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Sir Ronald Brockman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 March 1909 |
| Died | 3 September 1999(1999-09-03) (aged 90) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1927–1965 |
| Rank | Vice-Admiral |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
Vice-AdmiralSir Ronald Vernon BrockmanKCB CSI CIE CVO CBE KStJ (8 March 1909 – 3 September 1999) was a British senior officer of theRoyal Navy. He served underLord Mountbatten and participated in accepting the surrender of the Japanese Fleet in 1945. Sir Ronald was the elder son of Engineer Rear-Admiral Henry Stafford BrockmanCB. He was descendant of the English Brockman family, and wasGentleman Usher to the Queen from 1967 to 1979.
Sir Ronald was educated atWeymouth College inDorset and joined theRoyal Navy in 1927[1] as apaymastercadet (laterSupply Officer). He was promoted to paymastersub-lieutenant on 16 April 1930 (seniority from 1 September 1929)[2] and to paymasterlieutenant on 1 October 1931.[2] He served as the Assistant Secretary to theFirst Sea Lord,Admiral of the FleetSir Roger Backhouse from 1938 to 1939[1] and was promoted to paymasterlieutenant commander on 1 October 1939.[3]
He was the Admiral's Secretary toAdmiral of the FleetSir Dudley Pound duringWorld War II from 1939 to 1943.[1] Promoted to paymastercommander on 31 December 1943,[4] he served as Admiral's Secretary toAdmiral of the FleetLord Louis (Francis Albert Victor) Mountbatten (Lord Mountbatten of Burma from 1946) from 1943 to 1959[1] and as an actingcaptain was the Private Secretary to Mountbatten asGovernor General of India from 1947 to 1948.[1] Finally, he served as the Senior Staff Officer to the Chief of Defence Staff within theMinistry of Defence from 1959 to 1965.[1] He was promoted to the substantive rank of captain (S) on 30 June 1953.[5] He was promoted torear admiral on 7 July 1960,[6] and tovice-admiral on 6 April 1963.[7] He retired from theRoyal Navy on 6 December 1965.[8]
He was appointed aKCB in the 1965 New Year Honours,[9]CSI 1947,[10]CIE 1946,[11]CVO 1979 andCBE 1943. He was made aKStJ in 1985 and among his foreign awards were theSpecial Rosette of Cloud and Banner (China) 1948,[12] Chevalier Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre with Palm (France) 1950[13] and Bronze Star Medal (USA) 1947.[citation needed]
In 1932 Brockman married Marjorie Jean Butt; they had one son and three daughters. He died on 3 September 1999, aged 90.[14] He was the last surviving Companion of theOrder of the Star of India.[citation needed] At his death, the Queen was represented by Sir Carron Grieg and theDuke of Edinburgh was represented by Rear-Admiral SirRobert Woodard at a service of thanksgiving for Sir Ronald's life and service. The Prince of Wales was represented by Vice-Admiral SirChristopher Morgan.