Ralph Edwards (Royal Navy officer)

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Sir

Ralph Edwards
Rear Admiral Edwards, second from right, at a conference with First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor and other admirals aboard HMS Liverpool, 1952
Born(1901-03-31)31 March 1901
Died4 February 1963(1963-02-04) (aged 61)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1914–1958
RankAdmiral
Commands held
Battles/wars
Awards

Admiral Sir Ralph Alan Bevan Edwards KCB CBE (31 March 1901 – 4 February 1963) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.

Naval career[edit]

Edwards joined the Royal Navy in 1914[1] and served in the battlecruiser HMS Tiger in the Grand Fleet during World War I.[2]

In World War II, he served as Deputy Director and then as Director of the Operations Division for the Home Fleet.[2] During this time, he oversaw the operation to sink the German battleship Bismarck. He then became Chief of Staff for the Eastern Fleet and, from March 1945, was Captain of HMNZS Gambia.[1]

After the war he was made Captain of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious.[2] He became Assistant Chief of Naval Staff in 1948. In July, 1951, he returned to sea in command of the First Cruiser Squadron and as Flag Officer (Air), Mediterranean, hoisting his flag in his old ship the Gambia.[2] From November 1951, he was also Flag Officer, Second in Command of the Mediterranean Fleet. He then became Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy in 1953.[1] His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and NATO Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean in 1957.[1] He retired in 1958.[2]

Family[edit]

In 1932 he married Joan Le Fowne Hurt; they had one son and one daughter.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Sir Ralph Alan Bevan Edwards Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives Archived 2012-12-23 at archive.today
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Obituary: Admiral Sir Ralph Alan Bevan Edwards KCB, CBE", The Times, 5 February 1963, archived from the original on 6 October 2011

External links[edit]

Military offices
Preceded by Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy
1953–1956
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
1957–1958
Succeeded by