AdmiralAdmiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet. Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral and Admiral of the Fleet are sometimes considered generically to be Admirals....
John Henry Godfrey CB (10 July 1888 – 29 August 1970) was an officer of the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
, specialising in
navigationNavigation is the process of reading, and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks. The word navigate is derived from the Latin "navigare", meaning "to sail"...
.
The son of Godfrey Henry Godfrey, he was educated at
King Edward's School, BirminghamKing Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
,
Bradfield CollegeBradfield College is a coeducational public school located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire.The college was founded in the 1850s by Thomas Stevens, Rector and Lord of the Manor of Bradfield...
, and
HMS BritanniaBritannia 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, with...
. In 1921 he was married to Bertha Margaret, daughter of Donald Hope; they had three daughters.
During the First World War, Godfrey served on
HMS EuryalusHMS Euryalus was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser in the Royal Navy. Though the class was already obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, the Euryalus and her sisters Aboukir, Bacchante, Hogue and Cressy were assigned to patrol the Broad Fourteens of the North Sea, in support of a force of...
in the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915, and was present at the re-occupation of Sollum, during the bombardment of
SmyrnaSmyrna was the ancient city now in Turkey, represented by modern İzmir. Located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia and aided by its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence before the Classical Era....
, and in the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
operations in support of the
Arab forcesThe Arab Revolt was initiated by the Sherif Hussein ibn Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Turks and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.- Background :The rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire goes back to 1821...
.
AdmiralAdmiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet. Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral and Admiral of the Fleet are sometimes considered generically to be Admirals....
John Henry Godfrey CB (10 July 1888 – 29 August 1970) was an officer of the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
, specialising in
navigationNavigation is the process of reading, and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks. The word navigate is derived from the Latin "navigare", meaning "to sail"...
.
The son of Godfrey Henry Godfrey, he was educated at
King Edward's School, BirminghamKing Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
,
Bradfield CollegeBradfield College is a coeducational public school located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire.The college was founded in the 1850s by Thomas Stevens, Rector and Lord of the Manor of Bradfield...
, and
HMS BritanniaBritannia 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, with...
. In 1921 he was married to Bertha Margaret, daughter of Donald Hope; they had three daughters.
During the First World War, Godfrey served on
HMS EuryalusHMS Euryalus was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser in the Royal Navy. Though the class was already obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, the Euryalus and her sisters Aboukir, Bacchante, Hogue and Cressy were assigned to patrol the Broad Fourteens of the North Sea, in support of a force of...
in the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915, and was present at the re-occupation of Sollum, during the bombardment of
SmyrnaSmyrna was the ancient city now in Turkey, represented by modern İzmir. Located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia and aided by its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence before the Classical Era....
, and in the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
operations in support of the
Arab forcesThe Arab Revolt was initiated by the Sherif Hussein ibn Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Turks and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.- Background :The rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire goes back to 1821...
. From 1916 to 1919 he was on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, and then from 1921 to 1931 he was Deputy Director at the Royal Naval Staff College. From 1931 to 1933 he commanded the ships
KentHMS Kent was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy, and was the leadship of the Kent subclass. She was built by Chatham Dockyard , laid down on 15 November 1924...
and
SuffolkHMS Suffolk was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy, and part of the Kent subclass. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, Portsmouth, UK), with the keel being laid down on 15 November 1924...
on the
China StationThe China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy.-Description:Its responsibilities generally covered the coasts of China and its navigable rivers, the western part of the Pacific Ocean, and the waters around the Dutch East Indies...
, before serving as Deputy Director, Plans Division at the
AdmiraltyThe Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Originally exercised by a single person, the office of Lord High Admiral was from the 18th century onward almost invariably put "in commission", and was exercised by a Board of Admiralty.In...
from 1933 to 1935. He commanded the battle-cruiser
HMS RepulseHMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser, the second to last battlecruiser built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, for the Royal Navy. She was originally intended to be a unit of the R class battleships, but was ordered to a modified design...
from 1936 to 1939, then served as Director of
Naval IntelligenceThe Naval Intelligence Division was the intelligence arm of the British Admiralty before the establishment of a unified Defence Staff in 1965. It dealt with matters concerning British naval plans, with the collection of naval intelligence...
from 1939 to 1942. From 1943 to 1946 he was
Flag OfficerA flag officer is a commissioned officer who is senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to represent where he exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in a nation's navy or coast guard, specifically those who hold the rank of commodore or any of the admiral ranks...
Commanding Royal Indian Navy.
Godfrey was made
CaptainCaptain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
in 1928, Rear-Admiral in 1939, Vice-Admiral in 1942 and
AdmiralAdmiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet. Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral and Admiral of the Fleet are sometimes considered generically to be Admirals....
on the retired list in 1945. As well as being made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1939, he was also awarded the
Order of the NileThe Order of the Nile is Egypt's highest state honor. The award was instituted in 1915 by Sultan Husayn Kamil to be awarded by Egypt to a person who did services for the nation....
of Egypt and made a
ChevalierA knight was a "gentleman soldier" or member of the warrior class of the Middle Ages in Europe. In other Indo-European languages, cognates of cavalier or rider are more prevalent suggesting a connection to the knight's mode of transport...
of the French
Legion d'HonneurThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
After his retirement, Admiral Godfrey was Chairman of the Chelsea Hospital Management Committee from 1949 to 1960, and was a sometime member of the Board of Governors of
Queen Charlotte's HospitalQueen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is one of the oldest maternity hospitals in Europe, and until recently occupied a site on Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith, West London...
and the Chelsea Hospital for Women, and of the Council of
King Edward's Hospital Fund for LondonThe King's Fund is a charitable foundation in England. Founded as the Prince of Wales Hospital Fund for London in 1897, the fund changed its name in 1902 to King Edward's Hospital Fund after the ascension to the throne of King Edward VII...
and
Roedean SchoolRoedean School is an independent girls' school in Roedean village on the outskirts of Brighton, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. The school overlooks the sea and is situated close to the marina. Students attend from many different parts of the world...
. He founded the Centre for Spastic Children, Chelsea.
Admiral Godfrey lived at White Stacks, Wilmington, near
PolegatePolegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is located five miles north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne, and is part of the greater area of that town. Although once a railway settlement, its importance as such has now waned with...
,
SussexSussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. His telephone number was
AlfristonAlfriston is a village and civil parish in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Cuckmere, about four miles north-east of Seaford and south of the main A27 trunk road and part of the large area of Polegate...
313. He was a member of the
Athenaeum ClubAthenaeum Club may refer to:*Athenaeum Club, London, a private gentlemen's club situated in London, England.*Athenaeum Club, Melbourne, a private gentlemen's club situated in Melbourne, Australia....
, the
Garrick ClubThe Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:Founded in 1831, it moved to its present home at 13 and 15 Garrick Street in 1864, close to the theatre and legal districts. Membership to the club is by invitation to those applicants considered qualified...
, the United Service Club, the
Royal Aero ClubThe Royal Aero Club is the national co-ordinating body for Air Sport in the United Kingdom.The Aero Club was founded in 1901 by Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls , partly inspired by the Aero Club of France...
, and the
Chelsea Arts ClubThe Chelsea Arts Club was established on March 21 1891 , as a rival to the older Arts Club in Mayfair, on the instigation of the artist James Abbot McNeill Whistler, who had been a member of the older club.- Description :...
.