Percy Lockhart Harnam Noble

Admiral Sir Percy Lockhart Harnam Noble, GBE, KCB, CVO (16 January 1880 – 25 July 1955) was a British Naval Officer who rose to the rank of Admiral and was the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy’s Western Approaches Command for two crucial years during the Second World War.

Born on 16th January 1880, he joined the Royal Navy on 15th January, 1894. He served in the Grand Fleet during the First World War. From 1918 to 1925 he commanded the cruisers HMS "Calliope" and HMS "Calcutta" and then the battleship HMS "Barham" before being appointed Senior Naval Officer, Harwich in 1925. He then commanded the boys' training establishment at Forton, Gosport from 1927 to 1928. He was appointed Director of Operations Division at the Admiralty in 1928, where he remained until 1930. He was then Director of Naval Equipment from 1931 until 1932 before returning to sea in command of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron from 1932 to 1934. He then returned to the Admiralty as Fourth Sea Lord from 1935 to 1937, before being appointed as Commander-in-Chief, China Station from 1938 to 1940.

On his return to Britain, Admiral Noble was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches. Admiral Noble commanded Western Approaches from his headquarters at Derby House, Liverpool, during a period stretching from early 1941 to November 1942. His work in reorganizing escort groups, and revamping escort training methods are widely regarded as having been crucial foundational elements of the eventual success of the Allied navies in the Atlantic theater. Noble was remembered by those who worked with him at Derby House as an easygoing commander, and an easy person to work with. Always conciliatory, Noble was an expert at building consensus around his chosen courses of action. Noble was, although not forced, certainly pushed out of Western Approaches to make room for Admiral Max Horton, whose combative personality and experience in the submarine service made him the ideal candidate in the eyes of some to take the war to the U-boats.

He was made the Head of British Naval Delegation in Washington DC, USA 1942-1944. He retired from the navy in 1945 and was appointed Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom on 19 June 1945.