Michael Denny

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Sir Michael Denny
Captain M Denny, Cb, Cbe, Rn, of HMS Victorious. March 1945. A28079.jpg
Denny in March 1945.
Born3 October 1896
Kempley, Gloucestershire, England
Died7 April 1972 (1972-04-08) (aged 75)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branchNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Royal Navy
Years of service1913−1959
RankAdmiral
Commands heldHMS Kenya
HMS Victorious
Home Fleet
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order

Admiral Sir Michael Maynard Denny GCB CBE DSO (3 October 1896 – 7 April 1972) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Third Sea Lord.

Naval career[]

Educated at Queen Elizabeth's School, Wimborne Minster,[1] the Royal Naval College, Osborne. and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Denny joined the Royal Navy in 1913.[2] He served in World War I and, after the War, specialised in gunnery.[2] In 1932 he joined the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. He spent two years at sea as an Executive Officer before becoming assistant director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty in 1937.[2] He was appointed deputy director of Naval Ordnance in 1938.[2]

He served in World War II as Senior Naval Officer for the Åndalsnes landing and then as Chief Staff Officer for the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.[2] In 1942 he was given command of the cruiser HMS Kenya.[2] He became Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet later that year.[2] In 1943 he took command of the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious from which he conducted air strikes against Okinawa in Japan.[2]

After the War he became Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel and Director of Personal Services and then, from 1947, Flag Officer (Destroyers) for the Mediterranean Fleet.[2] In 1949 he became Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy and in 1954 he was made Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet and Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic.[2] He was appointed Chairman of the British Joint Services Mission to Washington, D.C. and UK Representative on the NATO Standing Group in 1956.[2] He retired in 1959.[2]

In retirement he became a Director of Cammell Laird.[1]

Family[]

In 1923 he married Sara Annie Esme Welman.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Obituary: Admiral Sir Michael Denny The Times, April 1972
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
Military offices
Preceded by Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy
1949–1953 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander in Chief, Home Fleet
1954–1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the British Joint Staff Mission to Washington and
UK Military Representative to NATO
1956–1959 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""