George Swabey


Sir George Thomas Carlisle Parker Swabey KBE CB DSO was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief of the New Zealand Division.

Naval career

Educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Swabey joined the Royal Navy in 1895, and was confirmed as Sub-lieutenant 19 July 1900. He saw early service at the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Prince George in the Channel Fleet, and was promoted to lieutenant in July 1902.
He served in World War I as a Naval Observation Officer on the battleship HMS Lord Nelson, earning the DSO during operations at Gallipoli, before becoming Executive Officer of that ship. He was appointed Deputy Director of Naval Ordnance in 1921, Captain of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1924 and Commodore Commanding the New Zealand Division in 1926 before retiring in 1929. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral while on the retired list in January 1935.
Swabey was recalled in September 1939 at the start of World War II and served as a Commodore of Convoys from 1940, Vice-Admiral in Charge at Portland from 1942 and Naval Officer in Charge at Leith from 1944 before retiring again in 1945.

Family

In 1920 he married Lois Ridley.