John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey
The Lord Tovey | |
---|---|
Mentioned in Despatches |
Early life and career
Tovey was born on 7 March 1885 at Borley Hill,
Tovey passed out of Britannia with four months' time awarded (effectively an improvement in seniority) and entered the Royal Navy on 15 May 1901 as a
In 1905, Tovey attended courses in gunnery, torpedo, navigation and pilotage.
Tovey was appointed, on 18 May 1908, to the
At the start of 1913, Tovey was posted to HMS Vivid (the naval barracks at Devonport) for trials of HMS Amphion and subsequently served on Amphion from 2 April 1913. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 15 July 1914.[6]
First World War
Tovey continued to serve on Amphion as its first lieutenant until she was mined and sunk on 6 August 1914 (the first British warship to be sunk in the First World War).[9] He was subsequently posted to the destroyer HMS Faulknor.[6]
Tovey remained on Onslow until October 1917, when he transferred to command the new destroyer HMS Ursa, which he commanded at the
Inter-war years
In June 1919, Tovey attended the Senior Officers' Technical Course at the
At the end of 1924, Tovey was appointed as captain (D) to command
In October, Tovey attended a Senior Officers' course and in January 1935, he was appointed as
Tovey had been nominated in early 1935 to be rear admiral (D), commanding the Destroyer Flotillas of the
Second World War
For some months after Britain and Germany had declared war, the
When Italy declared war in June 1940, Tovey was commanding the Mediterranean Fleet's Light Forces (i.e. cruisers and destroyers) and had become Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, under Andrew Cunningham. As Italy's participation became more certain, the Mediterranean Fleet had been reinforced and by June, Tovey commanded nine cruisers and around twenty-five destroyers, with his flag in HMS Orion.[3]
In his first action in the Mediterranean, Tovey commanded the 7th Cruiser Squadron when, on 28 June 1940, it intercepted three Italian destroyers that were making an urgent supply run to north Africa (Battle of the Espero Convoy).[note 5] The five British cruisers engaged the Italian flotilla at extreme range and succeeding in sinking the Espero, while the other two escaped. The British use of ammunition had been extensive and, due to this and the shortage of stores at Alexandria, planned convoys from Malta were postponed. Cunningham was not pleased and commented that the ammunition used was "tremendous ... to sink this one 1,000-ton destroyer".[18]
On 9 July, Tovey commanded the Light Forces (cruisers and destroyers) at the indecisive
In November 1940 Tovey was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the
After the Bismarck action, Tovey resisted moves to court-martial the Prince of Wales' captain, John Leach, and Frederic Wake-Walker, the admiral commanding Suffolk and Norfolk, who had broken off the battle with Bismarck after Hood had been sunk. Tovey was appalled and a row ensued between Tovey and his superior, Pound. Tovey stated that the two officers had acted correctly in the circumstances. He threatened to resign his position and appear at any court-martial as 'defendant's friend' and defence witness. No more was heard of the proposal.[22][note 7] King George V was extremely short of fuel and had stayed at the scene far longer than Tovey had thought it could, so another cause for friction between Tovey and his political and professional superiors was a signal that his flagship was to remain in action until Bismarck had sunk, "Bismarck must be sunk at all costs ... even if it ... means towing King George V". In these circumstances it would have been highly likely that the ship would have been lost to either U-boats or aircraft. The signal had initially caused amusement amongst Tovey and his staff, but later its risks and implications angered them; Tovey later said "It was the stupidest and most ill-considered signal ever made" and he made it clear that he would have disobeyed and risked court-martial.[23]
Despite these serious differences and although Churchill considered Tovey to be "obstructionist" and attempted to get him sacked, Tovey lasted the full two and a half years of his appointment. At the end of this appointment, when departing Scapa, Tovey was carried to Thurso by HMS Onslow, the latter namesake of his notable World War I command.[3]
