Sir Toby Frere
Birth nameRichard Tobias Frere-Reeves[1]
Born(1938-06-04)4 June 1938
Marylebone, London[1]
Died5 March 2020(2020-03-05) (aged 81)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1955–1997
RankVice admiral
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Vice Admiral Sir Richard Tobias Frere KCB (born Frere-Reeves; 4 June 1938 – 5 March 2020[2]) was a Royal Navy officer who ended his career as Chief of Fleet Support.

Early life and education

Frere was born in London, the son of publisher Alexander Stuart Frere-Reeves CBE and Patricia Marion Caldecott Wallace. His mother was the daughter of writer Edgar Wallace.[3] J. B. Priestley was his godfather.[4] He was named after his great-grandfather Henry Tobias Frere, a first-class cricketer. When he was 1, his father legally dropped Reeves from their surname.[5][4]

He was educated at Eton College and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.[3]

Frere joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve through National Service in 1955 and was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1958.[6] During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, as a submariner based at Halifax, he was involved in setting up a barrier patrol with American air support off Newfoundland.[7]

He commanded the submarines HMS Andrew, HMS Odin and HMS Revenge before taking charge of the frigate HMS Brazen.[6] Promoted to Rear-Admiral, he was appointed Director-General, Fleet Support (Policy & Services) in 1988[8] and then Flag Officer, Submarines and Commander Submarines for the Eastern Atlantic in 1991[9] before becoming Chief of Fleet Support in 1994 and retiring in 1997.[6]

In retirement, he became the First Chairman of The Prison Service Pay Review Body[10] as well as Chairman of the Governors of Oundle School.[11]

Family

In 1968, he married Jane Barraclough; they had two daughters.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007
  2. ↑ Frere
  3. 1 2 Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 1993. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  4. 1 2 "Mr A. S. Frere". The Times. 6 October 1984. p. 10.
  5. ↑ "No. 34643". The London Gazette. 7 July 1939. p. 4726.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Debrett's People of Today 1994
  7. ↑ Cuban missile crisis The Times, 22 October 2002
  8. ↑ Whitaker's Almanack 1989
  9. ↑ Whitaker's Almanack 1992
  10. ↑ A Brief History of the Office of Manpower Economics Formation Office of Manpower Economics
  11. ↑ Oundle School Independent Schools Inspectorate, March 2008
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