Henry Burrell (admiral)
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Vice Admiral Sir Henry Mackay Burrell, (13 August 1904 – 9 February 1988) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). He served as Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 1959 to 1962. Born in the Blue Mountains, Burrell entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1918 as a 13-year-old cadet. His first posting at sea was aboard the cruiser . During the 1920s and 1930s, Burrell served for several years on exchange with the Royal Navy, specialising as a navigator. During World War II, he filled a key liaison post with the US Navy, and later saw action as commander of the destroyer , earning a mention in despatches. Promoted
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in 1946, Burrell played a major role in the formation of the RAN's Fleet Air Arm, before commanding the flagship in 1948–49. He captained the light aircraft carrier in 1953–54, and was twice Flag Officer of the Australian Fleet, in 1955–56 and 1958. Burrell was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1955 and a
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in 1959. As CNS, he began a major program of acquisitions for the Navy, including new helicopters, minesweepers, submarines and guided-missile destroyers. He also acted to reverse a plan by the government of the day to dismantle the Fleet Air Arm.
Knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in 1960, Burrell retired to his farm near Canberra in 1962 and published his memoirs, ''Mermaids Do Exist'', in 1986. He died two years later, aged 83.


Early life and career

Henry Mackay Burrell was born at Wentworth Falls, in the Blue Mountains district of New South Wales. He was the third child and only son of schoolteacher Thomas Burrell and his wife, Eliza.Bateman, "Burrell, Sir Henry Mackay" Henry's father, who had emigrated from England, joined the Australian Imperial Force aged 55 during World War I, seeing active service in Egypt. His grandfather and great-grandfather had served in the Royal Navy. Henry attended Parramatta High School before entering the Royal Australian Naval College, Jervis Bay, on 1 January 1918,Cadman, ''Who's Who in Australia 1988'', p. 160 aged 13.Dennis et al., ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History'', p. 117 A keen sportsman, he competed in rugby union, tennis and hockey, winning
colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
for hockey. Burrell graduated from the college in 1921 and became a
midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
the next year. He went to sea first aboard the light cruiser and then the destroyer . Posted to the United Kingdom for further training in 1924, he served on the light cruiser and the battleship . In April 1925, he was promoted to
sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...
, rising to lieutenant by July 1926. After attending a Royal Navy course in 1930, Burrell became a specialist navigator, and saw service aboard the minesweeper HMS ''Pangbourne'', destroyers and , and cruiser . He married Margaret MacKay at Scots' Church, Melbourne, on 27 December 1933. Burrell was promoted to lieutenant commander in July 1934, and graduated from an advanced navigation course the next year. Burrell served on exchange with the Royal Navy as navigator aboard the cruisers and , the latter during her tour of duty in the Spanish Civil War. Described as being "egalitarian" and "approachable", his familiarity with ratings earned him the criticism of ''Devonshire''s captain. Burrell, however, believed that a close relationship between officers and men was necessary for the smooth running of a ship. After completing the Royal Navy's staff course in 1938, he returned to Australia and was appointed staff officer (operations) at the Navy Office, Melbourne, in March 1939.Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 60 Gill
''Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942'', p. 56
It was Burrell's first shore-based position, and he spent the next four months bringing naval sections of the ''War Book'' (preparations for war) up to date.


