Hugo Hendrik Biermann, (6 August 1916 – 27 March 2012) was a senior officer in the
South African Navy
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force.
The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...
. He served as
Chief of the Navy from 1952 to 1972 and
Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1972 until 1976, the only naval officer to have served in the post.
Early life
Biermann's father, also named Hugo Hendrick, joined the Orange Free State postal service at the age of 12,
and later joined the South African Railways and Harbours as a telegraphist.
Born in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
on 6 August 1916, Biermann was one of four children. His brothers Phillip and Stefanus (Chips) served on whalecatchers that had been converted to minesweepers during the Second World War.
His brother Stefanus reached the rank of rear admiral in the South African Navy.
Biermann started school in the Transvaal until his father was transferred to Cape Town.
He completed his schooling at
Jan van Riebeeck High School
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Numb ...
and,
after leaving school at the age of 16, joined the South African Training Ship ''
General Botha
HMS ''Thames'' was a protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the 1880s. The ship was placed in reserve upon her completion in 1888 and was converted into a submarine depot ship in 1903. She was sold out of the navy in 1920 and wa ...
''.
After two years training on the ''General Botha'' from 1932 to 1933, Biermann entered the
British Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguar ...
as a cadet and served until 1938, when he was transferred to the Maritime Department of the South African Railways and Harbours.
Career
Second World War
Biermann began his naval career in 1938 as a
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
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
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 cit ...
. In January 1940, he was called up for full-time service and transferred to the
Seaward Defence Force
Seaward may refer to:
People:
* Carolyn Seaward (born 1960), former beauty queen who appeared in the 1983 Bond film ''Octopussy''
*John Seaward (1786–1858), British civil engineer and mechanical engineer
* Kevin Seaward (born 1983), Northern Iri ...
. Promoted lieutenant in mid 1941 he commanded ,
and , before being promoted to lieutenant commander in command of the salvage vessel .
The crew of the HMSAS ''Gamtoos'' cleared several Mediterranean ports of sunken and scuttled ships, and at Marseilles, Biermann blew a hole in the harbour wall so that he could enter the
Vieux Port
Vieux may refer to:
Places
*Vieux, Calvados, in the Calvados department, France
* Vieux, Tarn, in the Tarn department, France
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* Vieux-Fumé, in the Calvados department, France
* Vieux-Pont-en-Auge ...
and begin work. The ''Gamtoos'' went on to salvage the ''Sidi Aissa'', towing it away to clear the valuable graving dock at
La Ciotat
La Ciotat (; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, La Ciutat ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. It is the southeasternmo ...
by 14 December 1944. This earned Biermann appointment as an
Officer 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 o ...
(OBE) (Military Division). The citation for his OBE reads:
Post-war and rise to senior command
After the Second World War, and with the establishment of the
South African Navy
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force.
The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...
(Permanent Force) in May 1946, Biermann was appointed lieutenant commander in the Permanent Force and made captain of the
Algerine class minesweeper
The ''Algerine''-class minesweeper was a large group of minesweepers built for the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. 110 ships of the class were launched between 1942 and 1944.
Design and descripti ...
, , commissioning it in
Devonport on 8 September 1947. He was also the Senior Officer of the minesweeping squadron.
In 1950, Biermann was transferred to Defence Headquarters and served on the staff of the then
Director-General of the South African Naval Forces. Two years later he attended the British Naval 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 equiv ...
, and was appointed as
naval attaché
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...
at
South African House, London with the rank of commander.
Frans Erasmus reshuffle
Minister
Frans Erasmus
François Christiaan Erasmus (19 January 1896 – 1 July 1967) was a South African National Party politician and Minister of Defence from June 1948 to 1959 as well as Minister of Justice from 1959 to August 1961.
Early life
He was born on 1 ...
embarked on a process of ridding the Defence Force of officers associated with the Smuts government and replacing them with others whom he considered more Nationalist, one which Afrikaners would feel more at home.
