Rear Admiral Arthur David Torlesse, (24 January 1902 – 19 July 1995) 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 ...

officer. He commanded the escort carrier during the latter part of 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 opposi ...

, and the aircraft carrier during the early months of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. In 1952, he commanded the task force that supported

Operation Hurricane Operation Hurricane was the first test of a British atomic device. A plutonium implosion device was detonated on 3 October 1952 in Main Bay, Trimouille Island, in the Montebello Islands in Western Australia. With the success of Operation H ...

, the first British

nuclear weapons test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

Early life and career

Arthur David Torlesse was born in

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

on 24 January 1902, the son of a

officer, Captain Arthur Ward Torlesse, and his wife Harriet Mary (née Jeans). He had a brother, Ynyr John Torlesse. He was educated at

Park High School, Stanmore Park High School is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational 11–18 Academy (English school), Academy in Stanmore, London, England. It is located next to Centenary Park. The school converted to academy status in 2011, having previously been a Commu ...

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

, which he entered in 1915, and

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

. He served as a midshipman with the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the F ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Torlesse was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant on 15 May 1922, and served on . He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 15 June 1923. He joined the crew of the aircraft carrier on 28 May 1925, and qualified as an

air observer An air observer or aerial observer is an aircrew member whose duties are predominantly reconnaissance. The term originated in the First World War in the British Royal Flying Corps, and was maintained by its successor, the Royal Air Force. An ai ...

with the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

. In this role he subsequently served on in 1927 and then joined in 1928, where he was serving when promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

on 18 August 1931. He married Sheila Mary Susan Darroch, the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Darroch, 6th of

Gourock Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a ...

, a retired Army officer of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, on 29 April 1933. They two sons, Charles David and Anthony John, and a daughter, Susan. After attending the staff course at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

, Torlesse became operations officer on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, on the battleship in July 1935. He was promoted to commander on 31 December. After attending a tactical course at HM Dockyard, Portsmouth, in 1936, he was served on the battlecruiser . This was followed by a posting to the Far East as the operations officer on the staff of Commodore, Malaya, based at the

Singapore Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the northern tip of Singapore ...

, and for a time he was also the Naval Attaché to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

in Bangkok.

Second World War

Returning to Britain, Torlesse became executive officer of the cruiser on 6 July 1939. He joined the staff of Rear Admiral, Naval Air Stations at HMNS Daedalus (also known as RNAS Lee-on-Solent) on 8 July 1940. On 12 January 1942, he became an Assistant Director of Naval Air Division at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. He was promoted to captain on 30 June. On 1 February 1943, he became the Deputy Director of Naval Air Warfare and Flying Training Division at the Admiralty. Torlesse's first command came on 10 November 1944, when he became captain of the escort carrier , which became part of the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

. ''Hunter'' supported

Operation Dracula Operation Dracula was a World War II-airborne and amphibious attack on Rangoon by British and Anglo-Indian forces during the Burma Campaign. The plan was first proposed in mid-1944 when the Allied South East Asia Command was preparing to reoccu ...

, the amphibious attack on Rangoon, and, after the war ended, Operation Zipper, the reoccupation of Singapore. ''Hunter'' was present in Singapore for the Japanese surrender before returning to Britain in October 1945, and being returned to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

on 29 December. For his services, Torlesse was made a

Companion of the Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

on 28 December.

Korea

Torlesse returned to the Admiralty, where he became Director of the Airfields and Carrier Requirements Department on 1 March 1946, and then Director of the Air Equipment Department on 17 May 1948. On 7 December 1949, he became captain of the aircraft carrier , which saw active service in the early months of the

, including supporting

Operation Chromite The Battle of Incheon (), also spelled Battle of Inchon, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The operation involved s ...

, the American landings at Incheon. Torlesse was mentioned in despatches on 30 January 1951, and was made an Officer of the American Legion of Merit on 13 August 1954.

Operation Hurricane and after

Promoted to rear admiral on 7 July 1951, Torlesse was placed in change of a small fleet assembled for

, the first test of a British atomic bomb. His command included the escort carrier , which served as his flagship, the LSTs ''Narvik'', ''Zeebrugge'' and ''Tracker'', and the

River-class frigate The River class was a class of 151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the North Atlantic. The majority served with the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), with some serving in the other Al ...

, which would act as a target ship. The bomb was assembled at

Foulness Foulness Island () is a closed island on the east coast of Essex in England, which is separated from the mainland by narrow creeks. In the 2001 census, the usually resident population of the civil parish was 212, living in the settlements of Ch ...

, and then taken to ''Plym'' on 5 June 1952 for transport to the

Monte Bello Islands The Montebello Islands, also rendered as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands (about 92 of which are named) lying north of Barrow Island and off the Pilbara coast of north-western Australia. The islands f ...

in Australia, where the test would take place. It took ''Campania'' and ''Plym'' eight weeks to make the voyage, as for security reasons they sailed around the Cape of Good Hope instead of traversing the Suez Canal. The Monte Bello Islands were reached on 8 August. The bomb was successfully detonated on board ''Plym'' on 3 October 1952. For his part, Torlesse was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 30 December. His final posting was as

Flag Officer, Ground Training The Flag Officer, Ground Training was a senior Royal Navy appointment responsible for all naval aviation ground training from 1949 to 1957. History The post was established in January 1949 following the abolition of the office of Flag Officer, ...

. He retired on 16 December 1954. He served for a time as a regional director of civil defence. Torlesse died in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, on 19 July 1995.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torlesse, Arthur David 1902 births 1995 deaths Military personnel from Sussex Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Legion of Merit People from Bognor Regis Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Navy personnel of World War II Royal Navy personnel of the Korean War Royal Navy personnel of World War I Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II