Charles Little (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir Charles James Colebrooke Little GCB GBE (14 June 1882 – 20 June 1973)[1] was a senior Royal Navy officer who went on to be Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel.
Sir Charles Little | |
|---|---|
 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Little in 1937, Commander-in-Chief of the China Station | |
| Born | 14 June 1882 |
| Died | 20 June 1973 (aged 91) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1897–1945 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Fearless HMS Cleopatra HMS Iron Duke China Station |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire |
Naval career
Little joined the Royal Navy at the Royal Naval College Dartmouth in 1897.[2] He served in World War I and commanded the cruiser HMS Fearless and the Grand Fleet Submarine Flotilla from 1916 to 1918.[2]
After the War he commanded the cruiser HMS Cleopatra in the Baltic Sea and then, in 1920, became Director of the Trade Division at the Admiralty.[2] He was appointed Captain of the Fleet for the Mediterranean Station in 1922 and then became a Senior Staff Officer at the Royal Naval War College in 1924.[2] He became Captain of the battleship HMS Iron Duke in 1926 and Director of the Royal Naval Staff College in 1927.[2] He became Commander of the 2nd Battle Squadron in 1930 and Rear Admiral Submarines in 1931.[2] He was appointed Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff in 1932 and Commander-in-Chief of the China Station in 1936.[2] In 1938 he became Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel.[2] In this capacity he was instrumental in establishing the Admiralty Torpedo, Mining and Electrical Training Establishment at Roedean School in Brighton.[3]
He served in World War II becoming Head of British Joint Staff Mission to Washington D. C. in 1941 and Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1942.[2] He retired in 1945.[2]
He lived at Thakeham in West Sussex.[4]
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Little. |
- Kemp, Peter. "Sir Charles James Colebrooke Little" (Requires subscription). Oxford DNB. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- Royal Navy Research Archive Archived 15 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- "'Thakeham: Church', A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2: Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) including Horsham (1986), pp. 45-48". Retrieved 10 July 2010.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Martin Dunbar-Nasmith |
Rear-Admiral Submarines 1931–1932 |
Succeeded by Noel Laurence |
| Preceded by Sir Frederic Dreyer |
Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff 1933–1935 |
Succeeded by Sir William James |
| Preceded by Sir Frederic Dreyer |
Commander-in-Chief, China Station 1936–1938 |
Succeeded by Sir Percy Noble |
| Preceded by Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith |
Second Sea Lord 1938–1941 |
Succeeded by Sir William Whitworth |
| Preceded by Sir William James |
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth 1942–1945 |
Succeeded by Sir Geoffrey Layton |