Bernard Rawlings (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir Henry Bernard Hughes Rawlings GBE KCB (21 May 1889 – 30 September 1962) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Flag Officer, Eastern Mediterranean during the Second World War.

Admiral Sir Bernard Rawlings GBE KCB
Vice-Admiral Rawlings during the Second World War
Born	(1889-05-21)21 May 1889 St Erth, Cornwall, England
Died	30 September 1962(1962-09-30) (aged 73) Bodmin, Cornwall, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1904–1946
Rank	Admiral
Commands	Eastern Mediterranean (1943–44) West Africa Station (1943) Force B (1941) 7th Cruiser Squadron (1941) 1st Battle Squadron (1940–41, 1944–45) HMS Valiant (1939–40) HMS Delhi (1932–34) HMS Curacoa (1932) HMS Active (1931–32)
Battles / wars	First World War Second World War Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Mentioned in dispatches (2) Legion of Merit (United States) Order of George I (Greece) War Cross (Greece)

Naval career

Rawlings was born in St Erth, Cornwall, England, on 21 May 1889.^[1] Following education at Stubbington House School, Rawlings joined the Royal Navy in 1904 and served in the First World War.^[2] After the war he worked for the Foreign Office and undertook Military Missions in Poland.^[2] He then commanded the destroyer Active and then the cruisers Curacoa and Delhi before becoming Naval Attaché in Tokyo in 1936.^[2]

Rawlings served in the Second World War, initially commanding the battleship Valiant, then commanding the 1st Battle Squadron from 1940 with the acting rank of Rear-Admiral before being promoted to the rank in January 1942. He was appointed in command of the 7th Cruiser Squadron in May, and became Assistant Chief of Naval Staff in April 1942.^[2] He was appointed Flag Officer, West Africa in March 1943 with the acting rank of Vice-Admiral before being promoted to the rank in November, and in December became Flag Officer, Eastern Mediterranean.^[2] He went on to be second-in-command of the British Pacific Fleet with his flag in HMS King George V.^[3] He commanded the British Carrier Force, Task Force 57, in the Pacific from 1944 through the Battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945,^[4] and retired in 1946.^[2]

Rawlings died in Bodmin, Cornwall, England, on 30 September 1962.^[1]