In June 1943, Tovey became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, with responsibility for controlling the east coast convoys and organising minesweeping operations. He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 22 October 1943.[26] Other major responsibilities were the organisation of the logistics for the forthcoming Allied invasion of Sicily and the Normandy landings.[7] He was appointed as First and Principal Naval ADC to the King in January 1945.[1]
Retirement
Tovey retired from the service early in 1946 and was
Family
On 28 March 1916, Tovey married Aida Rowe, daughter of John Rowe, at Linlithgow.[1] They had no children.[3]
Character
Confidential reports on Tovey by his commanding officers shine a light on his personality and his abilities. In his early years in the Navy, the most used adjective was "zealous" and in later years, he was consistently praised for his ability and potential. In two instances, in command of a destroyer flotilla and of HMS Rodney, his impact on the efficiency of his command was noted. Tovey's ability to command respect was also commended.[6]
There are several documented illustrations of Tovey's willingness to confront higher authorities when he believed it was right to do so. An early example was when, as a midshipman on the Exmouth supervising the handling of ships' boats, a superior officer started to give the orders. Tovey "peeled off his white gloves, unbuckled his sword belt, handed them to the astonished Commander and went below."[3]
While in command of HMS Rodney, Tovey did not always see eye to eye with his Commander-in-Chief and was inclined to express his views forcibly. In later years he often quoted one paragraph from Sir John Kelly's confidential report: "Captain Tovey shares one characteristic with me. In myself I call it tenacity of purpose; in Captain Tovey I can only describe it as sheer bloody obstinacy".[3][6]
Honours and awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) |
(13 April 1943)[28] | |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) | (1 January 1941)[29] | |
Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) | (29 January 1937)[30] | |
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) |
(14 October 1941)[21] | |
Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) | (10 July 1919)[13] | |
Order of St. Anna 3rd class (with swords) |
(Russian Empire) (awarded 1 October 1917)[31] | |
1914–1918 War Cross | (France) (2 November 1917)[32] | |
Order of Suvorov 1st Class | (USSR) (29 February 1944)[24] | |
Commander of the Legion of Merit | (United States) (28 May 1946)[33] | |
Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix | (Greece) (15 April 1947)[34] |
Notes
- ^ HMS Racer, training ship for Royal Navy College Osborne, May 1910
HMS Bellona, scout cruiser in the Atlantic Fleet, June 1911
HMS Patrol, scout cruiser in the Home Fleet, November 1911
HMS Russell, battleship, August 1912 - ^ Onslow's torpedo hit on Wiesbaden was one of only five British torpedo hits during Jutland.
- ^ The Report on the Battle by Admiral Beatty stated that: "Defender, whose speed had been reduced to 10 knots, while on the disengaged side of the battle cruisers, was struck by a shell which damaged her foremost boiler, but closed Onslow and took her in tow. Shells were falling all round them during this operation, which, however, was successfully accomplished. During the heavy weather of the ensuing night the tow parted twice, but was resecured. The two struggled on together until 1pm 1 June, when Onslow was transferred to tugs. I consider the performances of these two destroyers to be gallant in the extreme, and I am recommending Lieutenant-Commander J. C. Tovey of Onslow, and Lieutenant Commander Palmer of Defender, for special recognition..." (The Beatty Papers, vol. 1, B.McL. Ranft, ed, Navy Records Society, 1989, p 323). Both officers were awarded DSOs.
- ^ The five were HMAS Stuart (leader), Vampire, Vendetta, Voyager and Waterhen.
- ^ At this stage, the 7th Cruiser Squadron consisted of HMS Orion, Liverpool, Gloucester, Neptune and HMAS Sydney. The three Italian destroyers were the Espero, Ostro and Zeffiro.
- ^ Cunningham reported: "Our cruisers – there were only four in action – were badly outnumbered and at times came under a very heavy fire. They were superbly handled by Vice-Admiral J. C. Tovey, C.B., D.S.O., who, by his skilful manoeuvring, managed to maintain a position in the van and to hold the enemy cruiser squadrons, and at the same time avoid damage to his own force."
