Sir Algernon Willis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Willis in 1945, by Oswald Birley | |
| Born | 17 May 1889 Hampstead, London |
| Died | 12 April 1976 (aged 86) Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1904–1950 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | HMAS Vampire HMS Kent HMS Nelson HMS Vernon HMS Barham South Atlantic Station 3rd Battle Squadron Force B Force H Levant Mediterranean Fleet Portsmouth Command |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Algernon Usborne Willis GCB KBE DSO (17 May 1889 – 12 April 1976) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War and saw action at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. He also served in the Second World War as Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic in which capacity he led actions against German and Japanese raiding ships. He was Flag Officer commanding 3rd Battle Squadron and Second in command of the Eastern Fleet and then Flag Officer commanding Force H, which covered North African Operations, the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and then the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943.
Willis spent the final years of the war as Commander-in-Chief, Levant, in which capacity he conducted naval operations in support of the Dodecanese Campaign, and then as Second Sea Lord, in which capacity he arranged the manpower for the campaign in the Pacific Ocean against the Imperial Japanese Navy. After the war he served as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, in which role he was faced with unrest in Mandatory Palestine, before he became Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.