Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Sir Alexander Noel Campbell Bingley, (15 February 1905 – 28 September 1972) was a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
officer who served as
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succe ...
and
Allied Command Channel
Allied Command Channel (ACCHAN) was one of three major North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commands from 1952 to 1994. Commander-in-Chief Channel was a Major NATO Commander (MNC).
The Command was established in 1952 to defend the sea areas a ...
from 1961 to 1963.
Naval career
Bingley joined the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
as a cadet in 1918.
[Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives]
/ref>
Bingley served in the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.
Before the First ...
.[ He went on to captain the ]aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
in 1943, of the aircraft carrier in 1944, and of the Mobile Naval Air Base HMS ''Nabaron'' in 1945.[
After the war, Bingley was appointed Deputy Director of Air Warfare.][ He went on to be ]Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
to the Flag Officer (Air) and then Commander of the aircraft-carrier in 1952.[ He was appointed ]Fifth Sea Lord
The Fifth Sea Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty that controlled the Royal Navy. The post's incumbent had responsibility for naval aviation.
History
In 1805, for the first time, specific functions wer ...
and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Air) in 1954 and Flag Officer, Aircraft Carriers
Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships (FOCAS) was a senior Royal Navy post that existed from 1970 to 1979. However, its antecedents date to 1931.
A Flag Officer with specific responsibilities for command of aircraft carriers within the Roy ...
in 1958.[ He was made Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and ]NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean
Allied Forces Mediterranean was a NATO command covering all military operations in the Mediterranean Sea from 1952 to 1967. The command was based at Malta.
History
The British post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet was given a dual-hatted ...
in 1959 and then Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succe ...
and Allied Commander-in-Chief, Channel in 1961; he retired in 1963.[
]
Personal life
Bingley married Juliet Martin Vick in 1948. After his death she resumed her career as a social worker after a gap of 28 years, and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1970. They had three children, and lived at Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River.
Hoddesdon is ...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingley, Alexander
1905 births
1972 deaths
Royal Navy admirals
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Royal Navy officers of World War II
Lords of the Admiralty