- ^ Kennedy expounds on the court-martial claim via the epilogue in Pursuit – The Sinking of the Bismarck. According to Kennedy the claim for a proposal to court martial Leach and Wake-Walker came from post-war letters written by Admiral Tovey, after he retired, and not from Admiralty sources. Kennedy states in his epilogue that "...later in life Tovey's memory let him down..." and that plus the fact that Leach and Wake-Walker were retained in their commands and given commendations must cast considerable doubt on the court martial proposal.
- ^ The reasons for Tovey's disregard of the Soviet decoration are not known. It may, however, be relevant that the Soviet armed forces offered little protection to the Arctic convoys and obstructed the essential support of the escorting British naval forces in northern Russia.
- ^ The new escort carrier HMS Avenger had become available and formed the core of the escorting force. The convoy had been postponed until escorting warships had been freed from Operation Pedestal.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. "Royal Navy (RN) Officers – 1939–1945". World War II Unit Histories. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ Stephen Roskill (January 1981). "Admiral Sir Geoffrey Oliver GBE, KBE, DSO**" (PDF). The Naval Review. 69 (1): 4–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Admiral of the Fleet Lord Tovey of Langton Matravers, G.C.B., K.B.E., D.S.O., D.C.L. (also published in The Naval Review, July 1980)". All things Tovey. 2001–2010. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36756. London. 1 May 1902. p. 6.
- ^ "No. 27847". The London Gazette. 24 October 1905. p. 7099.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bevand, Paul A.; Allen, Frank W. (2010). "Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Cronyn Tovey". Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1946. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ Royal Naval Museum. 2004. Archived from the originalon 12 October 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "No. 27932". The London Gazette. 17 July 1906. p. 4887.
- ^ "HMS Amphion was first British warship sunk in World War One". BBC. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "No. 29751". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 September 1916. p. 9074.
- ^ "No. 29751". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 September 1916. p. 9079.
- ^ "No. 29654". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 1916. p. 6716.
- ^ a b "No. 31445". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 July 1919. p. 8737.
- ^ "No. 32893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1923. p. 8.
- Royal Naval Museum. 2000. Archived from the originalon 11 October 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "No. 34194". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 August 1935. p. 5530.
- ^ "No. 34625". The London Gazette. 12 May 1939. p. 3188.
- ^ Woodman, p. 42
- HMSO. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "Senior Royal Navy appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ a b "No. 35307". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 October 1941. p. 5945.
- ^ Kennedy, p. 212
- ^ Kennedy, pp. 211–212
- ^ a b "No. 36400". The London Gazette. 25 February 1944. p. 1007.
- ^ Howarth, p. 554
- ^ "No. 36255". The London Gazette. 19 November 1943. p. 5088.
- ^ "No. 37470". The London Gazette. 15 February 1946. p. 974.
- ^ "No. 35978". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 April 1943. p. 1699.
- ^ "No. 35029". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1940. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 34365". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 January 1937. p. 690.
- ^ "No. 30316". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 September 1917. p. 10157.
- ^ "No. 30363". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 October 1917. p. 11322.
- ^ "No. 37582". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 May 1946. p. 2559.
- ^ "No. 37931". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 April 1947. p. 1675.
Sources
- Howarth, Stephen (1994). The Battle of the Atlantic 1939–1945: the 50th anniversary International Naval Conference Part 770 of The Battle of the Atlantic, 1939–1945: The 50th Anniversary International Naval Conference. Greenhill. ISBN 978-1-55750-058-8.
- ISBN 978-0-0063-4014-0.
- ISBN 978-0-7195-6408-6.
External links
- "At Sea: Tovey for Forbes" (Time Magazine, 28 Oct. 1940)
- Home waters and the Arctic 1 January – 31 May 1943
- The Dreadnought Project: John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey