HMS Barham (1914)
HMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, built at the John Brown shipyards in Clydebank, Scotland, and launched in 1914...
and HMS Valiant
HMS Valiant (1914)
HMS Valiant was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the British Royal Navy. She was laid down at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan on 31 January 1913 and launched on 4 November 1914...
and the cruiser HMS Effingham
HMS Effingham (D98)
HMS Effingham was a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was commissioned at Portsmouth in 1925, having had her construction halted for several years following the end of the First World War in 1918...
on the East Indies Station
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...
. His aptitude for navigation was shown early when a 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...
in the destroyer HMS Acheron
HMS Acheron (H45)
HMS Acheron was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War in Home waters and off the Norwegian coast, before becoming an early war loss when she sank after hitting a mine off the Isle of Wight on 17 December 1940...
in the Mediterranean in 1934 and the dispatch vessel HMS Bideford in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. His confidential reports during this period describe a capable leader, with a markedly beneficial influence over junior officers and the ship’s company.
Qualifying as a specialist navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
in 1937, he was appointed to the cruiser HMS Southampton
HMS Southampton (C83)
HMS Southampton was a member of the first group of five ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers. She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland and launched on 10 March 1936....
. His war started in the obsolete light cruiser HMS Cardiff
HMS Cardiff (1917)
HMS Cardiff was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy, named after the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. She was part of the Ceres group of the C-class of cruisers....
on the arduous northern blockade patrol that deprived Germany of imports, and it continued briefly in the cruiser HMS Penelope
HMS Penelope (97)
HMS Penelope was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Harland & Wolff , with the keel being laid down on 30 May 1934...
where his “somewhat casual manner” was perceptively diagnosed as “liable to mislead”. His war career showed that he was clearly able to differentiate the important from the unimportant and to “bear an even strain” under testing circumstances.
World War II service
Ian Hogg was awarded the first of his two DSCs for his efficiency and coolness as a navigator under the trying circumstances of the evacuation of CreteCrete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
in May and June 1941. The Germans had intended to take Crete with combined airborne and seaborne attacks. Although 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...
was able virtually to annihilate the seaborne component, which carried much equipment in local caïques, the German paratroops — though at great loss to themselves — forced the under-equipped 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...
forces, many of whom were still in shock after being driven out of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, into another evacuation.
Air attacks by an almost unopposed and expert Fliegerkorps VIII around Crete cost the British three cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s and six destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s sunk, with an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, two battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, five cruisers and seven destroyers badly damaged, bringing the Mediterranean Fleet almost to breaking point. The Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
, 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"...
Andrew Cunningham
Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope KT, GCB, OM, DSO and two Bars , was a British admiral of the Second World War. Cunningham was widely known by his nickname, "ABC"....
, was adamant that while ships were replaceable, the reputation of the Royal Navy was not, and that the evacuation of soldiers should continue to the limit. In the event 18,000 troops were rescued.
As the flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
operations and navigating officer 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...
Stephen Arliss in the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
destroyer Napier
HMAS Napier (G97)
HMAS Napier was an N class destroyer serving in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Built During 1939 and 1940, the destroyer was commissioned into the RAN, although she was ordered and owned by the British government...
, Hogg was responsible on 28–29 May for organising hazardous feats of navigation on an unlit and badly charted coast near Sfakia
Sfakia
Sfakiá is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania peripheral unit. It is considered one of the few places in Greece to never have been fully occupied by foreign powers...
in southwest Crete for his ship and the destroyers HMS Nizam, HMS Kelvin
HMS Kelvin (F37)
HMS Kelvin was a K-class destroyer of the Royal Navy laid down by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, at Govan in Scotland on 5 October 1937, launched on 19 January 1939 and commissioned on 27 November 1939....
and HMS Kandahar
HMS Kandahar (F28)
HMS Kandahar was a K-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, named after the Afghan city of Kandahar.-History:Kandahar was launched on 21 March 1939. On 21 February 1941, in company with and , she captured the German blockade runner off Iceland...
. Only two motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
s and four unpowered whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
s were available to embark 700 men and, at the same time, land 15,000 badly needed rations for those troops still fighting onshore.
