Geoffrey Oliver Admiral Sir Geoffrey Nigel Oliver ( 22 January 1898 – 26 May 1980 ) was a British Royal Navy officer during the Second World War . Early career . The oldest son of a botanist , Professor Francis Wall Oliver , Geoffrey Oliver was educated at Durnford Preparatory School in Langton Matravers , and at Rugby School , and joined the Royal Navy in 1915 as a Special Entry Cadet at Keyham College . He was assigned as a midshipman to HMS " Dreadnought " in 1916 . In May 1917 he was reassigned to and in September promoted to sub - lieutenant . In October 1918 he was promoted again , to Lieutenant following technical courses in which he performed brilliantly , obtaining First Class certificates in all five subjects , and receiving the Goodenough Medal and prize as the best gunnery student in his year . After a short period serving on HMS " Resolution " , in 1920 he attended two terms at Queens ' College , Cambridge to make up for the short education he received because of the war , followed by promotion courses into 1921 . Following this he specialised in gunnery and underwent training at the Royal Navy gunnery school , HMS " Excellent " , in Portsmouth . He was top of his class in both theory and practical work and was awarded the Commander Egerton prize for the best examination result in practical gunnery . He joined the school as a staff member in the Experimental Department in March 1924 . In August 1925 he was assigned as gunnery officer to HMS " Carlisle " which was serving on the China Station where he remained into 1927 . He was promoted to Lieutenant - Commander in October 1926 . In 1928 he returned to the Experimental Department of HMS " Excellent " , and in January 1930 became gunnery officer on HMS " Rodney " which at that time was part of the Atlantic Fleet . In March 1932 he returned once again to HMS " Excellent " , as head of the Experimental Department . Between 1934 and 1936 he commanded HMS " Diana " and then HMS " Veteran " . He married Barbara Jones , daughter of a jurist , Sir Francis A . Jones , in 1933 . The couple had three children , of whom only one son survived . His second son died aged 8 of pneumonia , and his daughter died in a bathing accident during a holiday in Norfolk . Second World War . In June 1937 he was promoted to captain and the following year joined the naval staff at the Admiralty , in the Tactical Division . In May 1939 , a few months before the outbreak of Second World War he became deputy director of the Training and Staff Duties Division . In October 1940 he was given command of a " Dido " - class light cruiser , HMS " Hermione " then under construction on the Clyde . The ship worked up at Scapa Flow and as part of the Second Cruiser Squadron took part in the May 1941 hunt for the " Bismarck " . The ship was then assigned to Force H based at Gibraltar on convoy duties to relieve Malta . The ship rammed the Italian 600 - Serie " Adua " submarine " Tembien " near Tunis on 2 July 1941 , for which Oliver was awarded a DSO in November . In 1942 the ship was part of the force which captured the Vichy French island of Madagascar after which it was assigned to Admiral Sir Henry Harwood ' s Eastern Mediterranean fleet . In June 1942 as part of the 15th Cruiser Squadron the cruiser took part in Operation Vigorous , an attempt to supply Malta with a convoy dispatched from the Eastern Mediterranean whilst another Malta - bound convoy was simultaneously dispatched from Gibraltar ( Operation Harpoon ) . On 15 June , Operation Vigorous was abandoned because of the strength of the air attacks , the depletion of ammunition and fuel caused by them and the nearby presence of the Italian Fleet . The convoy turned away from Malta and headed back towards Alexandria , but early the following morning " Hermione " was torpedoed and sunk by " U - 205 " south of Crete with the loss of 87 crew out of 570 . Oliver survived the sinking and served as naval liaison officer to the Nile Delta Army for the next few months , until October 1942 when he was promoted to Commodore 2nd Class and assigned in Gibraltar to organise shipping for Operation Torch , the invasion of French North Africa . Following the successful invasion , in January 1943 he was assigned as the senior officer of the North Africa Inshore Squadron , based at Bone , Algeria which at that time was under repeated air attack , until May 1943 when he moved to a newly captured base at Bizerte . For his work during Operation Torch , Oliver was awarded a second DSO and American Legion of Merit . In July 1943 he became commander of Force " N " , with its headquarters at the Algiers naval base HMS " Hannibal " , for Operation Husky , the invasion of Sicily which took place on 9 July . He was the naval commander of the British assault force at Salerno on HMS " Hilary " . Following the successful conclusion of the operation he was awarded KCB , and Commander of the American Legion of Merit . From late 1943 until February 1944 he was the chairman of a commission , " Accuracy of Gunnery Committee " . He was then promoted to Commodore 1st Class and assigned as commander of Force " J " for Operation Neptune , the invasion of Normandy , for which we was awarded a third DSO . From October 1944 until February 1945 he was in command of the First Aircraft Carrier Squadron on HMS " Royalist " , part of the Eastern Fleet , clearing mines in the Aegean Sea and providing humanitarian relief . He was promoted to rear admiral in May 1945 when the force was attached to the Eastern Fleet ' s 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron where it took part in the amphibious landing at Rangoon . When Japan surrendered in August 1945 the force was preparing for the attack on the Malay Peninsula . Postwar . In 1946 he was president of a committee examining aircraft maintenance , and in April was appointed Flag Officer in command of Naval Air Stations . In December 1946 he became a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff , posts he held until September 1948 when he became President of the Royal Naval College , Greenwich . He was promoted to vice admiral in February 1949 . From April 1950 until August 1952 he was Commander - in - Chief , East Indies Station , and promoted to admiral in May 1952 . He was awarded Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 1 January 1951 . In May 1953 he became Commander - in - Chief , The Nore , a capacity he served in until April 1955 . He was awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1955 . He retired from the Royal Navy on 1 December 1955 and moved to a farm he purchased near Henfield , West Sussex .