Hugh Balfour
Hugh Balfour CB LVO | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 April 1933 Rear-Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Sheraton HMS Whitby HMS Phoebe HMS Exeter Royal Navy of Oman |
| Battles/wars | Falklands War |
| Awards | Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order Companion of the Order of the Bath Order of Oman |
Rear-Admiral Hugh Maxwell Balfour CB, LVO (29 April 1933 – 29 June 1999) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer.[1]
Early life
Hugh Balfour was born in Malta into a Royal Navy family on 29 April 1933, and received his early formal education at Ardvreck School, Crieff, and at Kelly College, Tavistock.[2][1]
He joined the Royal Navy in 1951, and qualified as a signal officer in 1959.[3] He served on HMS Rothesay from 1960 to 1962 before gaining his first command in 1963 as a lieutenant on the Ton-class minesweeper, HMS Sheraton.[4]
From 1965 to 1967 he served as staff officer operations and senior communications officer to the senior naval officer West Indies (Snowi).[2] He then went on to command HMS Whitby, and took part in the Beira Patrol off the coast of Mozambique.[4]
His next appointment was as commander (communications) at HMS Dryad, at the Royal Navy's Tactical School.[2] From 1972 to 1974 he was the commander of HMY Britannia.[2] In 1974 he was appointed as a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.[5][2]
In 1976 he was appointed captain of
On his return to the United Kingdom he was appointed Deputy-Director of Command, Control and Communications. He then served as the Royal Navy's Chief Signals Officer from 1979 to 1981.[2]
Falklands War
Balfour was the Captain of HMS Exeter when the Argentine Armed Forces militarily invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982.[4] Exeter was on duty at that moment in the Caribbean, acting as a guardship for British troops protecting Belize from aggression from the Government of Guatemala.[4] Whilst waiting for orders he prepared the ship for battle with a series of war exercises.[4]
Following the loss of
Later career
From 1983 to 1985 Balfour was director of the Maritime Tactical School and promoted to Rear-Admiral.[2] Between 1985 and 1990 he was Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman, and awarded the Order of Oman on his retirement.[2] In 1990 he was also appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.[6]
Post-military career
On his retirement from the Royal Navy he became a communications consultant.[2]
Death
Balfour died from the effects of a cancer on 29 June 1999 in his 67th year.[7]
Personal life
He married Sheila Ann Weldon in 1958, the marriage producing two daughters and a son.[7]
References
- ^ Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2016 (November 2015 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 23 March 2016. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Rear-Admiral Hugh Balfour". The Independent. 22 August 1999. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Rear Admiral Hugh Balfour". The Herald. 7 August 1999. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Hugh Balfour". The Guardian. 2 August 1999. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "No. 46310". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1974. p. 6796.
- ^ "No. 52173". The London Gazette. 15 June 1990. p. 2.
- ^ a b Obituary for Hugh Balfour, 'The Herald (Scotland)', 7 August 1999. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12275438.rear-admiral-hugh-balfour/