Reginald Servaes

Reginald Servaes
Rear Admiral Servaes at the Admiralty, March 1944
Birth nameReginald Maxwell Servaes
Born(1893-07-25)25 July 1893
Died18 November 1978(1978-11-18) (aged 85)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Navy
Years of service1906–1948
RankVice admiral
CommandsHMS Resource
HMS London
Reserve Fleet
Battles / warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Vice Admiral Reginald Maxwell Servaes CB, CBE (25 July 1893 – 18 November 1978) was Flag Officer commanding the Reserve Fleet.

Early life

Servaes was son of Julius Max(imus)[1] Servaes (1863-1947) and Constance Violet, daughter of Joseph Coltart, a Liverpool shipowner. Julius Servaes, like his father, also Julius (died 1902), was a cotton merchant; the senior Julius had been a partner in the firm of J. H. Schroder & Co., involved in the Liverpool cotton trade, before establishing his own general agency and commission business and becoming prominent in the local community.[2][3]

Life and career

Servaes joined the Royal Navy in 1906 and saw service in World War I.[4] He became commanding officer of the repair ship Resource in 1937 and Director of Local Defence at the Admiralty in 1938.[4] He served in World War II as commanding officer of the cruiser London from 1940[5] and saw action with the arctic convoys before becoming Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1943.[4][6]

After the War he became Rear Admiral commanding 2nd Cruiser Squadron in the British Pacific Fleet in 1945 and Flag Officer commanding the Reserve Fleet in 1947 before retiring in 1948.[4]

Personal life

Servaes was married firstly, in 1919, to Hilda Edith Anna Johnson, and secondly, in 1959, to Marian Frances Mansel Glasbrook, widow of stockbroker Humphrey Vivian Bond.[7] A notable descendant is the actor Tom Hiddleston.[8]

References

  1. ^ Sources give "Max" and "Maximus"
  2. ^ "Heroes and villains in Tom Hiddleston's family tree | Blog".
  3. ^ Schroders- Merchants and Bankers, Richard Roberts, Macmillan, 1992, p. 94
  4. ^ a b c d "Servaes, Reginald Maxwell". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Rear-Admiral Reginald Maxwell Servaes". uboat.net. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  6. ^ Watson, Graham (2015). "Royal Navy Organisation in World War II, 1939–1945". Naval History.net. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  7. ^ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories, 1973, p. 2972
  8. ^ "Heroes and villains in Tom Hiddleston's family tree | Blog".
Military offices
Preceded by Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Foreign)
1943–1945 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Reserve Fleet
1947–1948 		Succeeded by