Vice-Admiral Sir William Gladstone Agnew (2 December 1898 – 12 July 1960) was an officer of the

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 ...

. He served during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World War 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 ...

s, and rose to the rank of vice-admiral. Agnew was the fifth son of Charles Morland Agnew and Evelyn Mary Agnew, née Naylor. Agnew was educated at

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 ...

, and at

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

, Dartmouth, joining the Navy in 1911. During the First World War he served aboard the battleships and , as well as the destroyer . During the inter war years Agnew served aboard and as gunnery officer aboard . In October 1940 he was transferred to the cruiser as commanding officer. His command was moved to the Mediterranean in 1941 and together with and destroyers and formed

Force K Force K was the name given to three British Royal Navy groups of ships during the Second World War. The first Force K operated from West Africa in 1939, to intercept commerce raiders. The second Force K was formed in October 1941 at Malta, to op ...

based in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Commodore Agnew commanded Force K during the destruction of the Duisburg convoy on 8 November 1941 and was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

for this action. In June 1943 the ''Aurora'' was used to convey

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

to Malta and Agnew was created a Companion of the Royal Victorian Order for this service. Agnew was given command of , the Royal Navy's gunnery school in 1943. In 1946 he was given command of , remained aboard her after his promotion to rear-admiral in January 1947, and was in command during the royal tour of South Africa. On conclusion of the tour he was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. In August 1947 Agnew was appointed director of personnel services 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 he remained until October 1949. In January 1950 he retired from the navy at his own request, and later in the year was promoted to vice-admiral on the retired list. After retirement from the navy he was General Secretary of the

National Playing Fields Association Fields in Trust, is a British charity set up in 1925 as the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA), by Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish and the Duke of York, later King George VI, who was the first president, which protects parks and green s ...

, from 1950 to 1953,'AGNEW, Vice-Adm. (retd) Sir William Gladstone', in ''Who Was Who'' (London: A. & C. Black) and was also active in local government. Agnew married Patricia Caroline Bewley in 1930."Agnew, Sir William Gladstone" by A. D. Nicholl (1971
Exhibit 141, ThePeerage.com
(Accessed 29 July 2020) They had no children. At the time of his death he was living at Glentimon, Palmerston Way,

Alverstoke Alverstoke is a small settlement which forms part of the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It stretches east–west from Fort Blockhouse, Haslar to Browndown Battery, and is centred east of the shore of Stokes Bay and ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, William 1898 births 1960 deaths

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Military personnel from London Royal Navy admirals of World War II Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal Navy officers of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order English cricketers Royal Navy cricketers People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne