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 Laurence George Durlacher KCB OBE

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

(24 July 1904 – 16 January 1986) was a

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 went on to be

Fifth Sea Lord The Fifth Sea Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty that controlled the Royal Navy. The post's incumbent had responsibility for naval aviation. History In 1805, for the first time, specific functions w ...

Naval career

Durlacher joined the

and chose to specialise in signals.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served in

World War II 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 ...

initially as Commander of HM Signal School at 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 ...

and then as Fleet Signals Officer on the staff of Admiral Andrew Cunningham during the campaigns in North Africa,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

by the US Government for his services in these campaigns and given command of HMS ''Volage'' in the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air L ...

in 1944. After the War, having been 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 1945, he became deputy director of the Signal Division of the Naval Staff, and in 1949 was appointed Commander of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla 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 went on to be Commander of the Admiralty Signals and Radar Establishment at

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

in 1950 and Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief,

in 1952 before becoming Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel (Personal Services) at the

in 1955. He was made Flag Officer commanding 5th Cruiser Squadron and

Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a Naval fleet, fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1952 and 1971. During the Second World War, the Eastern Fleet included many ships and personnel from other navies, including t ...

in 1957 and then Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and

in 1959; he retired in 1962.

Family

In 1934 he married Rimma who went on to become a pillar of the British community on the

Riviera ''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two areas ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durlacher, Laurence 1904 births 1986 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Lords of the Admiralty Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Marylebone Military personnel from London