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 Maurice James Mansergh KCB

CBE 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 ...

(14 October 1896 – 29 September 1966) 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

Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this offic ...

Early life and education

Mansergh was born in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, Essex, the second son of civil engineer Ernest Lawson Mansergh and grandson of

James Mansergh James Mansergh FRS (29 April 1834 – 15 June 1905) was an English civil engineer. Mansergh was born in Lancaster. He started his career in railway work and then designed many sewerage schemes and fresh water schemes. His most famous projects ...

. He was educated at a school near

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...

before entering

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

in 1909 as a naval cadet.

Naval career

Mansergh joined the

in 1914 at the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Sir Maurice James Mansergh
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet from 1934 and then became Executive Officer on 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 ''Rodney'' from 1936. In 1939 he became Director of the Trade Division 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 ...

where his main role was the protection of shipping. 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 ...

as Deputy Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Trade) and then, from 1941, as Captain of 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 ''Gambia''."The Imperial Theme": HMS Gambia
/ref> He was made Deputy Chief of Staff and subsequently Chief of Staff to the Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief for the Normandy Invasion Expeditionary Force in 1943. After the War, he became Commodore commanding 15th Cruiser Squadron and then, from 1946, he became

Naval Secretary The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers). Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equiv ...

. He was appointed Commander of the 3rd Aircraft Carrier Squadron in 1948 and

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 wer ...

and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Air) in 1949. His last appointment was as

in 1951. He retired in 1954.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansergh, Maurice 1896 births 1966 deaths People from Ealing Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from Essex