Rhoderick McGrigor
Encyclopedia
Admiral of the Fleet
Sir Rhoderick Robert McGrigor GCB
(12 April 1893 – 3 December 1959) was a Royal Navy
officer and the British
First Sea Lord
from 1951 to 1955. During his years as professional head of the Royal Navy, he is most remembered as a leading proponent of carrier-based air power.
C.R.R. McGrigor CB
, CMG
, 60th Rifles. In 1931, he married Gwendoline Glyn (widow of Major
Charles Greville DSO
, Grenadier Guards). The couple adopted twin sons one of whom is called Jock McGrigor, the other Andy.
He spent his childhood in South Africa
and in early 1906 returned to England
and was educated at Royal Naval Colleges (Osborne, Isle of Wight
and Britannia Royal Naval College
, Dartmouth
). He was appointed a midshipman
in 1910.
, he served on destroyers in the Mediterranean and with the Grand Fleet, seeing action during the Dardanelles campaign and at the Battle of Jutland
.
In the inter-war years, he was promoted on 22 September 1936 to Captain (D), 4th Destroyer Flotilla (HMS Kempenfelt
), with the Home Fleet, where he served until mid-1938. Later in 1938, on 26 August, he became Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief China Station
(first on HMS Kent
, then HMS Tamar
, the RN base at Hong Kong
), until April 1940.
, HMS Renown
and was involved in the Malta convoys
and other operations in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Between 9 September 1941 and early 1943, he was a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Weapons). In late 1943, he commanded the Naval Force (Force B) covering the capture of the Italian island of Pantelleria
(Operation Corkscrew
) and the subsequent Invasion of Sicily
; he remained as Flag Officer Sicily during Sicilian and Calabrian Campaigns, during which he was wounded when blown from his ship. He was Flag Officer, Taranto and Adriatic (HMS Nile
) until the end of 1943.
At the start of 1944, McGrigor briefly commanded Home Fleet aircraft carriers. From 27 March 1944 until July 1945, he was Rear-Admiral Commanding 1st Cruiser Squadron, and from 1 April 1945 he was in addition appointed Second-in-Command Home Fleet with the rank of Vice Admiral (with HMS Kent
and then HMS Norfolk
as his flagship). During this period, he participated in operations off the Norwegian coast. He was mentioned in despatches on 30 January 1945 for Operation Counterblast) and convoys to North Russia
. The final air-raid of the war in Europe, Operation Judgement
, took place in North Norway under McGrigor's command on May 4, 1945.
On 7 June 1945 with the 1st Cruiser Squadron he conveyed King Haakon
to Oslo
on his return to Norway
after five years in Britain. For this service, he was awarded the honour of Commander of the Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
From 1945 onwards, McGrigor was appointed to a number of influential shore posts. On 1 October 1945, he became a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, where he stayed until 1947. In 1948, until 1950, he was Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, then Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
until 1951. Admiral McGrigor also commanded Exercise Verity
, a major multi-lateral naval exercise for the Western Union Defense Organization (WUDO)
, in 1949. From 20 December 1951, until 1955, he was First Sea Lord
and Chief of the Naval Staff
.
In 1952, McGrigor was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen, a post he held until 1953.
He held several honorary academic awards posts: Hon. LLD St Andrews, 1953; Hon. LLD Aberdeen, 1955; Lord Rector of Aberdeen University, 1954–1957.
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Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
Sir Rhoderick Robert McGrigor GCB
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...
(12 April 1893 – 3 December 1959) 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 and the 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...
First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
from 1951 to 1955. During his years as professional head of the Royal Navy, he is most remembered as a leading proponent of carrier-based air power.
Early life
Rhoderick Robert McGrigor was the son of Major GeneralMajor General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
C.R.R. McGrigor 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...
, CMG
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....
, 60th Rifles. In 1931, he married Gwendoline Glyn (widow of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Charles Greville 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...
, Grenadier Guards). The couple adopted twin sons one of whom is called Jock McGrigor, the other Andy.
He spent his childhood in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and in early 1906 returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was educated at Royal Naval Colleges (Osborne, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
and Britannia 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...
, 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...
). He was appointed 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...
in 1910.
First World War and inter-war
During the First World WarWorld 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 served on destroyers in the Mediterranean and with the Grand Fleet, seeing action during the Dardanelles campaign and at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
.
