William Agnew's commands ranged from small diplomatic and aviation-support ships to cruisers, a cruiser squadron, the Royal Navy's gunnery school, and its last battleship. Unlike the destroyer officers featured elsewhere in the series, he was a cruiser specialist whose career centered on independent operations. His early command of the new Grimsby-class sloop HMS Deptford took him through the Persian Gulf and other worldwide duties. HMS Pegasus, formerly Ark Royal and the first ship designed and built as a seaplane carrier, then gave him experience with the Royal Navy's globally distributed aviation support before the war.
Chapter · 0:19-3:48
William Agnew's cruiser-command career
Agnew's commands trace a cruiser officer's path from the sloop Deptford and seaplane carrier Pegasus to Force K, the gunnery school Excellent, and Vanguard.