Gerard Mansfield
Encyclopedia
Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Gerard "Ged" Napier Mansfield KCB
CVO
(13 July 1921 - 27 June 2006) was Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic
, and after leaving the Royal Navy
became a fund-raiser for the Queen's Silver Jubilee Trust.
, DSC
, and a descendant of the 19th-century Admiral Sir Charles "Black" Napier.
an independent school near Swanage
, Dorset
, before going to Royal Naval College, Dartford
in 1935.
Mansfield joined the destroyer
and then the heavy cruiser at Alexandria
. At the start of the war, Sussex joined Force H
hunting for the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic. He then escorted the first troop convoy from Australia
and New Zealand
across the Indian Ocean
, and took part in the campaign against Italian Somaliland
.
He spent a short period in the battlecruiser
followed by professional courses at Portsmouth
during the Blitz
- "not conducive to diligent study," he recalled. Promoted to sub-lieutenant
, he first served in the J-class
destroyer in the North Sea
and Mediterranean. On 26 March 1942 he was in when she was hit by two torpedoes from the submarine U-652
, catching fire and sinking quickly. Three officers and 190 ratings were lost, and Mansfield, though wounded in the head, was one of 53 men rescued. He telegraphed his mother: "March passed, with major wetting."
He joined combined operations, and was mentioned in dispatches for his work as a beachmaster during the landings in North Africa and Sicily
. He then became first lieutenant of a submarine, but this proved to be a dead-end in his career as he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He returned to good health and rose rapidly in his career. Between prominent staff appointments, he commanded the frigate and became captain of 20th Frigate Squadron. He was appointed Commodore
, Amphibious Forces, Singapore
in 1967, Flag Officer
Sea Training in 1971 and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
, based at Norfolk
, Virginia
in 1973. He retired in 1975.
; she survived him with their two daughters, one of whom is Didy Graham, secretary of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association
.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
CVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(13 July 1921 - 27 June 2006) was Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic
Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation , the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe . The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic, based at Norfolk, Virginia...
, and after leaving the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
became a fund-raiser for the Queen's Silver Jubilee Trust.
Early life
Edward Gerard Napier Mansfield was the son of Vice-Admiral Sir Jack Mansfield, KCB, DSODistinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, DSC
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
, and a descendant of the 19th-century Admiral Sir Charles "Black" Napier.
Education
He was educated at Durnford SchoolDurnford School
Durnford School was a notoriously spartan and uncomfortable preparatory school which opened in 1894 on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. The school occupied Durnford House, in High Street in the village of Langton Matravers near Swanage...
an independent school near Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, before going to Royal Naval College, Dartford
Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
in 1935.
War service in the Royal Navy
In May 1939 MidshipmanMidshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
Mansfield joined the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
and then the heavy cruiser at Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. At the start of the war, Sussex joined Force H
Force H
Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940 to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean that had been removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany....
hunting for the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic. He then escorted the first troop convoy from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
across the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, and took part in the campaign against Italian Somaliland
Somaliland
Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...
.
He spent a short period in the battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
followed by professional courses at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
- "not conducive to diligent study," he recalled. Promoted to sub-lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...
, he first served in the J-class
J, K and N class destroyer
The J, K and N class was a class of 24 destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1938. They were a return to a smaller vessel, with a heavier torpedo armament, after the Tribal class that emphasised guns over torpedoes. The ships were built in three flotillas or groups, eight each of ships with...
destroyer in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and Mediterranean. On 26 March 1942 he was in when she was hit by two torpedoes from the submarine U-652
German submarine U-652
German submarine U-652 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 5 February 1940 at the Howaldtswerke yard at Hamburg, launched on 7 February 1941, and commissioned on 3 April 1941 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Georg-Werner...
, catching fire and sinking quickly. Three officers and 190 ratings were lost, and Mansfield, though wounded in the head, was one of 53 men rescued. He telegraphed his mother: "March passed, with major wetting."
He joined combined operations, and was mentioned in dispatches for his work as a beachmaster during the landings in North Africa and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. He then became first lieutenant of a submarine, but this proved to be a dead-end in his career as he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He returned to good health and rose rapidly in his career. Between prominent staff appointments, he commanded the frigate and became captain of 20th Frigate Squadron. He was appointed Commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
, Amphibious Forces, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 1967, Flag Officer
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...
Sea Training in 1971 and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation , the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe . The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic, based at Norfolk, Virginia...
, based at Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1973. He retired in 1975.
Personal life
He married, in 1943, Joan Worship Byron, a descendant of Admiral Jack "Foul Weather" ByronJohn Byron
Vice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...
; she survived him with their two daughters, one of whom is Didy Graham, secretary of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association
Victoria Cross and George Cross Association
The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association is made up of holders of the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military award for bravery in the field, and the George Cross, the equivalent award for civilians and military personnel who have displayed conspicuous bravery but not in action.Holders of...
.