John Cox (Royal Navy officer)

Sir John Cox
Born 27 October 1928
Peking China
Died 3 October 2006
Allegiance Royal Navy
Rank Vice Admiral
Unit numerous
Commands held numerous
Battles/wars Falklands War
Awards Knight of the Bath
Other work Wormwood Scrubs parole board and The Spastics Society

Vice-Admiral Sir John Cox KCB (27 October 1928 – 3 October 2006) was an English Royal Navy Officer and Admiral.

Personal life

He was born in Peking, and first went to sea as a boy (in a small rowboat), when he warned the British fleet of the seizure of British Embassy property by pirates. This resulted in him receiving two reprimands for putting to sea without telling anyone where he was going — one from the Commander-in-Chief, China Station; the other from his mother.

Cox married Anne Folkstone in 1962, and had a son and daughter and two stepsons.

Career

As a British sailor, he was an influential figure, rising to numerous staff and sea commands, including Flag Officer Third Flotilla/Commander Anti-Submarine Warfare Group Two, responsible for the aircraft carriers and amphibious ships, although superseded by Sandy Woodward for the Falklands War, since he was about to retire at the time, and was on gardening leave. For his actions in preparing the fleet, he was appointed KCB in 1982.

Prior to the peak of his career, he was appointed to other notable commands, first commanding the minesweeper HMS Dilston, where he was mentioned in dispatches for reducing smuggling off Cyprus in 1952. He later commanded the minesweepers HMS Stubbington, Royal Navy Reserve HMS Thames, the frigate HMS Naiad and the guided missile destroyer HMS Norfolk.

Diplomatic career

As a Naval attaché, Cox was appointed to West Germany, where his technique of approaching Soviet Navy Officers "sailor-to-sailor" enabled him to learn intelligence while playing tennis.

Post-Naval career

After retirement from the Royal Navy, Cox turned his attention towards working with the disabled, including the Spastics Society, which he helped turn into Scope which lead to the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995. He was also on the parole board for HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs along with his wife.

Source

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.