Henry Harwood
Sir Henry Harwood | |
---|---|
Hanover Square, London | |
Died | 9 June 1950 Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire | (aged 62)
Buried | Goring-on-Thames parish churchyard[1] |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1904–1945 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands held | Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands (1944–45) Commander-in-Chief, Levant (1943) South American Division, North America and West Indies Station (1939–40) HMS Exeter (1936–39) HMS London (1932–34) 9th Destroyer Division (1929–30) HMS Warwick (1929–30) HMS Cumberland (1927–28) |
Battles/wars |
|
Awards | Mentioned in Despatches War Cross (Greece) Gold Medal of Concepcion (Chile) Grand Officer of the Order of Merit (Chile) |
Relations | Kate Harwood |
Early life
Following education at
In 1931 and 1932, Harwood attended the
In September 1936, Harwood was appointed
Second World War
Harwood commanded a squadron consisting of the heavy cruisers
Harwood suspected that Graf Spee would try to strike next at the merchant shipping off the River Plate estuary. With Cumberland being absent for repairs, Harwood deployed his other three cruisers off the estuary on 12 December. In the ensuing Battle of the River Plate on 13 December, Harwood's cruisers were damaged, but so was Graf Spee, which fled to Montevideo in neutral Uruguay. She was scuttled there a few days later.[5] For this action, Harwood was promoted to rear admiral and knighted.
From December 1940 to April 1942, Rear-Admiral Harwood served as a
In April 1944, Harwood became Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands[2] (HMS Proserpine). He retired on 15 August 1945 with the rank of admiral, having been declared medically unfit for further duty.[2]
Post-war
Sir Henry Harwood died in Goring-on-Thames in 1950. Harwood Avenue, the main thoroughfare in the town of Ajax, Ontario, was named after him.[6] In the 1956 film, The Battle of the River Plate, Harwood was played by Anthony Quayle.[7]
References
- ^ Noomen, E. J. (1998–2010). "Graves of World War II personalities". Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ Houterman, Hans. "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945 (HARV to HAYW)". Unithistories. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ H.M.S. EXETER 1936–1939. London: HMS Exeter, Royal Navy. 1939. Pages 126 and 127.
- ^ Battle of the River Plate, December 1939 Naval History
- ^ "Harwood Avenue named for British naval officer". DurhamRegion.com. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "The Battle of the River Plate". IMDb. Retrieved 10 March 2019.