Vice Admiral Sir Robert William Frank Gerken (11 June 1932 – 20 December 2022) was a British

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 served as

Flag Officer, Plymouth The Flag Officer Plymouth was a senior Royal Navy appointment first established in July 1969. The office holder was responsible for the administration of the faciliites of the two major Royal Navy at Plymouth and Portsmouth. The appointment conti ...

Naval career

Educated at

Chigwell School Chigwell School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition located in Chigwell, in the Epping Forest (district), Epping Forest district of Essex. It consists of ...

, the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth 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 ...

and 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 ...

, Gerken joined the Royal Navy in 1948.Debrett's People of Today 1994 He became Commanding Officer of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

HMS ''Andromeda'' as well as Captain of the

6th Frigate Squadron The 6th Frigate Squadron was an administrative unit of the Royal Navy from 1950 to 2002. History During its existence, the squadron included , Type 15, , , , and Type 23 frigates. Ships from the squadron participated in the Coronation Fleet ...

in 1974. He went on to become

Captain of the Fleet In the Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command. The equivalent post was called fleet captain in the U.S. Navy of the 18th and 19th ...

in 1978,

Flag Officer, Second Flotilla The Flag Officer, Second Flotilla was a senior British Royal Navy appointment from 1971 to 1992. History After the creation of the single Commander-in-Chief Fleet post in 1971, its subordinate commands were reorganised. Three major sub-commands w ...

in 1981 and

Director-General, Naval Manpower and Training The Naval Recruitment Training Agency (NRTA) originally called the Naval Training Department was first established in 1944 as a department within the British Admiralty, Admiralty it underwent numerous name changes until 1 April 1995 as a new agen ...

in 1983. His last appointment was as Flag Officer Plymouth and Port Admiral, HMNB Devonport in 1985 before he retired in 1987. In retirement he became Chairman of

Plymouth Development Corporation The Plymouth Development Corporation (or PDC) was an urban development corporation established in Plymouth, Devon, England by the UK Government on 1 April 1993 to "secure the physical, environmental, economic and social regeneration" of surplus p ...

Personal life and death

In 1966 he married Christine Stephenson; they had two daughters. Following the death of his first wife he married Ann Fermor (née Blythe) in 1983. Gerken died on 20 December 2022, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerken, Robert 1932 births 2022 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich People educated at Chigwell School