About DBkWik

About: dbkwik:resource/GfHImKIabcYinVuHG8xhGw==

PropertyValue
rdf:type
rdfs:label
  • Alan McNicoll
rdfs:comment
  • Vice Admiral Sir Alan Wedel Ramsay McNicoll (3 April 1908 – 11 October 1987) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and a diplomat. Born in Melbourne, he entered the Royal Australian Naval College at the age of thirteen and graduated in 1926. Following training and staff appointments in Australia and the United Kingdom, he was attached to the Royal Navy at the outbreak of the Second World War. As torpedo officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla in the Mediterranean theatre, McNicoll was decorated with the George Medal in 1941 for disarming enemy ordnance. He served aboard HMS King George V from 1942, sailing in support of several Arctic convoys and taking part in the Allied invasion of Sicily. McNicoll was posted for staff duties with the Admiralty from September 1943 and was
owl:sameAs
dcterms:subject
dbkwik:military/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate
serviceyears
  • 1922
Birth Date
  • 1908-04-03
Commands
death place
  • Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Name
  • Sir Alan Wedel Ramsay McNicoll
Caption
  • -1940.0
Birth Place
Title
Awards
death date
  • 1987-10-11
Rank
Image size
  • 250
Battles
  • Vietnam War
  • Second World War * Battle of the Mediterranean * Artic convoys * Italian Campaign * Operation Husky Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
Before
  • Captain Galfrey Gatacre
  • Rear Admiral Galfrey Gatacre
  • Rear Admiral Hastings Harrington
  • Vice Admiral Sir Hastings Harrington
Years
  • 1951
  • 1962
  • 1964
  • 1965
  • 1968
Alt
  • Black and white studio portrait of a sitting man in naval uniform. He has well groomed hair, two medal ribbons on his left breast, and is holding a cap in one hand by his knees.
After
  • Captain Otto Becher
  • Rear Admiral Otto Becher
  • Vice Admiral Sir Victor Smith
Relations
  • Major General Ronald McNicoll
  • Brigadier General Sir Walter McNicoll
laterwork
  • Australian Ambassador to Turkey
abstract
  • Vice Admiral Sir Alan Wedel Ramsay McNicoll (3 April 1908 – 11 October 1987) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and a diplomat. Born in Melbourne, he entered the Royal Australian Naval College at the age of thirteen and graduated in 1926. Following training and staff appointments in Australia and the United Kingdom, he was attached to the Royal Navy at the outbreak of the Second World War. As torpedo officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla in the Mediterranean theatre, McNicoll was decorated with the George Medal in 1941 for disarming enemy ordnance. He served aboard HMS King George V from 1942, sailing in support of several Arctic convoys and taking part in the Allied invasion of Sicily. McNicoll was posted for staff duties with the Admiralty from September 1943 and was involved in the planning of the Normandy landings. He returned to Australia in October 1944. McNicoll was made executive officer of HMAS Hobart in September 1945. Advanced to captain in 1949, he successively commanded HMAS Shoalhaven and Warramunga before being transferred to the Navy Office in July 1950. In 1952, McNicoll chaired the planning committee for the British nuclear tests on the Montebello Islands, and was appointed commanding officer of HMAS Australia. He commanded the ship for two years before it was sold off for scrap, at which point he returned to London to attend the Imperial Defence College in 1955. He occupied staff positions in London and Canberra before being posted to the Naval Board as Chief of Personnel in 1960. This was followed by a term as Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet. McNicoll's career culminated with his promotion to vice admiral and appointment as First Naval Member and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) in February 1965. As CNS, McNicoll had to cope with significant morale and recruitment issues occasioned by the February 1964 collision between HMAS Melbourne and Voyager and, furthermore, oversaw an extensive modernisation of the Australian fleet. Knighted in 1966, he presided over the RAN contribution to the Vietnam War, and it was during his tenure that the Australian White Ensign was created. McNicoll retired from the RAN in 1968 and was appointed as the inaugural Australian Ambassador to Turkey. He served in the diplomatic post for five years, then retired to Canberra. McNicoll died in 1987 at the age of 79.