Arthur Gordon Voules Hubback

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Contents: Early Life · Education · WWII Service · Post-War · Fourth Sea Lord · Honours · Later Life · Personal Life · Photographic Legacy

Vice Admiral Sir (Arthur) Gordon Voules Hubback KBE CB (11 September 1902 – 25 August 1970) was a distinguished Royal Navy officer whose career spanned both World Wars and rose to the pinnacle of naval administration as Fourth Sea Lord.

Portrait of Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Gordon Voules Hubback KBE CB (1902–1970) – Royal Navy officer who served as Fourth Sea Lord.

Sir (Arthur) Gordon Voules Hubback
by Elliott & Fry, bromide print, 1940s
NPG x89846
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Early Life and Family

Gordon Hubback was born on 11 September 1902 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, to Margaret Rose Frances "Daisy" Voules and Arthur Benison Hubback, the renowned architect who shaped much of Kuala Lumpur's colonial skyline. His father, Brigadier General Arthur Benison Hubback C.M.G., D.S.O., FRIBA, was the master architect behind iconic landmarks including the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, Jamek Mosque, and the Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala Kangsar.

Young Gordon grew up in the shadow of his father's architectural achievements, but his own path would lead him to the sea rather than the drawing board.

Education and Early Naval Career

Following the tradition of British naval officers, Hubback was educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and then at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He was appointed captain on 15 May 1916, while still a teenager. This early appointment set the course for a career that would span five decades and see him rise through the ranks of the Royal Navy.

Second World War Service

Hubback served throughout the Second World War in increasingly senior roles. He was stationed at the Plans Division at the Admiralty, where he played a key role in planning the Norwegian campaign — one of the most complex and consequential operations of the early war years.

From 1940, he served in various ships before being appointed Commanding Officer of HMS Gregale in March 1943. That same year, in July, he joined the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet, a crucial strategic posting in the Pacific theatre. By July 1944, he had risen to become Assistant Director of Plans at the Admiralty, putting his strategic mind to work on the highest level of naval planning.

Post-War Commands and Senior Appointments

After the war, Hubback was given command of the cruiser HMS Glasgow, one of the Royal Navy's most distinguished vessels. He then moved into senior administrative roles, serving as:

Commodore Superintendent at Malta (1947)
Commodore at the Royal Naval Barracks, Lee-on-the-Solent (1950)
Admiral Superintendent at HM Naval Base Portsmouth (1951)

He was promoted to Vice-Admiral on 16 December 1954. He then served as Director of Dockyards at the Admiralty from 1954 to 1957.

Fourth Sea Lord

In 1958, Hubback was appointed Fourth Sea Lord, one of the five Sea Lords with a seat on the Board of Admiralty. The Fourth Sea Lord was responsible for naval stores and pay, overseeing the logistics that kept the Royal Navy operational. He retired from the navy in November 1958.

Honours and Recognition

Hubback's distinguished service was formally recognised with two of the highest honours available to a British naval officer:

Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1953
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1957

Later Life and Legacy

In retirement, Hubback became Managing Director of the newly privatised Bailey's Dockyard in Malta, applying his decades of naval administrative experience to the commercial sector.

Personal Life

Hubback married Elizabeth Pearson Rogers in 1930, with whom he had one son. His first wife passed away in 1949, and he married Sheila Mary Roberton the same year.

He passed away on 25 August 1970 in Christchurch, Hampshire, at the age of 67.

A Photographic Legacy

A bromide print portrait of Sir (Arthur) Gordon Voules Hubback, taken by the renowned studio Elliott & Fry in the 1940s, is held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG x89846). He is the subject of three portraits in the Gallery's collection.