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Admiral 'Sir Geoffrey Layton', GBE, KCB, KCMG, DSO, (20 April 1884-4 September 1964), was a British Royal Navy officer.
He was the son of a Liverpool solicitor, George Layton. He joined the Royal Navy as a naval cadet on 15 May 1899 on HMS Britannia. Following this he served as a Midshipman aboard cruisers in the English Channel and off the south coast of the United States.
He took his Lieutenant's course and was promoted to that rank on 30 November 1905. Layton then he joined the submarine branch of the navy, in which he had his first command. From 1910 he did two years general service and returned to submarines in 1912, commanding several of them during the First World War.
On 18 August 1915 his submarine E13 was ordered to the Baltic to assist the Russians, but he ran aground on Saltholm off the Danish coast. E13 was destroyed early the following morning by a German torpedo boat, killing half his men. Layton and the others were interned at Copenhagen. Three months later, disguised as a local sailor, he managed to return to Britain. At the end of the war he was awarded the DSO.
He was promoted to Captain on 31 December 1922 and held the post of Chief of Staff to the Rear Admiral (Submarines). In the late 1920s he was appointed Deputy Director of Operations at the Admiralty and in 1930 he attended a course at the Imperial Defence College. From 1931 to 1933, he was posted as Chief of Staff on the China station.
Sir Geoffrey then transferred to battleships, firstly the ''Renown''. Then, following another period at the Admiralty, he commanded the battlecruiser squadron, flying his flag on the ''Hood'', from August 1938 until August 1939. Sir Geoffrey was then appointed second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet, firstly under Admiral Dudley Pound and later under Admiral Andrew Cunningham.
He then took over as Commander-in-Chief China Fleet, September 1940. In May 1941, he was informed that Admiral Sir Tom Phillips would be taking over from him, and the battleship ''Prince of Wales'' and battlecruiser ''Repulse'' were sent to Singapore in December 1941 with Phillips flying his flag on the ''Prince of Wales''. Sir Geoffrey broadcast a message to the Malayan people, telling them of the improvements to defence on the arrival of these two capital ships in Singapore. On 10 December he handed over the naval command to Phillips and made preparations to embark for home. At 1.20pm on the same day Admiral Phillips was lost on the ''Prince of Wales'' off Malaya, when both ships were sunk by Japanese action. Sir Geoffrey was then recalled as Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet.
In January 1942, the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) was formed, to direct Allied forces in South East Asia and the South West Pacific. On January 5, the deputy commander of ABDA naval forces, Rear Admiral Arthur Palliser made Sir Geoffrey the senior naval officer at Tanjong Priok, the port for Batavia (Jakarta), Java. His main role was organising better convoy protection.
Following the fall of Singapore and dissolution of ABDA, command of the British Eastern Fleet was given to Sir James Somerville. Sir Geoffrey was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
On 5 April, the Japanese attacked Colombo, sinking two cruisers, an auxiliary cruiser and a destroyer. On 9 April they attacked Trincomalee and sank an aircraft carrier, a destroyer and a corvette. The Japanese now switched their attack from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, and on 11 April Sir Geoffrey sent a signal that the enemy had withdrawn from Ceylon to Singapore.
The defence of the island had been a fiasco. The RAF squadrons on the island proved no match for the Japanese Zeroes, losing at least twice as many aircraft as the Japanese. The early warning system set up by Sir Geoffrey was a shambles: the aircraft at Ratmalana were still on the ground when the Japanese aircraft flew overhead. None of the local inhabitants had reported the Japanese aircraft, which had flown over the Ceylonese coastline for half an hour, in full view of everybody, before reaching Ratmalana.
Following the war Sir Geoffrey returned to the UK as Commander in Chief, Portsmouth a post he held until his retirement in 1947.
Sir Geoffrey Layton died at Portsmouth on at the age of 80.