World War II

Burrell was still based at the Navy Office when World War II broke out in September 1939. A reorganisation of the headquarters in May 1940 saw him promoted to
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
and given the new role of Director of Operations, overseeing troop convoys and their air cover, local defence, and staffing issues. Burrell's "full knowledge of Australian naval plans and resources" led to Prime Minister
Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
personally nominating him to participate in staff talks with representatives of the Royal Navy and US Navy in October. Soon after, he was posted as the first Australian naval attaché to Washington, D.C., in an effort to improve communications with the US in light of the threat from Japan. Burrell was credited with helping to foster closer cooperation between the two navies in the Pacific region. He also warned the Australian government that Britain and the US would adopt a " Germany-first" strategy in the event of war with Japan, and that the US was prepared to weaken its Pacific fleet to help secure the Atlantic. Posted to Britain, Burrell was appointed
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
of the newly commissioned N-class destroyer on 15 September 1941. Gill
''Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945'', p. 16
The ship's first operation was transporting a Trade Union Congress delegation led by Sir Walter Citrine to Archangel, Russia. After returning to Britain, she steamed to the Indian Ocean to join Admiral Sir James Somerville's Eastern Fleet at
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, Maldives, on 26 February 1942. Following the Eastern Fleet's withdrawal to Kilindini, Kenya, ''Norman'' took part in the capture of
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on Madagascar on 7 May. Later that month, she was reassigned to the Mediterranean and in June was involved in
Operation Vigorous Operation Vigorous (known in Italy as 1942, "the Battle of mid-June 1942") was a British operation during the Second World War, to escort supply convoy MW11 from the eastern Mediterranean to Malta, which took place from 11 to 16 June 1942. Vigor ...
, an unsuccessful attempt to resupply the besieged island of Malta. Transferred back to the Indian Ocean, Burrell led ''Norman'' in the second campaign of the Battle of Madagascar in September, and was
mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
on 19 February 1943 for his "bravery and resource" during the operation. By this time ''Norman'' was escorting convoys in the Pacific, before deploying to the South Atlantic for anti-submarine duties in April–May.Gill
''Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945'', pp. 296–297
On 23 June 1943, Burrell relinquished command of ''Norman'' and returned to the Navy Office, Melbourne, as Director of Plans. Having been divorced from his first wife Margaret in November 1941, he married mineralogist Ada Weller (also known as Ada Coggan) on 21 April 1944; the couple had a son and two daughters. Burrell took charge of the RAN's latest destroyer, , at her commissioning in Sydney on 25 May 1945. Arriving on the scene too late to see action, the ship was deployed to Japan via the Philippines in July, docking in Tokyo on 31 August. There she participated in the formal surrender ceremonies that took place on 2 September aboard . ''Bataan'' remained in Japan as Australian Squadron representative until November, assisting with the repatriation of inmates from Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. On a mission to one such camp at
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, Burrell located crewmen from the light cruiser , which had been sunk in the early hours of 1 March 1942 during the Battle of Sunda Strait; 320 of her complement of 680 survived the sinking, 105 dying in captivity. Gill
''Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945'', pp. 681–682


