Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes KCB CVO DSO (23 August 1885 – 24 May 1953) 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 ...

officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic Station.

Early life and education

Raikes was born in Chislehurst, Kent, the fifth son of Robert Taunton Raikes, and his wife, Rosa Margaret Cripps. He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...

and aboard HMS ''Britannia'' in September 1900.

Naval career

Raikes joined the

in 1900.Admiral Sir Robert Henry Taunton Raikes
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served in

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 ...

, earning the DSO in 1916, and went on to be Chief of Staff to the

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succes ...

Obituary: Lieutenant-Commander Dick Raikes
Daily Telegraph, 28 June 2005 before becoming Director of the Royal Navy Staff College at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

in 1932. He was made Chief of Staff of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1934 and Admiral in charge on a temporary basis at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

during the Abyssinian war in 1936 before becoming

Rear Admiral Submarines Commodore Submarine Service is a post in the Royal Navy which involves command of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. It evolved from the post of Inspecting Captain of Submarines in 1901 and would later evolve to become the post of Flag Officer Su ...

in 1936. 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 opposing ...

initially as Vice Admiral commanding the Reserve Fleet destroyers on the

Northern Patrol The Northern Patrol, also known as Cruiser Force B and the Northern Patrol Force, was an operation of the British Royal Navy during the First World War and Second World War. The Patrol was part of the British "distant" blockade of Germany. Its ma ...

before becoming Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic Station in 1940. He went on to be Flag Officer, Aberdeen from 1942 to 1944. He lived at Mantyley Chase in

Newent Newent (; originally called "Noent") is a market town and civil parish about 10½ miles (17 km) north-west of Gloucester, England. Its population was 5,073 at the 2001 census, rising to 5,207 in 2011, The population was 6,777 at the 2021 Census. ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

.The Hallowes Genealogy
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Family

He married Ida Guinevere Evans. His son,

Iwan Raikes Vice Admiral Sir Iwan Geoffrey Raikes KCB CBE DSC DL (21 April 1921 – 27 December 2011) was a former Royal Navy officer who became Naval Secretary. Naval career Born the son of Admiral Sir Robert Raikes and educated at the Royal Naval Coll ...

, also served in the Royal Navy and became Flag Officer, Submarines. His nephew, Lieutenant-Commander

Dick Raikes Lieutenant Commander Richard Prendergast Raikes (21 January 1912 – 24 May 2005) was an officer in the Royal Navy notable for being the commanding officer of the submarine HMS ''Tuna'' that launched the canoes during Operation Frankton in 194 ...

DSO, also served in the Royal Navy and launched

Operation Frankton Operation Frankton was a commando raid on ships in the German occupied French port of Bordeaux in southwest France during the Second World War. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol ...

, the first SBS personnel of the

Royal Marines Commandos 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

on their raid using the klepper canoe against German shipping in the Gironde estuary in 1942. The story was told in the classic 1955 film ''

The Cockleshell Heroes ''The Cockleshell Heroes'' is a 1955 British Technicolor war film with Trevor Howard, Anthony Newley, Christopher Lee, David Lodge and José Ferrer, who also directed. The film depicts a heavily fictionalised version of Operation Frankton, the ...

'' starring

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Raikes, Robert 1885 births 1953 deaths People educated at Radley College Royal Navy admirals of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Distinguished Service Order