Vice Admiral Sir Hilary Worthington Biggs, (15 January 1905 – 2 January 1976) was a senior Royal Navy officer.

Naval career

Hilary Worthington Biggs was born on 15 January 1905, the son of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

C. W. Biggs. After attending the Royal Naval Colleges at

Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...

and

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

, Biggs was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1923,"Biggs, Vice-Adm. Sir Hilary Worthington"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 5 April 2018. 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 ...

to ."Sir Hilary Biggs", ''The Times'' (London), 3 January 1976, p. 14. After several promotions in the 1920s, Biggs became a lieutenant commander in 1934 and a

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. ...

four years later. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Biggs was posted as commander of in 1940; he received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) that year for his services in the

Second Battle of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. ...

, and was awarded a Bar to the DSO for his role in the evacuation of Greece the following year. He was also awarded the War Cross, 3rd Class from Greece and Poland's Cross of Valour in 1942. Biggs then served in the Battle of Crete, before being posted to the Admiralty as Deputy Naval Assistant to the Second Sea Lord (1942–44). He was promoted 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 1943, and commanded from 1944 (he was also Captain (D), 11th Destroyer Flotilla of the Eastern Fleet), serving in the Indian Ocean. With the Second World War over, Biggs commanded (1946–48) and served as Assistant Chief of Supplies at the Admiralty. He was Captain of the Fleet on 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 ...

from 1950 to 1952, and the next year became

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

and Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel (Personal Services). In 1955, he became Flag Officer of the Home Fleet Training Squadron and then, from 1956 to 1958 was posted as the last Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station. Biggs was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1955 and, three years later, he was appointed

Knight Commander 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 ...

. He died on 2 January 1976, leaving a widow (Florence, daughter of Sir Roger Backhouse) and four children. One of his sons was Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Biggs (1938–2002)."Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Biggs"
''The Telegraph'', 3 July 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

References

External links

''Sir Hilary Worthington Biggs''
by Elliott & Fry (bromide print, 4 July 1956);

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

(Photographs Collection, NPG x86358). {{DEFAULTSORT:Biggs, Hilary 1905 births 1976 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the War Cross (Greece) Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of World War II