A Kriegsmarine U-Boat Pennant Captured By Rear Admiral Houghton Rcn

Two pieces of white nylon sewn together, back-to-back, each side with a large cross in cotton, the edges of the crosses trimmed in white and black embroidery, metal post with loops at either end fed through the hoist sleeve, each loop housing a clip for attachment to a line, reinforced stitching along the edges and at the tip, 200 mm x 288 mm, soiled, clips exhibiting rust, very fine. Footnote: This flag was captured and brought home by Rear Admiral Frank Llewellyn Houghton, Royal Canadian Navy; Footnote: Frank Llewellyn Houghton was born on July 18, 1897 in Looe, Cornwall, England, the son of Dr. Leonard Frank Houghton. He was educated in Victoria, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a career naval man, serving almost thirty-eight and a half years with the Royal Canadian Navy, from January 27, 1913 to June 7, 1951 and was one of the earliest Canadian naval cadets, who served in a variety of duties on land and at sea between the wars. Houghton was appointed as a Naval Cadet in January 1913 and served at the Royal Naval College of Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Third Term) in 1913. He was appointed as a Midshipman with seniority, effective August 2, 1914 and served with H.M.C.S. Niobe for Training in 1914. He later served with H.M.S. Cumberland in 1915 and H.M.S. Erin in 1917. This was followed by an appointment as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant with seniority, effective August 2, 1917, served with H.M. Submarine K-I in 1917 and was appointed as a Sub-Lieutenant, effective November 16, 1917. He went on the serve with H.M.S. P.29, H.M.S. P.C.63 and H.M.S. Tumult in 1918, then H.M.S. Melampus, H.M.S. Saumarez and H.M.S. Valhalla in 1919 and achieved the rank of Lieutenant on May 16, 1919. In 1920, he served at H.M.S. Sandhurst for H.M.S. Valhalla on re-commissioning, followed by a posting to H.M.S. Cairo in 1921, before his return to Canada, where he was posted to H.M.C.S. Patriot in 1923. Houghton attended His Majesty's Signal School in 1925 and the Royal Naval College at Greenwich in 1926. He was appointed as a Lieutenant-Commander with seniority, effective December 16, 1926 and returned to Canada, serving at H.M.C.S. Stadacona in 1927. He served "in command" with H.M.C.S. Festubert in 1929, then "in command" with H.M.C.S. Ypres. He attended His Majesty's Signal School in 1930, taking a course and qualifying as a Signals Officer (Dagger) and was posted to H.M.S. Renown the same year. He served with H.M.C.S. Skeena in the rank of First Lieutenant in 1931, H.M.C.S. Naden in 1933 and was "in command" of the destroyer H.M.C.S. Vancouver in 1934. Houghton attended the Royal Naval Staff College at Greenwich in 1935 and served as Secretary to the Canadian Delegation to the London Naval Conference of 1935-1936. The Second London Naval Treaty was an international treaty signed as a result of the Second London Naval Disarmament Conference held in London, United Kingdom. The conference started on December 9, 1935 and the treaty was signed by the participating nations on March 25, 1936. Houghton returned to H.M.C.S. Stadacona following the conference. He was appointed as a Commander with the Royal Canadian Navy with seniority, effective December 1, 1938 and was posted "in command" of the destroyer H.M.C.S. Saguenay. Now a flag officer in the Royal Canadian Navy, he served at National Headquarters in Ottawa as Director of the Plans and Signals Division, Secretary to the Chiefs of Staff Committee in 1939. Houghton was appointed Acting Captain in 1941 and was one of eleven members of the Interdepartmental Committee and Awards Co-Ordination Committee in 1942. In the rank of Acting Captain, he commanded the Armed Merchant Cruiser H.M.C.S. Prince Robert (F 56) based in Esquimalt, British Columbia, from June 22, 1942 to December 31, 1942 and the Armed Merchant Cruiser H.M.C.S. Prince Henry (F 70), from January 1, 1943 to March 18, 1943, whose primary task in the early stages of the Second World War was to protect the convoys of American troops being ferried to the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, prior to and during the Japanese invasion of the islands. He commanded H.M.C.S. Prince Henry during the operations in the North Pacific theatre and was appointed Captain with seniority, effective January 1, 1943. He served with H.M.C.S. Avalon and was Chief of Staff to the Flag Officer of the Newfoundland Force in 1943. He served with H.M.C.S. Niobe as Senior Canadian Naval Liaison Officer in London 1943, and was Chief of the Canadian Naval Mission to Britain (Overseas) in 1945, replacing Percy W. Nelles. Captain Frank Llewellyn Houghton, Royal Canadian Navy was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Commander, Military Division (CBE), the announcement appearing in the London Gazette 37120 of Friday, June 8, 1945, on Thursday, June 14, 1945, page 3033. In 1946, Houghton took command of Canada's first aircraft carrier, H.M.C.S. Warrior, was appointed Acting Commodore in 1947 and served at National Headquarters in Ottawa as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1947. Houghton was appointed as a Commodore with seniority, effective January 1, 1948, was appointed Acting Rear-Admiral later that year, continuing to serve at National Headquarters, as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff in 1948. His final appointment, to Rear-Admiral with seniority came on January 1, 1949, serving at National Headquarters as Vice Chief of Naval Staff and as the Fourth Member of the Naval Board in 1949. As Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, he was asked to conduct an extensive study of the spectrum of personnel problems within the Royal Canadian Navy. The result was a comprehensive memorandum by Houghton, entitled "The Morale of the Navy." It was based on staff reports from the fleet and contained twenty-six major recommendations aimed at improving training, morale, and conditions of service. These addressed the major complaints, such as inadequate pay and accommodation, but also pointed to the poor wartime training of junior officers and senior non-commissioned officers in the administration and care of their men that resulted in poor leadership and ineffectiveness of the divisional system. "The Morale of the Navy" indicated how worried senior officers were about the personnel situation and their determination to find solutions. The document is an interesting admixture, reflecting the old pre-war Royal Canadian Navy paternalism, on the one hand, but also a recognition of the need for change towards a navy better suited to Canadian circumstances, on the other. In "The Morale of the Navy", there is a substantial understanding that new conditions existed in the Navy, as well as in Canadian society, and that the one must replicate the other as far as the service could allow. There is also an admission that the Navy had got into bad habits during the war, and this was having a telling effect on discipline and morale. Demonstrating a radical shift in thinking, the document suggested that the United States Navy provided the model for the post-war Royal Canadian Navy. "The Morale of the Navy" stands as a seminal document that provided a blueprint for implementing a progressive personnel policy in the post-war Royal Canadian Navy. After retiring from the Royal Canadian Navy in 1951, with distinguished service, he was in charge of the Civil Defence Force in Halifax and was the General Manager of the International Grenfell Association (an organization founded by Sir Wilfred Grenfell, to provide health care, education, religious services, and rehabilitation and other social activities to the fisherman and coastal communities in northern Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador. The organization was incorporated in Canada on January 10, 1914, under the Companies Act of 1899). Rear Admiral Frank Llewellyn Houghton died on August 3, 1981 in Ottawa, Ontario, at the age of 84. His remains were interred in the naval crypt beneath St. Paul's Anglican Church, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was also well known as a magician and as an author of childrens' books, one of which is entitled "The Cave at Cormorant Point: A Canadian Navy Adventure". The Houghton Islands off the west coast of British Columbia, north of Vancouver Island, were named in his honour.