Article: Percy W Nelles Halifax 1940 PA-096505.jpg
Rear-Admiral Percy Walker Nelles, RCN, Chief of the Naval Staff, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 1940.
Victoria, British Columbia
Chief of the Naval Staff
First World War Second World War
Battle of the Atlantic
Battle of the St. Lawrence
Operation Overlord
Companion of the Order of Bath Legion of Merit
Son of BGen Charles M. Nelles, CMG
Percy Walker Nelles, CB (7 January 1892–13 July 1951) was a flag officer in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the Chief of the Naval Staff from 1934 to 1944. He oversaw the massive wartime expansion of the RCN and the transformation of Canada into a major player in the Battle of the Atlantic. During his tenure U-boats raided the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canadian Northwest Atlantic command was created, and the RCN was providing up to 40% of all escort forces in the North Atlantic. His handling of the RCN's war effort had its opponents however, and he was removed from his post as Chief of the Naval Staff in January 1944. He was sent to London as Overseas Naval Attaché, coordinating the RCN operations for Operation Overlord. He retired in January 1945 as a full Admiral.
Naval career
Percy Nelles had an illustrious career serving with both the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy. As Midshipman he served aboard . Over the next 10 years he would rise from the rank of Sub-Lieutenant to the rank of Captain as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff.
On 18 March 1930 he was appointed executive officer aboard the recently refitted Danae class cruiser . In the summer of 1930 Dragon set off from HMD Bermuda on a three-month tour of South America's Atlantic and Pacific coasts. After having rounded Cape Horn her captain, L.H.B. Bevan, died unexpectedly. Nelles then assumed temporary command of the Dragon. After consultation with the Admiralty, Nelles was appointed acting captain and continued Dragons tour, being the first RCN officer to command a Royal Navy vessel. In 1934 he became Chief of the Naval Staff.
In 1940, Rear Admiral Percy W. Nelles, as Chief of the Naval Staff, led a group of Royal Naval College of Canada alumni who met with Angus Lewis Macdonald, then naval minister to discuss opening a college to train naval officers for the postwar navy and for civilian employment in the merchant marine. The college was to be similar to the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and to the former RNCC. In 1940, Angus Lewis Macdonald explained to the House of Commons "it will be a proud day for this country, when our Canadian naval effort will be directed by Canadian men, trained in Canada and operating in ships built in this country."
In November 1940, the Hatley Park and grounds was purchased by the Royal Canadian Navy for $75,000 to house a Naval Training Establishment, later Royal Roads Military College, now Royal Roads University. In 1942, at the official opening of the Royal Roads Military College, Vice-Admiral Percey Nelles, Chief of the Naval Staff said: "While you are here, work hard and play hard, and make yourself tougher than any enemy you will ever meet.”
Nelles was the highest-ranking officer in the Royal Canadian Navy until January 1944, at which point he was relieved of his duties by the Minister of National Defence for the Naval Service, Angus Lewis Macdonald, following numerous conflicts regarding the management and training of Canadian naval officers. Rather than being publicly dismissed from duty, Nelles was transferred to Great Britain and given the post of Senior Canadian Flag Officer Overseas (SCFO(O)), a largely administrative position with little involvement in naval operations.
A year later, with the RCN’s share in invasion operations successfully completed, Admiral Nelles retired, closing out a naval career that spanned more than 36 years. Promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1941, he was promoted to full Admiral on his retirement, in recognition of his service.
Admiral Nelles retired to Victoria to live. He became seriously ill toward the end of May 1951 and died two weeks later. Surviving him were his wife, the former Helen Schuyler Allen, and two sons, Charles M. Nelles of Victoria and Midshipman William A. Nelles.
Legacy
Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps 'ADMIRAL NELLES' was formed in 1940 to honour the Chief of the Naval Staff. This cadet unit, located in Brantford, ON, and is currently under the command of Lieutenant(N) K. McNeill with approximately 40 cadets. Additionally, the barracks at Naden, CFB Esquimalt, is named in his honour, called Nelles Block. Cadets at Royal Roads Military College were awarded the Nelles Trophy for athletics (running).
