Ernest John Spooner
| Ernest John Spooner | |
|---|---|
| Born |
22 August 1887 Winchester, England |
| Died | 15 April 1942 (aged 54) Chibia, Dutch East Indies |
| Buried at | Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1903–1942 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Fortitude (1940–41) HMS Repulse (1938–40) HMS Vindictive (1937–38) HMS Frobisher (1936–37) HMS Dragon (1930–32) |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order |
Vice Admiral Ernest John Spooner, DSO (22 August 1887 – 15 April 1942) was one of the senior Royal Navy officers at Singapore during the World War II Japanese invasion of Malaya and the subsequent fall of Singapore.
Educated at West Downs School in Winchester, Spooner joined Royal Navy and served in the First World War. He became Deputy Director at the Operations Division of the Admiralty in 1932, commanding officer of the Navigation School at Portsmouth in 1934 and commanding officer of the cruiser HMS Vindictive in 1937 before becoming commanding officer of the battlecruiser HMS Repulse in 1938., he was appointed as flag officer commanding the Northern Patrol from July 1940 to September 1940.
Spooner served in the Second World War and was ordered to Singapore to take up the post of Rear Admiral, Malaya in 1941. When the Japanese launched their invasion of Malaya on 8 December 1941, Spooner initially had two immediate superiors: Admiral Sir Tom Phillips (Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet) and Vice-Admiral Geoffrey Layton (Senior Naval Officer, Malaya). However, Admiral Philips was killed when his flagship HMS Prince of Wales was sunk along with HMS Repulse on 10 December by Japanese bombers. Then on 5 January 1942, Vice-Admiral Layton, who had replaced Phillips, moved his headquarters to the island of Java to streamline the organization of supply convoys to the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. This left Spooner as the senior naval officer in Singapore.
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