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Deric Holland-Martin

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Royal Navy Admiral (1906–1977)

Sir Douglas Eric Holland-Martin
Nickname(s)Deric
Born(1906-04-10)10 April 1906
London, England
Died6 January 1977(1977-01-06) (aged 70)
Kemerton, Worcestershire
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1920–1966
RankAdmiral
CommandsImperial Defence College (1964–66)
Allied Forces Mediterranean (1961–64)
Mediterranean Fleet (1961–64)
Flag Officer, Air (Home) (1960–61)
Second Sea Lord (1958–59)
HMS Eagle (1953–54)
4th Destroyer Flotilla (1949–50)
HMS Agincourt (1949–50)
HMS Faulknor (1944)
HMS Nubian (1942–43)
HMS Holderness (1940)
HMS Tartar (1939–40)
Battles / warsSecond World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Cross & Bar
Spouse(s)Dame Rosamund Holland-Martin

Admiral Sir Douglas Eric Holland-Martin, GCB, DSO, DSC & Bar, DL (10 April 1906 – 6 January 1977) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1957 to 1959.

Naval career

Educated at West Downs School, Holland-Martin entered the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in 1920. He played cricket for the Royal Navy between 1928 and 1933, including one first-class match against the Royal Air Force at The Oval. He later played a first-class match for the Combined Services cricket team against the touring New Zealanders at Portsmouth in 1937.

On the outbreak of the Second World War, Holland-Martin was executive officer of the destroyer HMS Tartar when his captain was taken ill and he was given the command. Later in the war he commanded the destroyers Holderness, Nubian and Faulknor.

After the war, Holland-Martin became Naval attaché to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. He was appointed captain of the destroyer Agincourt in 1949 and then Director of Plans at the Admiralty in 1952. He took command of the aircraft carrier Eagle in 1954 and then became Flag Officer, Flotillas, Mediterranean in 1955.

Holland-Martin was made Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel in 1957 and Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and NATO Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean in 1961. His final post was as Commandant of the Imperial Defence College in 1964. He retired in 1966.

Later life

In retirement, Holland-Martin was appointed to the honorary post of Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom for a term and also served as a Deputy Lieutenant in Hereford and Worcester.

Family

In 1951 Holland-Martin married Rosamund Mary Hornby, daughter of St John Hornby. Rosamund became chairman of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1983 (however, she continued to style herself Lady Holland-Martin, rather than Dame Rosamund). The couple had a son and a daughter.

References

  1. Old West Downs Society
  2. ^ "Martin, Sir Douglas Eric Holland-". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31246. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Douglas Holland-Martin". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  4. "Hereford and Worcester 1974–98". Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  5. Obituary: Lady Holland-Martin Daily Telegraph, 17 July 2001

External links

Military offices
Preceded bySir Charles Lambe Second Sea Lord
1957–1959 		Succeeded bySir St John Tyrwhitt
Preceded bySir Alexander Bingley Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
1961–1964 		Succeeded bySir John Hamilton
Preceded bySir Hugh Constantine Commandant of the Imperial Defence College
1964–1966 		Succeeded bySir John Anderson
Honorary titles
Preceded bySir Peter Reid Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom
1973–1976 		Succeeded bySir Nigel Henderson
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