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 Henry William Urquhart McCall, (11 June 1895 – 23 March 1980) was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

from 1951 until his retirement in 1953.

Naval career

McCall joined the Royal Navy as midshipman in the

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 ...

HMS ''Hyacinth'' at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

in 1908. He served in the First World War as

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

HMS ''Daffodil'' from 1915, as Executive Officer in the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

in the Grand Fleet from 1916 and as Executive Officer in the destroyer in the Grand Fleet from 1918. He was present at the Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow in 1919.Imperial War Museum
/ref> He became commanding officer of the destroyer 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 ...

in 1932 and naval attaché at Buenos Aires in Argentina in 1938. McCall served in the Second World War as commanding officer of the cruiser from 1940, as Chief of Staff to Admiral Sir Percy Noble who was Head of the British Naval Delegation to Washington D. C. from 1943, and as commanding officer of 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 ...

in South East Asia in 1944. McCall became Senior British Naval Officer in the Middle East in 1946, Flag Officer, Destroyers in the

in 1949 and Vice Admiral commanding the

1950, before retiring in 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCall, Henry 1895 births 1980 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order People from Largs Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy personnel of World War II