In the inter-war years, he was promoted on 22 September 1936 to Captain (D), 4th Destroyer Flotilla (HMS Kempenfelt
HMS Kempenfelt
Four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Kempenfelt, after rear-admiral Richard Kempenfelt:*HMS Kempenfelt was a Marksman-class flotilla leader launched in 1915 and sold for scrapping in 1921....
), with the Home Fleet, where he served until mid-1938. Later in 1938, on 26 August, he became Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief 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....
(first on HMS Kent
HMS Kent (54)
HMS Kent was a heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She was the lead ship of the Kent subclass. After completion the ship was sent to the China Station where she remained until the beginning of the Second World War, aside from a major refit in 1937–38...
, then HMS Tamar
HMS Tamar (shore station)
HMS Tamar was the name for the Royal Navy's base in Hong Kong from 1897 to 1997. It took its name from HMS Tamar a ship that was used as the base until replaced by buildings ashore.-19th Century:...
, the RN base at Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
), until April 1940.
Second World War
In early 1941, McGrigor was, briefly, Flag CaptainFlag captain
In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...
, HMS 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...
and was involved in the Malta convoys
Malta Convoys
The Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys that sustained the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War...
and other operations in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Between 9 September 1941 and early 1943, he was a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Weapons). In late 1943, he commanded the Naval Force (Force B) covering the capture of the Italian island of Pantelleria
Pantelleria
Pantelleria , the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and just east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani...
(Operation Corkscrew
Operation Corkscrew
During World War II, Operation Corkscrew was the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria on 10 June 1943. There had been an early plan to occupy the island in late 1940 , but this was aborted when the Luftwaffe strengthened the Axis air threat in the region.The Allied focus returned...
) and the subsequent Invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
; he remained as Flag Officer Sicily during Sicilian and Calabrian Campaigns, during which he was wounded when blown from his ship. He was Flag Officer, Taranto and Adriatic (HMS Nile
HMS Nile
Three ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Nile, after the Battle of the Nile in 1798: was a 12-gun cutter purchased in 1806. She was sold in 1810, but was rejected by the purchaser and subsequently broken up in 1811. was a 92-gun second rate ship of the line launched in 1839...
) until the end of 1943.
At the start of 1944, McGrigor briefly commanded Home Fleet aircraft carriers. From 27 March 1944 until July 1945, he was Rear-Admiral Commanding 1st Cruiser Squadron, and from 1 April 1945 he was in addition appointed Second-in-Command Home Fleet with the rank of Vice Admiral (with HMS Kent
HMS Kent (54)
HMS Kent was a heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She was the lead ship of the Kent subclass. After completion the ship was sent to the China Station where she remained until the beginning of the Second World War, aside from a major refit in 1937–38...
and then HMS Norfolk
HMS Norfolk (78)
HMS Norfolk was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy; along with her sister ship , she was part of a planned four-ship subclass.She served throughout the Second World War....
as his flagship). During this period, he participated in operations off the Norwegian coast. He was mentioned in despatches on 30 January 1945 for Operation Counterblast) and convoys to North Russia
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...
. The final air-raid of the war in Europe, Operation Judgement
Operation Judgement, Kilbotn
Operation Judgement, Kilbotn was an operation carried out at the end of World War II by the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy in North Norway on May 4, 1945, when 44 aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm attacked a U-boat base five miles south of the town and port of Harstad. The attack was directed at vessels...
, took place in North Norway under McGrigor's command on May 4, 1945.
On 7 June 1945 with the 1st Cruiser Squadron he conveyed King Haakon
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
to Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
on his return to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
after five years in Britain. For this service, he was awarded the honour of Commander of the Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
Post-war service
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. In the nineteenth century the holder of the office was known as Commander-in-Chief,...
until 1951. Admiral McGrigor also commanded Exercise Verity
Exercise Verity
Exercise Verity was a 1949 multilateral naval training exercise involving 60 warships from the British, French, and Dutch navies for the newly formed Western Union, the precursor to the Western European Union...
, a major multi-lateral naval exercise for the Western Union Defense Organization (WUDO)
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
, in 1949. From 20 December 1951, until 1955, he was First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
and Chief of the Naval Staff
Chief of the Naval Staff
Chief of the Naval Staff is the formal title for the office of:* Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy* Chief of the Naval Staff, Pakistan NavyNavies of other countries have similar titles:* Chief of Navy, Royal Australian Navy...
.
In 1952, McGrigor was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen, a post he held until 1953.
He held several honorary academic awards posts: Hon. LLD St Andrews, 1953; Hon. LLD Aberdeen, 1955; Lord Rector of Aberdeen University, 1954–1957.
External links
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