In 1952, Erasmus posted Brigadier
Pieter de Waal
Brigadier Pieter de Waal (31 December 1899, ZeerustJune 1977, Wynberg) was a List of South African military chiefs, South African military commander. He joined the Union Defence Force (South Africa), Union Defence Forces as a coastal gunner i ...
as a Military attache to the United States, replacing him with Biermann,
one of only seven Afrikaans officers in the navy in 1948. Then Commander Biermann was appointed
Naval and Marine Chief of Staff (the head of the navy) on 1 December 1952, and promoted to the rank of commodore, jumping two ranks.
During his tenure the
Simonstown Agreement
The Simonstown Agreement (sic) was a naval cooperation agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the (then-officially) Union of South Africa signed . Under the agreement, the Royal Navy (RN) gave up its na ...
was signed on 30 June 1955. He held commodore rank until 1 April 1957, with the handing over of the
Simon's Town Naval Base, he was promoted to rear admiral. Biermann was made vice admiral on 1 December 1965, when his position was simultaneously retitled as Chief of the Navy.
In 1972, Biermann took over the position of
Commandant General of the South African Defence Force and promoted to Admiral, the first time this rank was used in the South African Navy. The title was changed to Chief of the
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...
a year later.
In 1977, Biermann authored The South African Response. The Southern Oceans and the Security of the Free World: New Studies in Global Strategy''.
The navy's submarine base was named after him.
Contribution to yachting in South Africa
Following the success of
Bruce Dalling
Bruce Tweeddale Dalling (16 August 1938 – 7 July 2008) was a Springbok South African yachtsman, also advocate and farmer, best known for taking second place on elapsed time and first on corrected time for the monohull award in the 1968 Observ ...
and the yacht Voortrekker in the 1968
Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race
The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (STAR) is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth in England to Newport, Rhode Island in th ...
,
Biermann, then chairman of the Springbok Ocean Racing Trust, suggested that South Africa host an ocean race of its own.
The South African Ocean Racing Trust (as the SAORT became known) selected the Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro, who were willing to co-operate in the organising of the race and the race would be known as the Cape to Rio. The first race was organised for 1971, with the organisers anticipating at most 15 entries into the race.
However, the race attracted a large amount of interest and 58 boats entered the 1971 race.
Awards and decorations
Biermann received the
Star of South Africa on 13 May 1960 in recognition of his exceptionally meritorious services. He was the last recipient of this honour prior to the declaration of the Republic of South Africa on 31 May 1961, which has
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
's
royal cypher on the back above the pre-2000
Coat of arms of South Africa. He was also appointed
Grand Cross of Naval Merit of the Order of May from Admiral Guillermo Brown of Argentina,
and the
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Infante Dom Henrique of Portugal.
He was the very first recipient of the
Southern Cross Decoration, which he received upon his retirement as Chief of the South African Defence Force in 1976.
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![Order of Naval Merit (Argentina) - ribbon bar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Order_of_Naval_Merit_%28Argentina%29_-_ribbon_bar.png)
Order of May
The Order of May (in Spanish: ''Orden de Mayo'') is an order of merit and one of the highest decorations in Argentina. The order is named after the May Revolution which led to the birth of the Republic of Argentina. It was founded as the Order ...
of Naval Merit (Argentina, Grand Cross degree)
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![PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Cross BAR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/PRT_Order_of_Prince_Henry_-_Grand_Cross_BAR.svg)
Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry – GCIH
Personal life
In 1940, Biermann married Margaret (Peggy) Cruyws.
She died in 2008 at the age of 90.
The couple had two children, Hugo Hendrik and Diana.
Biermann died on 27 March 2012 at the age of 95 in a retirement home, Silvermine Village, near Cape Town. He was buried with full military honours.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Biermann, Hugo
1916 births
Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich
South African admirals
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
South African military personnel of the Border War
South African Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People from Johannesburg
2012 deaths
Chiefs of the South African Navy
Alumni of Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck
Royal Navy officers of World War II