Convoy Commodore

Convoy Commodore was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a senior merchant captain drawn from the Royal Naval Reserve. He was aboard one of the merchant ships.

The convoy commodore was distinguished from the commander of the convoy's escort, always a naval officer.

Noted commodores include

• Admiral Sir Reginald Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax
• Admiral Sir Frederic Dreyer
• Admiral Lachlan Donald Ian Mackinnon Survived his ship sinking and was rescued after a prolonged period in the cold waters of the North Atlantic; his health was damaged permanently.
• Vice Admiral Norman Atherton Wodehouse who went down with his ship when it was torpedoed en route to South Africa.
• Admiral Sir Studholme Brownrigg who went down with his ship, SS Ville de Tamatave, on 24 January 1943 in a violent storm.
• Admiral Eric Gascoigne Robinson, V.C. who served for three years. Retired exhausted.

Bibliography

• The Fighting Commodores, Convoy Commanders in the Second World, War, Alan Burn, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1999