Robert Raikes (Royal Navy officer)
Sir Robert Raikes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1885 |
| Died | 1953 |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1900–1944 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | South Atlantic Station |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Distinguished Service Order |
Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes KCB CVO DSO (1885–1953) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic Station.
Naval career
Raikes joined the Royal Navy in 1900.[1] He served in World War I, earning the DSO in 1916,[2] and went on to be Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth[3] before becoming Director of the Royal Navy Staff College at Greenwich in 1932.[1] He was made Chief of Staff of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1934 and Admiral in charge on a temporary basis at Alexandria in Egypt during the Abyssinian war in 1936 before becoming Rear Admiral Submarines in 1936.[1] He served in World War II initially as Vice Admiral commanding the Reserve Fleet destroyers on the Northern Patrol before becoming Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic Station in 1940.[1] He went on to be Flag Officer, Aberdeen from 1942 to 1944.[1]
He lived at Mantyley Chase in Newent in Gloucestershire.[4]
Family
He married Ida Guinevere Evans.[4] His son, Iwan Raikes, also served in the Royal Navy and became Flag Officer, Submarines.[5] His nephew, Dick Raikes, also served in the Royal Navy and launched the Cockleshell heroes on their raid in canoes against German shipping in the Gironde estuary in 1942.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ World War 1 at Sea
- ^ a b Obituary: Lieutenant-Commander Dick Raikes Daily Telegraph, 28 June 2005
- ^ a b The Hallowes Genealogy
- ^ Debrett's People of Today 1994