Honours and decorations These included:
Companion of the Order of the Bath - January 1943
Legion of Merit-Degree of Commander (USA) - 3 August 1946
Légion d'honneur-Commandeur (France) - 27 November 1946
Croix de Guerre avec Palmes en Bronze (France) - 27 November 1946
Order of St Olav, 1st class (Norway) - 1 December 1948
Notes External links
Canadian Encyclopedia: Percy Walker Nelles
Juno Beach Centre: Admiral P.W. Nelles
Legion Magazine (online): The Ascension of Percy Nelles May 1, 2006, by Marc Milner
Royal Canadian Navy - Percy Nelles
Chief of the Naval Staff George Jones |
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Admiral Percy Walker Nelles
Admiral Percy Walker Nelles.
Admiral Nelles, the son of the late Brigadier-General Charles M. Nelles, CMG (Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George), one of Canada’s most distinguished soldiers, was born at Brantford, Ontario on January 7th, 1892.
He enlisted as a Cadet in the Fishery Protection Service in 1909, the second of the first seven junior officers to start training for the anticipated Canadian Navy. In 1910, when the Canadian navy was established, six of these seven cadets passed into HMCS NIOBE as Midshipmen, Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), with Percy Nelles as senior Midshipman. (The cruisers HMCS NIOBE and HMCS RAINBOW were the first two ships of Canada’s navy. NIOBE was assigned to Canada’s east coast and RAINBOW to the west coast).
From 1911 to 1917 he served in ships and establishments of the Royal Navy (RN), then returned to Canada to become Flag Lieutenant to the late Admiral Sir Charles Kingsmill, RN, and then Chief of Staff of the RCN.
In 1920, Admiral Nelles went to the United Kingdom for a course at the Royal Naval College. Promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in 1922, he served for the next two years in ships and establishments of the Royal Navy and completed the war staff course at the RN College. He returned to Canada In August 1925 and in December of that year was promoted to Commander and appointed Senior Naval Officer, Esquimalt.
Admiral Nelles, photographed at sea in the early 1940s. Photo Catalogue No. VRP993.59.20, museum collection.
Back in the United Kingdom in 1929, Admiral Nelles served in various appointments until March of the following year, when he took command of the cruiser HMS DRAGON, becoming the first RCN officer to command a capital ship. He received the acting rank of Captain while in this appointment.
On his return to Canada in 1931, he reverted to Commander but in 1933, while in command of HMCS STADACONA, Admiral Nelles became the first Canadian to achieve the confirmed rank of Captain in the RCN. The next year he was promoted to Commodore and appointed Chief of the Naval Staff.
His promotion to Rear Admiral came in 1938. In the same year the naval appropriation, though still extremely modest, was increased to a figure three times that of 1934; two more destroyers were acquired from Great Britain and four minesweepers, built in Canadian shipyards, were commissioned.
In the summer of 1939, the Canadian Navy consisted of six destroyers, five minesweepers and a handful of auxiliaries, and had a total strength, permanent and reserve, of 3,604. A tiny navy, by any comparison, it was to grow, in remarkably short time, to a size beyond all recognition.
That this was accomplished was due largely to the foresight of Admiral Nelles. In spite of apathy without the service and frustration within, he never lost sight, in the pre-war years, of what he believed to be the Canadian Navy’s destiny. When war came, the plans he had carefully laid and nurtured were transformed into reality.
The wedding of Percy Walker Nelles in Bermuda, year unknown. Photo Catalogue No. VR993.76.225.
In January 1944, with the change of operational emphasis, Admiral Nelles moved overseas to assume the leadership of the RCN in the coming invasion of Europe.
A year later, with the RCN’s share in invasion operations successfully completed, Admiral Nelles retired, closing out a naval career that spanned more than 36 years. Promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1941, he was promoted to full Admiral on his retirement, in recognition of his service.
In His Majesty’s New Year’s Honours List of 1943, Admiral Nelles was appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. In 1946, the United States honoured him with membership in the Legion of Merit, degree of Commander.
Admiral Nelles retired to Victoria to live. He became seriously ill toward the end of May 1951 and died two weeks later. Surviving him were his wife, the former Helen Schuyler Allen, and two sons, Charles M. Nelles of Victoria and Midshipman William A. Nelles.
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