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 Geoffrey John Audley Miles, KCB, KCSI (2 May 1890 – 31 December 1986) was a senior Royal Navy admiral who served as Deputy Naval Commander, South East Asia Command under

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

during the Second World War, as the Senior British Representative on the

Tripartite Naval Commission The Tripartite Naval Commission (TNC) was a naval commission founded by the United States, United Kingdom and the USSR in order to allocate seized German ships and submarines to the said nations. France was excluded due to Soviet intervention. I ...

and as the last

Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), also known as the Navy Chief, abbreviated to CNS, is a statutory position in the Indian Navy held by a four star admiral. As the highest ranking officer to serve solely in the Indian Navy, the chief is the ...

of the unified Royal Indian Navy.

Early life

Miles was born in Chelsea, London, the third son of Audley Charles Miles (1855–1919) and Eveline Frances Cradock-Hartopp (1856–1946). He was the great-grandson of Philip John Miles and thus related to Philip Napier Miles, Frank Miles and

Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet (13 May 1797 – 17 June 1878), was an English politician, agriculturalist and landowner. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, and was created a baronet on 19 April 1859, of Leigh Court, ...

. He was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

, aboard HMS ''Britannia'', and joined the Royal Navy in 1905 as a

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

. Specialising as a

navigation officer A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

, he first served aboard the ships HMS ''Victorious'' (1906–1908) and HMS ''King Edward VII'' (1908–1910). From 1910 to 1912, Miles was lent to the Royal New Zealand Navy, and served on HMNZS ''Leander''. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1911, and the following year was made the assistant to the navigator on HMS ''Neptune'', the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of the

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 ...

, and was then made navigator of HMS ''Surprise'' (HMS ''Alacrity'') on the China Station, serving there until 1914.

Navigation officer

During the First World War, Miles served as navigator of several ships, HMS ''Empress of Russia'', an

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

in the Indian Ocean (1914–1915), HMS ''Botha'', a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

in the Grand Fleet (1915–1916) and HMS ''Fearless'', a light cruiser in the Grand Fleet (1916–1919). In 1919, he received a promotion to Lieutenant-Commander. Miles then attended the Royal Navy Staff College aboard HMS ''President'', and was assigned as a staff officer aboard HMS ''Coventry'' in 1920, under the Rear-Admiral Commanding Destroyers in the Atlantic Fleet. He was appointed as the navigating officer of the same ship in 1922 and was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

two years later; he was also appointed the Squadron Navigating Officer (Destroyers) in the

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 ...

. He was then assigned to the operations staff of the 3rd Battle Squadron in the Mediterranean (1925–1926) and then to the staff of the Vice-Admiral Commanding 1st Battle Squadron & Vice-Admiral Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet. He served in this capacity aboard the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

HMS ''Barham'' from 1926 to 1927. After eleven months of gyrocompass instruction at the

Admiralty Compass Observatory The Admiralty Compass Observatory, originally known as the Compass Branch (1842–1917) and later known as the Compass Department (1917–1968) and Compass Directorate (1968–1971) was established in 1842 to provide the Royal Navy with services f ...

( Ditton Park,

Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

), Miles was assigned as the navigation officer aboard the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

from January 1927 to May 1929, also serving as the Staff Officer (Operations) and Squadron Navigating Officer, Battle Cruiser Squadron (Atlantic Fleet). He then attended the Staff College at Greenwich, and worked in the Plans Division of the Admiralty from November 1929 to August 1931, receiving a promotion to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in July 1931. From 1931 to 1932, he commanded the minesweeper HMS ''Pangbourne'', then served as assistant director and acting director of the RN Staff College at Portsmouth from 1933 to 1935. Appointed as Captain (D)

3rd Destroyer Flotilla The British 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as Third Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1939 and again from 1945 to 1951. History In 1907 the Channel Fleet had a large Channel Flotilla of destroyers in Fe ...

(Mediterranean) and as Commanding Officer, HMS ''Codrington'' in 1935, Miles served in this capacity until July 1937, when he was assigned to the RN Tactical School at Portsmouth aboard HMS ''Victory''. He first served there as assistant director (1937–1938) and subsequently as director (1938–1939).

Wartime

In July 1939, Miles was appointed as commanding officer of the battleship and as the Flag Captain,

, in which capacity he served for the first half of the war. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1941 and was appointed as the Naval aide-de-camp to George VI from January through July 1941. He was appointed a CB in the

1942 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1942 were appointments by King George VI to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 5 ...

and headed the British Military Mission to the Soviet Union from June 1941 through March 1943. He then served on the staff of the

Commander-in-Chief, Levant The Commander-in-Chief, Levant was a senior administrative shore commander of the Royal Navy whose post was established in February 1943. The British Chiefs of Staff Committee ordered at that time that the Mediterranean Fleet was to be divided in ...

in Alexandria, Egypt until July, then as Naval Force Commander, Eastern Expeditionary Force, at Bombay until December. On 20 December, he was appointed as Deputy Naval Commander, South East Asia Command under

on 20 December, headquartered at New Delhi. In March 1944, Miles was promoted to Vice-Admiral, and in July 1944, was appointed Flag Officer, Western Mediterranean, (RN base,

Taranto, Italy Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label=Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important commerci ...

) where he concluded his wartime service. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

with the KCB in the

1945 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1945, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 14 June 1945 for the United Kingdom and British Empire.United Kingdom and British Empire: The recipients of honours are displayed here as th ...

and also appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour by the French government for his service in the Mediterranean.

Postwar

In August 1945, Miles was appointed as the Senior British Representative on the Tripartite Naval Commission in Berlin, simultaneously serving as Senior British Representative on the Tripartite Merchant Marine Commission. Early in 1946, he was appointed as the final

of the unified Royal Indian Navy, relinquishing his post on the day of Indian independence. He was appointed a KCSI in the

1948 New Year Honours The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the Britis ...

for his service in India, becoming one of the final recipients of the order. Miles retired in April 1948 with the rank of

. He was Chairman of the naval charity, the Royal Navy Club of 1765 and 1785 (United 1889), in 1953. He died on New Year's Eve, 1986 at Holyport,

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, aged 96.

Personal life

On 22 February 1918, Miles married Alison Mary Cadell (13 October 1898 – 20 May 1981), the daughter of Henry Moubray Cadell (1860–1934), geologist and geographer, and Elinor Simson (1868–1943). The couple had two sons: Lieutenant-Commander Peter Tremayne Miles, RN (1920–1995) and Lieutenant Archibald Geoffrey Miles, Royal Artillery (1922–1993).