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"...

 Sir Wilfrid Rupert Patterson KCB, CBE, CVO (20 November 1893 - 15 December 1954) was a senior officer 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...

. He was the Commodore Commanding His Majesty's Australian Squadron between 2 September 1939 and 1 November 1939. He participated in the naval battle that sunk 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...

.

Biography

Born on 20 November 1893 in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, the son of William Robert Patterson and Elizabeth Fleming. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet on 15 September 1906 and specialised in gunnery. He was appointed the Commodore Commanding His Majesty's Australian Squadron between 2 September 1939 and 1 November 1939.

In recognition of the role played while commanding HMS King George V

HMS King George V (41)

HMS King George V was the lead ship of the five British King George V-class battleships of the Royal Navy. Laid down in 1937 and commissioned in 1940, King George V operated during the Second World War as part of the British Home and Pacific Fleets...

 in the destruction of the Bismarck, he was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath on 14 October 1941. He was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 11 June 1946.