Sir Anthony Buzzard , 2nd Baronet Rear - Admiral Sir Anthony Wass Buzzard , 2nd Baronet ( 28 April 1902 – 10 March 1972 ) , was an officer in the Royal Navy , and a Director of Naval Intelligence . Early life . Anthony Wass Buzzard was born on 28 April 1902 in Derbyshire , son of prominent physician and Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford Sir Edward Farquhar Buzzard . Anthony later moved to Surrey where his father ’ s large estate was located . Anthony ’ s father was a doctor and physician to King George VI . In 1929 , his father was created a baronet , of Munstead Grange in the Parish of Godalming in the County of Surrey . Anthony was the second eldest of five siblings : Margaret , Anthony , Sylvia , and Isabel . He attended a public prep school from age eight to thirteen , and studied at the Royal Naval College , Dartmouth and Royal Naval College Osborne . In 1915 , at the age of thirteen , he joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman , and served during the First World War . By 1919 he was aboard the battleship . Second World War . Buzzard commanded the destroyer during the early years of the war , and his actions during her sinking led to the award of the Distinguished Service Order . " Gurkha " was part of a force of cruisers and destroyers sent by the British in the immediate aftermath of the German invasion of Norway on 7 April 1940 . " Gurkha " was the first British destroyer sunk by an air attack . On 19 April the British ships were attacked by Junkers Ju 88 and Heinkel He 111 bombers . " Gurkha " was hit by one bomb on the aft end , which blew a forty - foot hole in the starboard side . The stern caught fire and the magazine had to be flooded to prevent it exploding . She then sank , leaving a number of her crew stranded in the water . Buzzard was then one of the captains assigned to visit the parents of those lost in the sinking of to offer his condolences . By 1941 Buzzard was serving as gunnery officer aboard the battleship during the pursuit and sinking of the German battleship " Bismarck " , with the " Rodney " being the first ship to open fire with her own guns . On 14 October 1941 Buzzard was appointed as an Officer of the Order British Empire for his service . Buzzard then served as Assistant Director , in the Admiralty Plans Division , and as a member of Joint Planning Committee , with the War Cabinet between 1942 and 1943 . Buzzard became captain of the aircraft carrier . He spent three months overseeing the final fitting out before " Glory " was commissioned on 21 February 1945 . On 14 May the ship became operational and departed her harbour , bound for the Mediterranean . From there she went on to Fremantle , where she arrived in time for Victory over Japan Day . Once V . J . Day was over , the ship went to Rabaul for the signing of the surrender of the Japanese forces there . The Japanese commander surrendered his sword to the British and American soldiers . This sword remained in Buzzard ' s possession until his death ; it was then taken to the Churchill Archives Centre , along with other important artefacts . He inherited the Buzzard baronetcy upon his father ' s death in 1945 . Post - war . Buzzard was assigned to the Royal Naval Air Service after the end of the war , and commanded the cruiser between 1946 and 1950 . In 1951 , at the age of forty - nine , Buzzard became the youngest man to be appointed Director of Naval Intelligence . He was also a rear - admiral . His independence , however , prevented him from going further in the bureaucratic system . He was in the post until his retirement in 1954 . After his retirement from the service he joined the defence contractor Vickers - Armstrong , during the Cold War . Buzzard was a founder member of both the Institute of Strategic Studies , and the Council of Christian Approaches to Defence and Disarmament . He frequently corresponded with Henry Kissinger , and developed the idea of “ Graduated Deterrence . ” Graduated Deterrence posited that one must issue a reasonable threat to one ’ s enemy that is also realizable and not so massive that no one believes that it will ever happen . During the 1960s he sat on the Minister of State for Disarmament , Lord Chalfont ' s Disarmament Panel . In 1967 he became Chairman of the British Council of Churches Committee on the Middle East . Death . Buzzard played tennis and rugby throughout his life , with his main passion being tennis , having been the Navy champion . He had played doubles with his brother at Wimbledon in 1922 . He suffered a heart attack at the age of sixty - five , but refused to slow down the pace of his life , to the consternation of his wife . He travelled to Australia in 1968 , and played a tennis match upon arrival after a thirty - eight hour flight . He suffered a second heart attack . His wife joined him in Australia , and four years later , in 1972 , he suffered a third and fatal heart attack and died on 10 March at the age of sixty - nine . His memorial service at St . Martins was attended by a large number of people .