Percy Noble (Royal Navy officer)

Sir Percy Noble
Admiral Sir Percy Noble as Head of the RN Admiralty Delegation
Birth name	Percy Lockhart Harnam Noble
Born	(1880-01-16)16 January 1880 Bengal, India
Died	25 July 1955(1955-07-25) (aged 75) London, UK
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1894–1945
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Calliope (1918); HMS Calcutta & Flag Captain; HMS Barham & Flag Captain (1922-1924); HMS Ganges Training Establishment & Captain-in-Charge, Harwich (1925-1927); HMS St Vincent Cadet Training Establishment, CO (1927-1928); RN Director of Operations Division (1928-1930); 2nd Cruiser Squadron (1932-1934); Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty & Fourth Sea Lord (1935-1937); Commander-in-Chief, China Station (1937-1940); Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches (1941-1942); Head of British Naval Delegation to Washington DC (1942-1944)
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of Jutland World War II Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	GBE (1944); KCB (1936); CVO (1920)
Relations	Colonel Charles Noble (father); Sir Allan Noble MP (son)

Admiral Sir Percy Lockhart Harnam Noble, GBE, KCB, CVO (16 January 1880 – 25 July 1955) was a Royal Navy officer who served in both World Wars.

Noble rose to the rank of Admiral and was Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches for two crucial years during the Second World War, before being posted to the United States as Head of the RN Admiralty Delegation.

The son of an Indian Army officer, Colonel Charles Noble and Anne née Hay, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy, before being commissioned in the Royal Navy on 15 January 1894.

Promoted as Lieutenant on 1 April 1902, Noble was posted to the battleship HMS Hannibal serving in the Channel Fleet. He served in the Grand Fleet during the First World War. From 1918 to 1925 he commanded the cruisers HMS Calliope and HMS Calcutta and then the battleship HMS Barham before being appointed Senior Naval Officer, Harwich in 1925. He then commanded the HMS St Vincent based at Forton, Gosport from 1927. He was appointed Director of Operations Division at the Admiralty in 1928. He was then Director of Naval Equipment from 1931 before returning to sea in command of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1932. He then returned to the Admiralty as Fourth Sea Lord in 1935, before returning as Commander-in-Chief, China Station in 1938.