Reginald Portal

Admiral Sir Reginald Henry Portal, KCB, DSC (6 September 1894 – 18 June 1983) was a Royal Navy officer and naval aviation pioneer who served in both world wars.[1][2][3]

Sir Reginald Portal
Born(1894-09-06)6 September 1894
Hungerford, Berkshire
Died18 June 1983(1983-06-18) (aged 88)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1907–1951
RankAdmiral
UnitFleet Air Arm
Commands heldHMS York
HMS Royal Sovereign
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Air)
Flag Officer, Naval Air Stations (Australia)
Flag Officer, Air (Home)
Battles/wars
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Cross
Spouse(s)Helen Anderson
Children4
RelationsCharles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford (brother)

Early life and family

Born near Hungerford, Berkshire, Reginald Portal was the second son of Edward Robert Portal, a country gentleman. His elder brother was Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, later Marshal of the Royal Air Force the Viscount Portal of Hungerford. The family was Huguenot in origin and Reginald Portal was related to the goldsmith and dramatist Abraham Portal, and more distantly so to Wyndham Portal, 1st Viscount Portal.

Portal joined the Royal Navy in 1907 and served in the battleship HMS Neptune before the First World War. As an air observer, he received the Distinguished Service Cross during the war for conspicuous bravery in combat over the Dardanelles, when he was wounded.[4] He was assigned to the seaplane carrier HMS Ark Royal as an observer, before returning to general service on the battleship HMS Colossus.[2]

References
  1. "Reginald Henry Portal". The Dreadnought Project. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022.
  2. "Admiral Sir Reginald Portal". The Times. 22 June 1983. p. 10.
  3. "Adml Sir Reginald Portal". The Daily Telegraph. 21 June 1983. p. 14.
  4. "Naval Honours for the Dardanelles". The Daily Telegraph. 1 June 1916. p. 11.
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