page_title: John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey
section_title: Inter-war years
hierarchical_section_title: John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey / Inter-war years
caption_attribution_description: HMS RODNEY underway after refitting at Liverpool.
context_page_description: Admiral of the Fleet John Cronyn Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey, GCB, KBE, DSO, sometimes known as Jack Tovey, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he commanded the destroyer HMS Onslow at the Battle of Jutland and then commanded the destroyer Ursa at the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. During the Second World War he initially served as Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in which role he commanded the Mediterranean Fleet's Light Forces. He then served as Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet and was responsible for orchestrating the pursuit and destruction of the Bismarck. After that he became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore with responsibility for controlling the east coast convoys and organising minesweeping operations.
context_section_description: In June 1919, Tovey attended the Senior Officers' Technical Course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, for a year; subsequently he was appointed to the Naval Staff Operations Division at the Admiralty for a further two years. His next sea appointment, in August 1922, was to command HMS Seawolf, which he held until his promotion to captain on 31 December 1923. In August 1924, Tovey was briefly appointed as Captain (D), 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, for exercises before attending a course at the Senior Officers' School, Sheerness.
  At the end of 1924, Tovey was appointed as Captain (D) to command HMS Bruce and the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. He commanded the 8thDF and other flotillas, in turn, until he attended the Imperial Defence Course, for a year from mid January 1927, at the Imperial Defence College. This was immediately followed by the Senior Officers' Technical Course at Portsmouth and from February 1928 to April 1930, Tovey was Assistant Director of Tactical School, followed by yet another shore appointment at the Admiralty as Naval Assistant to the Second Sea Lord.
  After five years ashore, Tovey was given command of the battleship HMS Rodney in April 1932. This ship had been heavily involved in the recent Invergordon mutiny and elements of its crew were among the most vociferous protestors and Tovey was seen as a "safe pair of hands" to restore the battleship's efficiency. Tovey quickly transformed the ship's crew into an efficient and confident unit and in his confidential personnel report, Admiral Sir John Kelly judged that Tovey "... has brought his ship to a high state of fighting efficiency". He stayed with Rodney until August 1934.
  In October, Tovey attended a Senior Officers' course and in January 1935, he was appointed as commodore (2nd rank) (at the time "commodore" was not a substantive rank) to command the Naval Barracks at Chatham, an important depot and training establishment involved in the rapid naval expansion of the 1930s. When promoted to rear admiral on 27 August 1935, he continued at Chatham until he attended a Senior Officers Tactical Course from September 1937 and a Senior Officers' War Course at the Royal Naval War College, Greenwich, in December 1937. Until February 1938, Tovey also acted as Naval ADC to the King.
  Tovey had been nominated in early 1935 to be Rear Admiral (D), commanding the Destroyer Flotillas of the Mediterranean Fleet, the appointment not taking effect until early 1938. Once in post at Malta, Tovey's role involved interventions in the Spanish Civil War and at Haifa as well as the command and administrative roles of bringing the destroyer flotillas to peak efficiency. He was promoted to vice admiral on 3 May 1939.
caption: The battleship HMS Rodney after refitting at Liverpool
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