- Sir Charles Madden, 2nd Baronet
Infobox Military Person
name= Sir Charles Edward Madden, Bt
lived= (June 15 ,1906 -April 23 ,2001
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=Henley-on-Thames ,Oxfordshire
caption= Admiral Sir Charles Madden
nickname=
allegiance=flag|United Kingdom
branch=navy|United Kingdom
serviceyears= 1920-1965
rank=Admiral
commands=|commands=
HMS "Emperor" (D98)
HMS "Battleaxe" (D118)
6th Destroyer FlotillaFlag Officer Malta
C-in-C Plymouth
C-in-CHome Fleet
Chief of Naval Staff
Allied Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic
battles=1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine World War II Battle of Calabria Battle of Taranto Battle of Cape Matapan Battle of Crete Burma Campaign Cold War
awards=GCB, KCB, CB
laterwork=Admiral Sir Charles Edward Madden, 2nd Baronet, GCB (
June 15 ,1906 -April 23 ,2001 ), followed his illustrious father in a career with theRoyal Navy that culminated in his serving as the Commander-in-Chief of theHome Fleet from 1963 to 1965.A recognized expert in gunnery, Madden helped in the introduction of
radar into the Royal Navy. He participated in theBattle of Calabria , theBattle of Taranto , theBattle of Cape Matapan , and theBattle of Crete duringWorld War Two . Following the war, Madden introduced the General List for officers which abolished many of the distinctions between the executive and other branches within the Royal Navy. He also served as the Chief of Naval Staff of theRoyal New Zealand Navy .Following his retirement from the Royal Navy, Madden served as Vice
Lord-Lieutenant ofGreater London from 1969 to 1981.Biography
Charles Edward Madden was born on June 15 1906, the son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Madden, for whom the baronetcy was created in 1919. His mother Constance was a daughter of
Sir Charles Cayzer, 1st Baronet , the distinguished shipowner, and his aunt Gwendoline had married Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe when he was a captain in 1902.Pre-War Service
Madden educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and joined the
Royal Navy as a cadet in 1920 after graduating from the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, at a ceremony in which the prizes were given out by his father, who was serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet.Sea Duty
Madden initially serviced onboard the battleship "Iron Duke", the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. He subsequently served on the heavy cruiser "Kent", the flagship of the 5th Cruiser Squadron, on theChina Station . Madden participated in the annual gatherings at the British-owned anchorage and island of Wei-hai-wei, visited Japan, and attended the funeral ofSun Yat-sen , the president of theRepublic of China .In 1932, Lt. Madden joined the battleship "Queen Elizabeth" as its second gunnery officer. He was subsequently appointed as the flotilla gunnery officer, onboard the flagship "Exmouth", while the destroyer flotilla served in the Mediterranean Sea during the
Second Italo–Abyssinian War .Newly promoted to Lieutenant Commander, Madden joined the cruiser "Sussex" as its gunnery officer in 1935. During the
1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine , Madden was involved in running the nightly armored train fromHaifa to Samak as well as protecting army encampments with naval field guns landed from the "Sussex" and light cruiser "Arethusa".Shore Duty
Influenced by "Kent"’s gunnery officer, the future AdmiralSir Philip Vian , Madden joined HMS "Excellent" Gunnery School at Portsmouth in September 1929 and qualified as an advanced gunnery officer (“dagger”). He returned to the Experimental Department at HMS "Excellent" Gunnery School as First Lieutenant in 1937. During this two-year stint, he was involved in the development gunnery fire control systems and supervised the arrangement for the funeral of Admiral Sir William Fisher, the Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth.World War Two
Madden was promoted to Commander in 1939 and was part of the pre-commissioning crew for the new battleship "King George V", which was followed by staff work involving British operations in the Baltic Sea and research on the applications of shipboard
radar .Commander Madden was appointed as the executive officer for the battleship "Warspite", the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, in May 1940. He participated in the
Battle of Calabria , theBattle of Taranto , theBattle of Cape Matapan , theBattle of Crete , and the bombardment ofTripoli during operation in the Mediterranean theatre.Madden was cited for official praise involving his damage control, fire-fighting, and casualty-relief efforts oboard the "Warspite" and the cruiser "Orion" during the
Battle of Crete . ["Obituary: Admiral Sir Charles Madden" by Dan van der Vat "The Guardian" (May 4, 2001)] An eyeitness account described Madden as being "cool, calm and collected, at least on the outside" during the battle and its aftermath. [Bernard Hallas “My Life My War: Chapter 10a - The Catastrophe of Crete” "WW2 People’s War -BBC "] Madden also sustained a neck injury during a German bombing attack against the "Warspite" on June 23, 1941. [Bernard Hallas “My Life My War: Chapter 10b - The Catastrophe of Crete” "WW2 People’s War -BBC "]Madden remained with the "Warspite" during her subsequent overhaul at the U.S.Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in
Bremerton, Washington , from August to December 1941, and following the refit, as the flagship of Admiral Sir James Somerville, the Commander-in-Chief of theEastern Fleet , operating in theIndian Ocean beginning in January 1942. ["Obituary: Admiral Sir Charles Madden" by Dan van der Vat "The Guardian" (May 4, 2001)]Madden undertook a two-year stint as the deputy director of the gunnery division within the Admiralty with the rank of acting captain. In late 1944, he took command of the escort aircraft carrier "Emperor" which, after convoy duty, operated against the Japanese bases in
