Sir Michael Patrick Pollock | |
---|---|
Born | Altrincham, Cheshire | 19 October 1916
Died | 27 September 2006 Martock, Somerset | (aged 89)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1930–1974 |
Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
Commands held | First Sea Lord HMS Ark Royal HMS Vigo |
Battles/wars | Second World War Korean War Malayan Emergency Second Cod War |
Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order Distinguished Service Cross Mentioned in Despatches (3) |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Michael Patrick Pollock, GCB, LVO, DSC (19 October 1916 – 27 September 2006) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who rose to become First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the early 1970s. In the Second World War, he was an officer on ships tasked with protecting convoys in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and was gunnery officer on the cruiser HMS Norfolk when she fought the German battleship Scharnhorst during the Battle of North Cape. He later commanded the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, and hosted Ian Smith on HMS Tiger. In retirement, he held the position of King of Arms of the Order of the Bath and Gloucester King of Arms, with responsibility for heraldry in Wales.
Born the son of Charles Albert Pollock and Gladys Pollock (née Mason), Pollock was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.[1] He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1930, and was posted to the training cruiser HMS Frobisher in January 1934, receiving promotion to midshipman on 1 September 1934, on transfer to the battleship HMS Nelson, flagship of the Home Fleet.[2] He was deployed to the Mediterranean in the destroyer HMS Express in September 1935 and saw service with her during the Abyssinian crisis.[2] He was promoted sub-lieutenant on 1 May 1937,[3] and appointed to the cruiser HMS York, flagship of the America and West Indies Station in October 1937 and, after promotion to lieutenant on 1 August 1938,[4] he transferred to the battleship HMS Warspite, based in Malta in June 1939.[5]
Pollock served in the Second World War, becoming first lieutenant of the old destroyer HMS Vanessa in October 1939, escorting shipping across the English Channel to supply the British Expeditionary Force in northern France, and protecting convoys in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.[5] His ship was badly damaged by German aircraft off Dover in July 1940.[5]
Pollock joined the shore establishment HMS Excellent to train as a gunnery specialist in January 1941, and, having qualified, became a gunnery instructor there, but was then appointed gunnery officer on the light cruiser HMS Arethusa in Alexandria, where he was involved in the struggle to get supplies to Malta.[5] On 18 November 1942, taking part in Operation Stoneage, the mission which effectively relieved the siege of Malta, Arethusa was hit by a torpedo bomber.[5] A fuel tank caught fire, and over a quarter of the crew were killed.[5] Despite severe damage and a rising gale, the ship was towed 450 miles back to Alexandria for repairs.[6] Pollock was mentioned in despatches for his actions.[7]
Pollock was appointed gunnery officer on the heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk in October 1943, tasked with protecting convoys to and from north Russia.[5] Alerted by Enigma intercepts decoded at Bletchley Park, and assisted by radar, his ship and fellow cruisers HMS Belfast and HMS Sheffield twice intercepted Scharnhorst and its six accompanying destroyers when they attempted to attack two Arctic convoys (JW 55B travelling to and RA 55A travelling from Murmansk) in late December 1943.[6] The 8-inch guns of Norfolk recorded two hits on Scharnhorst, but Norfolk was damaged by return fire from Scharnhorst's 11-inch guns on 26 December.[6] Pollock was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for his actions.[8] Scharnhorst was attacked by the battleship HMS Duke of York later that day and sunk, in the Royal Navy's last battleship action.[6]
He remained with Norfolk while she was repaired on the Tyne, and so missed D-Day, and was involved in further action off the coast of Norway.[6] He was on Norfolk, visiting Malta en route to the Far East, when the Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945.[6] In addition to the DSC, Pollock was mentioned in dispatches on two further occasions for his actions on Norfolk.[9][10]
In retirement Pollock was Chairman of the Naval Insurance Trust from 1975 to 1985.[1] He was also King of Arms of the Order of the Bath and Gloucester King of Arms, with responsibility for heraldry in Wales[12] from 1976[26] to 1985.[27] After he left the Navy, he lived in Churchstoke in Powys.[12] His interests included walking, shooting, fishing and local affairs in Powys.[16] He died in Martock in Somerset on 27 September 2006.[6]
Pollock married Margaret (Peg) Steacy in 1940, and they had two sons and a daughter.[1] His first wife died in 1951.[1] He remarried in 1954, to Marjory (Midge) Reece (née Bisset), acquiring a stepdaughter.[1] His second wife died in 2001.[6] One of his sons became a lieutenant-commander in the Navy and his grandson, Barney Pollock, who also joined the Navy, passed out at Dartmouth in December 2004 with the Commandant Talbot prize for leadership and the Queen's Sword.[12]