Kenneth Lloyd Dyer
Place of birth: Toungoo, Burma
Service: Royal Canadian Navy
Rank: Midshipman
Service Number: O-21480
Joined Hood: 1934 (Midshipman)
Left Hood: 1934 (Midshipman)
Biographical Information: Kenneth Dyer was one of many Canadian midshipmen appointed to HMS Hood for training in the years between the World Wars and right up to and including Hood's sinking. His career was a particularly distinguished one: he rose to the rank of Vice Admiral.
Born in Burma, Kenneth Dyer joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1933 and spent part of the following year under training in Hood. Later, he specialised in Gunnery. As an Acting Lieutenant Commander, he commanded two destroyers in succession during World War II's Battle of the Atlantic: HMCS Skeena and HMCS Kootenay.
Kenneth Dyer retired as a Vice Admiral in 1967 and passed away on 3rd October 2000, at the age of 85.
Details of his career are as follows.
Naval Cadet RCN (seniority 1 January 1933)
HMCS Stadacona 1933
HMS Frobisher for training 1933
Midshipman RCN (seniority 1 September1934)
HMS Hood for training 1934
HMS Furious for training 1934
HMS Enterprise for training 1936
HMS Victory for RN training courses 1936
HMS President for Royal Naval College Greenwich for junior officer training 1936
Acting Sub-Lieutenant RCN (seniority 1 January 1937
HMS Dryad for training 1937
HMS Excellent for training 1937
HMS Victory for training courses 1937
Sub-Lieutenant RCN (seniority 1 January 1937)
HMCS Stadacona
HMCS Venture1938
Lieutenant RCN (seniority 1 March 1938)
HMCS Saguenay for Navigating and Watchkeeping duties 1938
HMS Excellent for RN Specialist Gunnery Course 1938
HMS Excellent attached to Captain (D) Greenock for Gunnery Duties 1940
HMS Drake for Gunnery Duties 1940
HMCS Dominion as Executive Officer 1941
HMCS Stadacona as Officer-in-Charge RCN Gunnery School 1941
HMS Walker for ASW Destroyer Familiarization 1942
Acting Lieutenant-Commander (G) RCN (seniority 15 June 1942)
HMCS Skeena in command 1942
HMCS Kootenay in command 1943
HMCS Acadia as Senior Instructional Officer 1944
HMS Malabar as Senior Canadian Training Officer 1944
Lieutenant-Commander RCN (seniority 15 August 1944)
HMCS Somers Isles as Senior Training Officer 1944
HMS Glory for Carrier Experience 1945
Commander RCN (seniority 1 July 1945)
HMCS Somers Isles as Training Commander 1945
HMCS Niobe to stand by First Light Fleet Carrier and for aircraft carrier experience in USS Intrepid 1945
HMCS Warrior as Executive Officer 1945
RN Staff Course 1948
UK Joint Services Staff College 1948
Captain RCN (seniority 1 January 1949)
NSHQ as Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel 1949
HMCS Magnificent in command 1951
Commodore RCN (seniority 9 April 1953)
HMCS Naden as Commodore RCN Barracks Esquimalt 1953
HonouraryAdC to Governor General 1953
NSHQ as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Warfare) and Member of the Naval Board of Canada 1954
NSHQ as Naval Comptroller and Member of the Naval Board of Canada 1956
National Defence College of Canada 1956
Rear-Admiral RCN (seniority 30 July 1957)
NSHQ as Chief of Naval Personnel and Member of the Naval Board of Canada 1957
Flag Officer Atlantic Coast and as Commander Canadian Sub-Area 1960
NSHQ as Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Member of the Naval Board of Canada 1963
NSHQ as Acting Chief of the Naval Staff and Chairman of the Naval Board of Canada 1964
Vice-Admiral RCN (seniority 1 August 1964)
CFHQ as Chief of Personnel and Principal Naval Adviser 1964
Resigned 1966 effective 2 July 1967
Additional Photographs
None at this time.
No known memorials
Sources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
'Register of Deaths of Naval Ratings' (data extracted by Director of Naval Personnel (Disclosure Cell), Navy Command HQ, 2009)
Canada's Admirals and Commodores by Norman H Jolin and John M MacFarlane 3rd Edition, Revised and Updated. Per Chris Varley, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.