Rank Admiral | Name Manley Power Years of service 1917–1961 | |
Commands held HMS H32 (21 Apr 1933 – Jan 1934)HMS Severn (31 May 1937 – Apr 1939)HMS Opportune (9 Jun 1942 – Aug 1942)HMS Kempenfelt & Captain (D) 26th Destroyer Flotilla (24 Apr 1944 – Jun 1944)HMS Myngs (Jun 1944? – Nov 1944)HMS Saumarez (17 Nov 1944 – Jul 1945)HMS Osprey (Royal Naval Air Station, Portland) (4 May 1949 – May 1950)Flag Officer Aircraft Carriers (1956–1957)Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth (HMS Victory) & Allied Commander-in-Chief, Channel & Commander-in-Chief, Home Station (Designate) (9 Mar 1959 – 1961) Battles/wars World War II- Operation Torch (landings in North Africa)- Operation Husky (invasion of Sicily)- Operation Shingle (landing at Anzio )- Operation Neptune (Normandy landings)- Sinking of the HaguroSuez Crisis Awards KCB 12 Jun 1958CB (9 June 1955)CBE (20 April 1943)OBE (1 January 1941)DSO (14 November 1944)DSO (10 July 1945)Mentioned in Despatches (21 Dec 1943 and 6 Jun 1944)Legion of Merit (19 March 1946)Croix de guerre (5 April 1958) Battles and wars World War II, Operation Torch Similar People Anthony Eden, Charles Keightley, Andre Beaufre, Ariel Sharon, Mordechai Gur | ||
Other work Isle of Wight, Hampshire | ||
Admiral Sir Manley Laurence Power KCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, DL (10 January 1904 – 17 May 1981) was a Royal Navy Admiral who fought in World War II as a Captain and later rose to more senior ranks, including the NATO position Allied Commander-in-Chief, Channel. He is chiefly remembered for leading the 26th Destroyer Flotilla that sank the Japanese cruiser Haguro in the Malacca Strait during Operation Dukedom.
Contents
Early career
Born the son of Admiral Sir Laurence E. Power KCB, CVO, Power was educated at the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1917. In the early part of his career, he served mainly in submarines, attaining his first command (HMS H32) in 1933.
World War II
In 1939 he was promoted to Commander and appointed as Staff Officer (Operations) to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham.
In 1942, he was given command of HMS Opportune, escorting Arctic convoys, before returning as Staff Officer (Operations) in the Mediterranean in September 1942, in preparation for the invasion of North Africa and then became Staff Officer (Plans), on the staff of Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean in January 1943, assisting the planning of the invasion of Sicily. He was promoted to Captain in 1943, and Deputy Chief of Staff (Plans), and stayed in the Mediterranean until March 1944, planning the invasion of Italy and the Anzio landings.
Power became captain of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla in April 1944, taking part in the Normandy landings [France], and as captain of the destroyer HMS Myngs participated in an action to destroy an enemy convoy off the Norwegian coast in November 1944. He was then appointed to command HMS Saumarez in the Eastern Fleet, and his flotilla destroyed the Japanese cruiser Haguro in May 1945.
Post-war
Following the war, Power served as Deputy Director of Plans in the Admiralty between January and July 1946, then as Senior Naval Member of the Directing Staff at the Joint Services Staff College, later becoming commander of the Portland (Dorset) naval base. Following this he served as Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet (Admiral Sir Philip Vian), then in May 1952 as Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean (Admiral 1st Lord Mountbatten of Burma). He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1953, and in the following year was appointed Senior Naval Member of the Directing Staff of the Imperial Defence College. Promoted to vice-admiral, he became Flag Officer Aircraft Carriers in 1956 and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and Fifth Sea Lord in 1957. Promoted to admiral in 1960, his final appointments were as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth and Allied Commander-in-Chief, Channel in 1959 before retiring in 1961.
Family
He married Barbara Alice Mary Topham in 1930 and the couple had a daughter and a son.