Peveril William-Powlett

Vice Admiral Sir Peveril Barton Reiby Wallop William-Powlett, KCB, KCMG, CBE, DSO (5 March 1898 – 10 November 1985) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic Station from 1952 to 1954.

Sir Peveril William-Powlett
Vice-Admiral Sir Peveril William-Powlett (left) receiving the Prime Minister of the Gold Coast, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, when paying a courtesy visit to HMS 'Euryalus' in the Accra roads.
Born(1898-03-05)5 March 1898
Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales
Died10 November 1985(1985-11-10) (aged 87)
Honiton, Devon, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1914–1954
RankVice admiral
Commands heldSouth Atlantic Station (1952–54)
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth (1946–48)
HMS Newcastle (1942–44)
HMS Fiji (1940–41)
HMS Frobisher (1939)
Battles/warsFirst World War

Second World War

AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Other workGovernor of Southern Rhodesia (1954–59)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
– United Services Portsmouth ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1922[1] England 1 (0)

William-Powlett attended Cordwalles School.[2] He joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1914 and served in the First World War, specialising in signals.[3] A keen sportsman, he played rugby for England in 1922.[4] He saw service with the New Zealand Division from 1931 to 1936 and then commanded the cadet training ship HMS Frobisher in 1939.[3]

In 1935, William-Powlett was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[5]

William-Powlett served in the Second World War as Director of Manning at the Admiralty and then commanded the cruiser HMS Fiji, which was sunk during the Battle of Crete in 1941.[3] He was appointed Chief of Staff of Force H at Gibraltar in 1941 and then commanded HMS Newcastle from 1942.[3] He became Captain of the Fleet in the Home Fleet in 1944.[3]

After the war, William-Powlett commanded the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and then became Naval Secretary in 1948.[3] He went on to be Flag Officer (Destroyers) in the Mediterranean Fleet in 1950 and Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic in 1952.[3] He retired in 1954.[3]

In retirement William-Powlett served as Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1954 until 1959.[3]

Family

In 1923, William-Powlett married Helen Constance Crombie; they had three daughters.[6] Following the death of his first wife he married Barbara Patience William-Powlett, widow of his brother, in 1966.[6]

William-Powlett's second daughter, Helen, married Henry Bruce of Salloch, and is the mother of the royal commentator Alastair Bruce of Crionaich.[7]

References
  1. Peveril William-Powlett profile at scrum.com
  2. "WILLIAM-POWLETT, Vice-Admiral Sir Peveril (Barton Reibey Wallop)". Who Was Who. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press. November 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012. (subscription required)
  3. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  4. ESPN Scrum
  5. "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  6. Unit Histories
  7. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 1297–1298. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
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