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 Harold Martin Burrough (4 July 1889 – 22 October 1977) was a senior
Royal Navy officer and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff to the
Royal Navy during
World War II.
Early career
Born the tenth son of Rev. Charles Burrough and his wife Georgina Long, Burrough began his career as a naval cadet in 1903 after being educated at
St Edward's School, Oxford. He first saw action during
World War I as a gunnery officer aboard
HMS ''Southampton'',
[Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives]
/ref> later taking part in the Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...
in 1916.[ In 1930 he was given command of HMS ''London''.][ He was made Commander of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla in 1935 and of HMS ''Excellent'' in 1937.][ He was made Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1939.][
]
World War II
In September 1940 he was appointed Rear-Admiral Commanding 10th Cruiser Squadron
The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946.
First formation
The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the T ...
. During the Second World War he was awarded the DSO after Operation Archery a raid on the Norwegian islands of Vågsøy and Måløy on 27 December 1941 in which nine enemy ships were sunk by the Navy and Royal Air Force and the garrisons were wiped out by the raiding force. Burrough would serve on the Naval Staff for two years until 1942. In July of that year he was given command of the close escort force for Operation Pedestal
Operation Pedestal ( it, Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was a base from which British ...
, and subsequently placed in command of Allied naval forces in the assault on Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
during Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
, as well as directing the Northwest Africa landings.
After becoming Flag Officer Commanding Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches in September 1943, Burrough succeeded Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay
Admiral Sir Bertram Home Ramsay, KCB, KBE, MVO (20 January 1883 – 2 January 1945) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded the destroyer during the First World War. In the Second World War, he was responsible for the Dunkirk evacuation in ...
as Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief, Expeditionary Force (ANXF), following Ramsay's death after an aircraft accident in January 1945.[ Planning the Allied naval strategy and operations, working closely with U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower during the final years of the war, Burrough was one of the signatories to the German Surrender Documents on 7 May 1945 at Rheims, France.
He remained as naval commander occupying post-war Germany, where among his duties he authorised the formation of the German Mine Sweeping Administration. He then became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1946. He retired in 1949, being created Knight Grand Cross of the order of the Bath (GCB) that year.]Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
.
Family
Burrough married in 1914, Nellie Wills, daughter of C.W Outhit of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and had two sons and three daughters. His wife died in 1972.
References
Further reading
*
External links
King's College London: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives - Survey of the Papers of Senior UK Defence Personnel, 1900-1975
German Surrender Documents of World War II
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrough, Harold
1889 births
1977 deaths
Royal Navy admirals
Military personnel from Herefordshire
People from Herefordshire
Royal Navy admirals of World War II
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Deaths from pneumonia in England
Royal Navy officers of World War I
Lords of the Admiralty
Admiralty personnel of World War II