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Vice-Admiral Sir Ged Mansfield World Naval Ships Forums Archive

Vice-Admiral Sir Ged Mansfield

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[B]The Telegraph 18 Jul 2006[/B] [B]Vice-Admiral Sir Ged Mansfield[/B], who has died aged 84, was Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, and after leaving the Navy became a fund-raiser for the Queen's Jubilee Trust. In May 1939 Midshipman Mansfield took passage in the destroyer Wrestler for the heavy cruiser Sussex at Alexandria. When war began, his ship joined Force H, which was hunting for the German pocket battleship 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. After a short period in the battlecruiser Repulse, Mansfield undertook his professional courses at Portsmouth during the Blitz, studying by day and fire-fighting by night - "not conducive to diligent study," he recalled. Promoted to sub-lieutenant, he first served in the J-class destroyer Jupiter in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. On March 26 1942 he was in Jaguar 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. Next Mansfield joined "the trade", and rapidly became first lieutenant of a submarine, but this proved to be a dead-end in his career. Worse, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In the next few months he battled with his illness and with the Admiralty, which wanted to invalid him out; characteristically, he returned to good health and rose rapidly in his career. [B]Between prominent staff appointments, he commanded the frigate Mounts Bay and became captain of 20th Frigate Squadron; he was Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Singapore; Flag Officer Sea Training; and, from 1973 to 1975, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, at Norfolk, Virginia.[/B] He was appointed KBE in 1974, but to the surprise of colleagues he never reached the Board of Admiralty; and when he became involved in a dispute about the succession to another Nato post, he resigned. Edward Gerard Napier Mansfield was the son of Vice-Admiral Sir Jack Mansfield, KCB, DSO, DSC, and a descendant of the 19th-century Admiral Sir Charles "Black" Napier. Ged, as he was known, was born on July 13 1921 and educated at Durnford School, Swanage, before going to Dartmouth. As a cadet Mansfield immediately impressed his new 13-year-old friends with his outstanding personality. Although ambitious and a born leader, Mansfield mixed polished manners with a gentle courtesy, and was able to defuse any contretemps with his sense of humour, which included a talent for mimicry. Following his Navy career, in May 1977 he became acting secretary of the Queen's Silver Jubilee Trust after Sir Michael Hawkins died at his desk. Mansfield went on to lead a successful appeal, which included answering questions from the public about how to roast an ox and the names of the Queen's corgis. Some £300,000 was paid into the newly-established Prince's Trust. He was appointed CVO in 1981, and afterwards became chairman of Operation Raleigh. A contemporary noted that Mansfield "was always kind, got the best out of everyone". In retirement Mansfield wrote letters to The Daily Telegraph. He castigated the Thatcher government in 1981 for its lip service to defence and failure to order new ships for the Royal Navy. He also worked indefatigably for numerous charities, including Talking Newspapers. He was the acknowledged leader of the survivors of his term at Dartmouth, over one third of whom were killed in the war. Despite his influence over his peers, Mansfield, a devout Christian, was modest about his achievements and left no memoirs. [B]Ged Mansfield, who died on June 27,[/B] married, in 1943, Joan Worship Byron, a descendant of Admiral Jack "Foul Weather" Byron; she survives him with their two daughters, one of whom is Didy Graham, secretary of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. from:- [url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1524172/Vice-Admiral-Sir-Ged-Mansfield.html[/url] Little h

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