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 Desmond Parry Dreyer, (6 April 1910 – 15 May 2003) was a senior
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
Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1965 to 1967.
Naval career
Born the second son of Admiral
Sir Frederic Charles Dreyer, Desmond Dreyer 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 ...
in 1924.
[Sir Desmond Parry Dreyer]
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He 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 ...
at sea and in 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 distinguished himself as Gunnery Officer on at the ]Battle of the River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, commande ...
in December 1939, winning the Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries.
*Distinguished Service Cross (Australia)
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
for his role in this action.[Obituary: Sir Desmond Dreyer]
Daily Telegraph, 21 May 2003 He served on during the Norwegian campaign and from 1941 to 1943 on the battleships and .
From July 1953 to April 1955, Dreyer commanded the 3rd Destroyer Squadron in the Mediterranean. He was appointed 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 Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...
in 1955 and was involved in the Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
in 1956.[ He went on to be ]Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff
The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (A.C.N.S.) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7.
History
The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff was originally directly responsible to the Fir ...
in 1958, Flag Officer (Flotillas) for the Mediterranean Fleet in 1960 and Flag Officer, Air (Home)
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...
in 1961.[ He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet in 1962: following the ]Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...
he co-ordinated Commonwealth naval forces in their successful resistance to Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n incursions into the newly formed Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
Dreyer became Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel in 1965.[ He was also Principal Naval Aide-de-camp to ]the Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
from 1965 to 1968.[ His last appointment was as Chief Advisor (Personnel and Logistics) to ]Denis Healey
Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...
, the Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...
in 1967: he retired in 1968.[
]
Later life
In retirement, Dreyer became a member of the Prices and Incomes Board and the Armed Forces' Pay Review Board.[ He was also Deputy Lieutenant of ]Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
.[ From 1970 to 1971 he was Chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889).Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889)]
.
Family
In 1934, Dreyer married Elisabeth Chilton: they went on to have two sons and a daughter.[ In 1959, following his first wife's death, he married Majorie Whiteley.][
]
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreyer, Desmond
1910 births
2003 deaths
British military personnel of the Suez Crisis
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Navy officers of World War II
People from Warwick