Post-war career

Burrell's first appointment following the cessation of hostilities was as commander of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla. He was promoted
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in June 1946, and became Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) that October. As DCNS, Burrell played a major role in establishing the Navy's Fleet Air Arm and preparing for the introduction of carrier-based aircraft. He was appointed an aide-de-camp to Governor-General William McKell in July 1947. From October 1948 to the end of 1949, Burrell served as commanding officer of the heavy cruiser ,
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of the RAN. Posted to Britain in 1950, he attended the Imperial Defence College, London, and spent two years as Assistant Australian Defence Representative. He took command of the light aircraft carrier on 2 December 1952, less than three weeks after she was commissioned into the RAN after transfer from the Royal Navy. The ship began working up for deployment to the Korean War in June 1953, but in the end her place was taken by the carrier . ''Vengeance'' was involved in a collision with HMAS ''Bataan'' near the Cocos Islands on 5 April 1954, while acting as part of the escort for the
Royal Yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...
and Prince Philip during their inaugural tour of Australia, but continued on duty. Completing his tour as captain of ''Vengeance'', Burrell briefly resumed the role of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff in August 1954. The next month he was made an aide-de-camp to the Queen. Burrell was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1955 New Year Honours. In February he became Flag Officer of the Australian Fleet, with the acting rank of
rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
; this was made substantive in July. On 12 May 1956, he hoisted his standard aboard the recently arrived aircraft carrier , marking her replacement of sister ship HMAS ''Sydney'' as flagship of the RAN. Burrell was posted soon afterwards to the Navy Office, Canberra, to redevelop the service's officer structure, leading to a new ''General List'' of officers' seniority. He served as Second Naval Member (Personnel) from September 1956 until January 1958, when he again became Flag Officer of the Australian Fleet. Appointed a
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in the 1959 New Years Honours, Burrell was raised to vice admiral on 24 February and became First Naval Member, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). He succeeded Vice Admiral Sir Roy Dowling. As CNS, Vice Admiral Burrell had to contend with a threat by Defence Minister
Athol Townley Athol Gordon Townley (3 October 190524 December 1963) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1949 until his death in 1963. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as a minister in the Menzies Government fr ...
to disband the Navy's fixed-wing Fleet Air Arm capability by 1963, but gained approval for a major vessel re-equipment drive that was to include new submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, and auxiliaries.Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', pp. 187–188 This led among other things to the procurement of British s, selected by Burrell when his original preference for an Australian-built craft proved too expensive, as well as s and the Navy's first purpose-designed hydrographic survey ship, . The re-equipment program also resulted in augmentation of the RAN's rotary-wing assets with Westland Wessex anti-submarine warfare helicopters. Most significant was the purchase of three guided-missile destroyers, a decision of "ingenuity and forethought" on the part of Burrell and Navy Minister John Gorton, according to historian Tom Frame. The CNS and his minister enjoyed a close working relationship; Burrell declared that Gorton "deserves our thanks for his efforts", and Gorton called Burrell "one of the most honest, sincere and most dedicated sailors". The purchase of the destroyers signalled a shift in reliance for equipment from Britain to the United States that was contrary to prevailing Australian defence policy at the time, particularly in what historian
Jeffrey Grey Jeffrey Guy Grey (19 March 1959 – 26 July 2016) was an Australian military historian. He wrote two volumes of ''The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975'', and several other high-profile works o ...
described as "the most British of the Australian services, the RAN", and provoked pressure from the Royal Navy and UK shipbuilders, which had lobbied for purchase of their . Burrell later declared that the superiority of the US weapons system was a key factor in his preference for the ''Adams'' design over the County class.Jones; Goldrick, ''Struggling for a Solution'', pp. 7–12 On a mission overseas to discuss trends and acquisitions in January 1960, he was rebuffed by Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten, who mistakenly thought him responsible for the imminent dissolution of the RAN's Fleet Air Arm, but warmly welcomed by the US
Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...
, Admiral
Arleigh Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kenne ...
. As it happened, Burrell would gain credit for maintaining the integrity of the FAA, and its fixed-wing component remained viable until the early 1980s. He was appointed a
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...
in the
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, gazetted on 3 June 1960. In June 1961, he met with his opposite numbers in the Army and Air Force at a Chiefs of Staff Committee conference to discuss the necessity of Australia acquiring nuclear weapons; the chiefs agreed that the probability such a capability would be required was remote but that it should remain an option under certain circumstances, a position the defence forces maintained during the ensuing decade.


Retirement

Burrell made his farewell to the Australian Fleet aboard HMAS ''Melbourne'' at Jervis Bay on 8 February 1962. He left the Navy on 23 February, and was succeeded as CNS by Vice Admiral Hastings Harrington. Burrell retired to ''Illogan Park'', his property near Braidwood in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. His son Stuart followed him into the Royal Australian Naval College in 1963. In retirement Burrell enjoyed horse racing as a gambler and as the owner of several successful mounts. During the 1960s, he was also a member of the ACT Regional Selection Committee of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts. Burrell suffered a serious heart attack in 1980, having been diagnosed with cardiac problems shortly after his retirement from the Navy. His wife Ada died in August 1981. In 1986, Burrell published his memoirs as ''Mermaids Do Exist: The Autobiography of Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Burrell'', reflecting on what he described as a "lucky" career, and offering his thoughts on maritime strategy. He died on 9 February 1988 in
Woden Valley Hospital Canberra Hospital is a major tertiary public hospital located in Garran, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It is the largest hospital in the region with 672 beds catering to a population of about 550,000. It was formed when the Woden Vall ...
. Survived by his three children, Burrell was buried in Gungahlin, Australian Capital Territory, after a private funeral. The Burrell Cup doubles tennis trophy, established by the admiral in 1955, completed its 58th year of competition in March 2013.


Notes


References

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Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrell, Henry 1904 births 1988 deaths Royal Australian Navy admirals Chiefs of Naval Staff (Australia) Deputy Chiefs of Naval Staff (Australia) Graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Military personnel from New South Wales