★ Indian Ocean Raid
★ Participation of Ceylon in World War II
★ South-East Asian Theatre of World War II#Indian Ocean
He was the son of a Liverpool solicitor, George Layton. He joined the Royal Navy as a naval cadet on 15 May 1899 on HMS Britannia. Following this he served as a Midshipman aboard cruisers in the English Channel and off the south coast of the United States.
He took his Lieutenant's course and was promoted to that rank on 30 November 1905. Layton then he joined the submarine branch of the navy, in which he had his first command. From 1910 he did two years general service and returned to submarines in 1912, commanding several of them during the First World War.
On 18 August 1915 his submarine E13 was ordered to the Baltic to assist the Russians, but he ran aground on Saltholm off the Danish coast. E13 was destroyed early the following morning by a German torpedo boat, killing half his men. Layton and the others were interned at Copenhagen. Three months later, disguised as a local sailor, he managed to return to Britain. At the end of the war he was awarded the DSO.
He was promoted to Captain on 31 December 1922 and held the post of Chief of Staff to the Rear Admiral (Submarines). In the late 1920s he was appointed Deputy Director of Operations at the Admiralty and in 1930 he attended a course at the Imperial Defence College. From 1931 to 1933, he was posted as Chief of Staff on the China station.
Sir Geoffrey then transferred to battleships, firstly the ''Renown''. Then, following another period at the Admiralty, he commanded the battlecruiser squadron, flying his flag on the ''Hood'', from August 1938 until August 1939. Sir Geoffrey was then appointed second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet, firstly under Admiral Dudley Pound and later under Admiral Andrew Cunningham.
He then took over as Commander-in-Chief China Fleet, September 1940. In May 1941, he was informed that Admiral Sir Tom Phillips would be taking over from him, and the battleship ''Prince of Wales'' and battlecruiser ''Repulse'' were sent to Singapore in December 1941 with Phillips flying his flag on the ''Prince of Wales''. Sir Geoffrey broadcast a message to the Malayan people, telling them of the improvements to defence on the arrival of these two capital ships in Singapore. On 10 December he handed over the naval command to Phillips and made preparations to embark for home. At 1.20pm on the same day Admiral Phillips was lost on the ''Prince of Wales'' off Malaya, when both ships were sunk by Japanese action. Sir Geoffrey was then recalled as Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet.
In January 1942, the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) was formed, to direct Allied forces in South East Asia and the South West Pacific. On January 5, the deputy commander of ABDA naval forces, Rear Admiral Arthur Palliser made Sir Geoffrey the senior naval officer at Tanjong Priok, the port for Batavia (Jakarta), Java. His main role was organising better convoy protection.
Following the fall of Singapore and dissolution of ABDA, command of the British Eastern Fleet was given to Sir James Somerville. Sir Geoffrey was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
On 5 April, the Japanese attacked Colombo, sinking two cruisers, an auxiliary cruiser and a destroyer. On 9 April they attacked Trincomalee and sank an aircraft carrier, a destroyer and a corvette. The Japanese now switched their attack from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, and on 11 April Sir Geoffrey sent a signal that the enemy had withdrawn from Ceylon to Singapore.
The defence of the island had been a fiasco. The RAF squadrons on the island proved no match for the Japanese Zeroes, losing at least twice as many aircraft as the Japanese. The early warning system set up by Sir Geoffrey was a shambles: the aircraft at Ratmalana were still on the ground when the Japanese aircraft flew overhead. None of the local inhabitants had reported the Japanese aircraft, which had flown over the Ceylonese coastline for half an hour, in full view of everybody, before reaching Ratmalana.
Following the war Sir Geoffrey returned to the UK as Commander in Chief, Portsmouth a post he held until his retirement in 1947.
Sir Geoffrey Layton died at Portsmouth on at the age of 80.
| Contents |
| See also |
See also
★ Indian Ocean Raid
★ Participation of Ceylon in World War II
★ South-East Asian Theatre of World War II#Indian Ocean
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