Howard Reid (admiral)

Vice-Admiral Howard Emerson Reid, CB (5 June 1897 – 3 May 1962) was a Royal Canadian Navy officer who served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1946 to 1947.

Howard Reid
Born	5 June 1897 Portage-du-Fort, Quebec
Died	3 May 1962 Victoria, British Columbia
Allegiance	Canada
Service/branch	Royal Canadian Navy
Years of service	1912–1947
Rank	Vice-Admiral
Commands held	HMCS Skeena HMCS Fraser HMCS Naden HMC Dockyard Halifax Atlantic Coast Newfoundland Escort Force Royal Canadian Navy
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath

Career

Early career

Born in Portage-du-Fort, Quebec, Reid was educated at Ashbury College before entering the Royal Naval College of Canada as a Cadet in 1912. He saw action in various British and Canadian ships during the First World War.[1] He commanded HMS Sepoy on the China Station in 1929. In 1931 he attended the staff course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. He became Commanding Officer of the destroyer HMCS Skeena in 1936, of the destroyer HMCS Fraser in 1937 and of the shore establishment HMCS Naden in 1938.[1] He went on to be Commanding Officer of HMC Dockyard Halifax in 1938 and Commanding Officer Atlantic Coast in 1939.[1]

World War II

He served in the Second World War as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff from 1940, as Commodore commanding the Newfoundland Escort Force from 1942 and as Naval Member of the Canadian Joint Staff to Washington, D.C. in 1943.[1]

Chief of the Naval Staff

Following the sudden death of Vice-Admiral George Jones, Reid became Chief of the Naval Staff in 1946. In November 1946, he criticised the government's naval policies, leading to a reprimand from Douglas Abbott, the Minister of National Defence for Naval Services. He stepped down as Chief of the Naval Staff in 1947 and retired the following year.[1][2]

Honours

Reid was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1944. He was appointed a Commander of the Legion of Merit by the United States in 1946 and a Commander of the Legion of Honour by the French government in 1947.

References

1. Reid, Howard Emerson The Nauticapedia
2. Warrior Chiefs: Perspectives on Senior Canadian Military Leaders edited by Bernd Horn, Dundurn, 2012, p. 193

Military offices
Preceded by George Jones	Chief of the Naval Staff 1946–1947	Succeeded by Harold Grant