Burma , theNicobars , andSumatra as a unit of theFar East Fleet during the closing stages of theBurma campaign .Cold War
After the war, Madden was confirmed in the rank of Captain and served as the Naval Assistant to the following
First Sea Lord s:* Admiral of the Fleet Andrew B. Cunningham, 1st Viscount of Hyndhope, from 1945 - 1946
* Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Cunningham, 1946 - 1947In 1947, Captain Madden took command of the destroyer "Battleaxe", serving as Captain (D) of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. He subsequently attended the
Imperial Defence College in 1950, and then served on the Defence Research Policy Committee that recommended that Ministry of Defence develop guided missiles to meet its future air defense needs. In 1953, Madden was appointed the Chief of Naval Staff and First Naval Member of theRoyal New Zealand Navy Board with the honorary rank of commodore.Madden was promoted Rear Admiral in 1955 and appointed deputy to Admiral Sir Charles Lambe, the
Second Sea Lord . In this position, Madden introduced the General List for officers in 1956 which abolished many of the distinctions between the executive and other branches within the Royal Navy. From 1957 to 1959, Admiral Madden held the post ofFlag Officer Malta , with responsibilities for three squadrons of minesweepers, an amphibious warfare squadron, and a flotilla of submarines stationed at this overseas naval base. In this capacity, he had to employ considerable diplomatic skill to maitain good relations withDom Mintoff , the nationalistic prime minister ofMalta . ["Obituary: Admiral Sir Charles Madden" by Dan van der Vat "The Guardian" (May 4, 2001)]Madden subsequently served as flag officer of destroyers and frigates in the Home Fleet from 1959 to 1961. In the Fall of 1960, under his command, British naval forces led by the aircraft carriers "Ark Royal" and "Hermes" participated in
NATO exercises against units of the U.S. Second Fleet units, which included the nuclear-powered radar-picket submarine "Triton". [Edward L. Beach, Jr. "Salt and Steel: Reflections of a Submariner" (Annapolis, MD:Naval Institute Press, 1999), p. 263 - 269] Promoted to Vice Admiral in 1961, Madden served as Commander-in-Chief Plymouth.In 1963, Madden was appointed Commander-in-Chief
Home Fleet , with the rank of Admiral, a post that his father held. He concurrently served asNATO ’s Allied Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic, and in this capacity, Madden was instrumental in developingStanding Naval Force Atlantic as a permanent multi-national naval task force.Retirement
Retired Admiral Madden served as Vice
Lord-Lieutenant ofGreater London from 1969 to 1981. He chaired the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, theNational Maritime Museum , and theStanding Council of the Baronetage . Madden also served as executive secretary of a trust established to build a replica of HMS "Endeavour" for the bicentenary of Captain Cook's voyage of discovery toAustralia in 1768, as well as serving as the naval adviser to the trust formed for the Overlord Embroidery which is on display at the D-Day Museum inSouthsea . He was also a member of the Council of the Sail Training Association.Madden also continued his life-long interest in painting, and he participated in numerous collective and one-man exhibitions at such venues as the Plymouth Art Club. [Biographical Profile "The Daily Telegraph" (November 11, 2001)] Both he and his wife were involved in numerous charitable activities. His memoirs were privately printed in 1988.
Following his death, "The Independent" described Madden as being "a highly intelligent, thoughtful, caring and modest man. He was seldom ruffled and, like all successful admirals, was much admired by his men" ["Obituary: Admiral Sir Charles Madden" by Max Arthur. "The Independent" (London)] whose 40-year naval career, observed the "Times" of London, spanned "the big-gun battleship swagger of the imperial high noon to the steely realities of the Cold War." ["Times" of London]
Order of the Bath
* CB: Companion (1955)
* KCB: Knight Commander (1961)
* GCB: Knight Grand Cross (1965)Personal
Charles Edward Madden, 2nd Baronet, married Olive Robins, who died in 1989, in 1942 after a two-year engagement. ["Obituary: Admiral Sir Charles Madden" by Dan van der Vat "The Guardian" (May 4, 2001)] They were survived by a daughter. Admiral Madden was succeeded in the baronetcy by his nephew, Peter John Madden (1942-2006), 3rd Baronet. Sir Peter Madden was succeeded in 2007 by his brother
Charles Jonathan Madden (b. 1949), 4th Baronet . [Biographical Profile "The Daily Telegraph" (November 11, 2001)]References
Bibliography
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,485574,00.html Obituary] by Dan van der Vat "The Guardian" (May 4, 2001)
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=IX4JE2B4ICH35QFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2001/04/25/db02.xml&page=1 Biographical Profile] "The Daily Telegraph" (November 11, 2001)* "Obituary: Admiral Sir Charles Madden" by Max Arthur. "The Independent" (London) (April 28, 2001) [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010428/ai_n14388611]
* "Obituary" "Times" (London) [http://www.derbydeadpool.co.uk/deadpool2001/obits/madden.html]
* Bernard Hallas “My Life My War: Chapter 10a - The Catastrophe of Crete” "WW2 People’s War -
BBC " [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/03/a4134403.shtml] (May 31, 2005)* Bernard Hallas “My Life My War: Chapter 10b - The Catastrophe of Crete” "WW2 People’s War -
BBC " [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/48/a4134548.shtml] (May 31, 2005)ee also
*
Sir Charles Madden, 1st Baronet
*Madden Baronets
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