The need to make best use of available darkness required the anchorage for this operation to be perilously close inshore. On 30 May, reduced to only two ships through damage and defects but using abandoned landing craft to supplement these, Napier and Nizam saved more than 1,400 troops. Hogg received praise for his cool, calm and cheerful demeanour and his very good advice when the force came under intensive air attack on 31 May, during which Napier was damaged in the engine room by a near miss.
Hogg stayed with the Napier as the senior staff officer to Captain Arliss, who became the commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
in command of Admiral Somerville’s Eastern Fleet destroyers, based in Ceylon, until early 1944.
As the navigating and signals officer of the cruiser HMS Mauritius
HMS Mauritius (C80)
HMS Maurituis, pennant C80, was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was named after Mauritius, which was a British possession when she was built...
in August 1944, Hogg was awarded a second DSC for his outstanding zeal during prolonged and violent night actions against escorted enemy convoys close inshore near La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
and the Ile d'Yeu
Île d'Yeu
Île d'Yeu is an island and commune just off the Vendée coast of western France.The island's two harbours, Port-Joinville in the north and Port de la Meule, located in a rocky inlet of the southern granite coast, are famous for the fishing of tuna and lobster....
. His captain remarked that Hogg was “cool, calm and collected and afforded advice that enabled us to take risks which with a less resolute and skilful officer would not have been justified”.
Hogg was known as a very good-looking man. It is recorded that during the war when Mauritius was refitting in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and a drink was difficult to come by, his companions would always “put Ian into bat first with the barmaid” — with invariably satisfactory results. In 1945 he married Mary Marsden within three months of having met her in Liverpool on a Monday and becoming engaged on the Saturday.
Post-war service
After completing the staff course Hogg was appointed to the staff of the C-in-C Home Fleet from September 1945, the task of fleet navigator carrying the ancient title of Master of the FleetMaster of the Fleet
In the Royal Navy, the rank of Master of the Fleet denoted the sailing master of a fleet flagship, or the senior sailing master in a fleet. Examples include John Bowen , Ian Hogg, and John H. D. Cunningham.By 1814, the title granted the master extra pay...
. He was promoted to commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
in 1947 and sent to Washington as staff officer (plans) in the British Joint Services Mission until 1949.
Command of the destroyer Sluys
HMS Sluys (D60)
HMS Sluys was a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Navy . She was named in honour of the Battle of Sluys which occurred in 1340 during the Hundred Year's War, and which resulted in a decisive English victory over a French fleet. Sluys was built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead...
followed, his ship being noted for her good spirit and efficient gunnery. He was then selected as staff officer (plans) and fleet navigating officer in the Mediterranean where Admiral the Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Earl Mountbatten of Burma
The title Earl Mountbatten of Burma was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1947 for Rear Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy of India....
appointed him as special assistant to the newly created Chief of NATO’s Allied Staff. On his promotion to captain, Mountbatten wrote of him: 'He was doing a job originally intended for captain’s rank and doing it brilliantly'.
After another staff tour in Washington and 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...
, Hogg was appointed to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
as the senior naval officer.
Flag-rank assignments
Hogg was promoted to rear-admiral in 1962 and was Flag OfficerFlag 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...
Medway
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
and Admiral Superintendent Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
. He was appointed CB
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...
in 1964.
As a vice-admiral he was the Defence Services Secretary
Defence Services Secretary
The Defence Services Secretary is a senior member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Reporting to the Private Secretary's Office, he is responsible for liaison between the Sovereign and the British Armed Forces...
for two years, managing the relationship between the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
and the Royal Family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
and also maintaining the balance of appointments of senior officers to tri-service “defence department” posts — those posts which are rotated between the services. His final tour was as Vice-Chief of Defence Staff during a difficult period of retrenchment in the defence sector. He was appointed KCB and retired in 1970.
Retirement and last years
From 1971 until 1974 Hogg was the ComptrollerComptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
of the Royal Society of St George
Royal Society of St George
The Royal Society of St George is an English patriotic society established in 1894 to encourage interest in the English way of life, and English customs and traditions. It operates from offices in Folkestone, Kent.-History:In 1415 St...
, an institution founded in 1894 with the object of promoting the English way of life.
He died on 2 March 2003, aged 91.