Wilfred Hastings Harrington KBE CB DSO (1906 - 1965)

Born 1906 in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia

Ancestors

Spouse of Agnes Janet (Winser) Harrington — married 1 Jan 1945 in Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia

Died 1965 at about age 59 in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

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Biography

Hastings Harrington KBE CB DSO is Notable.

Vice Admiral Sir Hastings 'Arch' Harrington KBE CB DSO was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), who served as First Naval Member and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1962 to 1965.

Hastings Harrington KBE CB DSO was born in Queensland, Australia

Wilfred Hastings Harrington was born on 17th May 1906 in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. He was the eldest son of Hubert Harrington and Laura Barton. ^[1] He was a grandson of Maryborough businessman and philanthropist William Frederick Harrington. ^[2] He was educated at Wychbury Preparatory School in Maryborough.

Hastings Harrington KBE CB DSO is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Royal Australian Navy 1924-1965
HMAS Quiberon; HMAS Warramunga; HMAS Sydney; Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet; Chief of Naval Staff

In 1920, Hastings entered the Royal Australian Naval College, Jervis Bay, as a Cadet Midshipman. In 1924 he went to sea as a Midshipman in the cruisers, HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Adelaide.

Hastings was sent to Britain for training with the Royal Navy and joined the battleship, HMS Malaya, in the Mediterranean Fleet. Back in Australia, he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1928 and served in RAN ships until 1933 when he returned to Britain on appointment to the cruiser, HMS Cornwall, which was deployed to the China Station for three years. Home again, he was a Lieutenant Commander and executive officer of HMAS Swan. Seven months on the staff of the RAN College at Flinders Naval Depot, Westernport, Victoria, was brought to a sudden end with the declaration of (the Second World) War in September 1939.

He served in the Second World War initially in command of the sloop HMAS Yarra, in which he saw action off the coast of Shatt al-Arab in Iraq in May 1941 and for which role he was Mentioned in Despatches (equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry). For his services in the War against Persia in August 1941 he was appointed Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). ^[3] In January 1942 Yarra was in the Far East, running between Singapore and the Sunda Strait. On 5th February, near Singapore, the ship suffered superficial damage when the Japanese made an air-raid on the convoy she was protecting. Manoeuvring Yarra to the aid of a transport, Empress of Asia, which had been stricken in the attack, Hastings 'did a fine rescue job', laying his vessel's bow alongside the liner's stern and taking off 1,804 people.

Hastings' youngest brother, Charles, was killed in action when the HMAS Parramatta (Yarra's sister ship) was sunk in the Mediterranean in November 1941. He was a Surgeon Lieutenant.

Promoted to Commander, on 10th February 1942 Hastings moved to the cruiser HMAS Australia as executive officer, in which role he was again Mentioned in Despatches for 'his organisation and administration of Australia in the South-West Pacific Area, particularly at Tulagi and Guadalcanal'. In July 1944 he took command of the destroyer HMAS Quiberon, in operations chiefly around the Netherlands East Indies.

Hastings married Agnes Winser on New Year's Day 1945 in St Anne's Anglican Church, Strathfield, in Sydney's western suburbs. ^[4] The couple subsequently had two sons and two daughters.

Promoted to Captain in 1947, he was given command of the destroyer HMAS Warramunga and in 1950 became Director of Manning at the Navy Office in Melbourne. He took command of the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney in 1955, and following his promotion to Rear Admiral in 1957, became Flag Officer, East Australia Area. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 1957 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). ^[5] He went on to be Second Naval Member of the Naval Board in 1958, Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet in 1959 and First Naval Member and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) in 1962.

He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the New Year Honours 1962. ^[6]

In the Queen's Birthday Honours 1963 Hastings was created Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). ^[7]

In February 1964 eighty-two lives were lost in a collision between the aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne, and the destroyer, HMAS Voyager, off the New South Wales coast near Jervis Bay. Controversy surrounding the event dominated the second half of Hasting's term as CNS. In the Naval Board's confidential submission to Federal cabinet on the findings of the Royal Commission into the sinking, Hastings argued that 'the failures and shortcomings which led to the disaster were unconnected, and could not have been foreseen and prevented'. Moreover, he considered that 'the incident revealed no fundamental flaw in the administration and operation of the RAN'. He was, however, privately critical of both ships' captains. When he retired on 24th February 1965, the Navy was in a high state of preparedness to meet the challenges of its involvement in supporting Malaysia in the Indonesian Confrontation and of its subsequent operations in the Vietnam War.

Having retired from the Navy, Hastings was appointed by the Prime Minister as Commissioner General for Australia for Expo 67, Canada.

Aged 59 years, Hastings passed away of hypertensive cerebrovascular disease on 17th December 1965 in Canberra Community Hospital. He wa survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

Sources

1. ↑ Queensland Birth Index #1906/C/8115
2. ↑ [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/harrington-william-frederick-6576/text11313 Johnston, W Ross. 'Harrington, William Frederick (1840–1918)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1983; accessed online 1 Nov 2023. ]
3. ↑ Australian Honours: DSO; accessed 1 Nov 2023
4. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #1506/1945' registered at Burwood
5. ↑ Australian Honours: CBE; accessed 1 Nov 2023
6. ↑ Australian Honours: CB; accessed 1 Nov 2023
7. ↑ Australian Honours: KBE; accessed 1 Nov 2023

See also

• Frame, Tom. 'Harrington, Sir Wilfred Hastings (Arch) (1906–1965)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1996; accessed online 1 Nov 2023.
• Wikipedia: 'Hastings Harrington'; accessed 1 Nov 2023.