Born on 20 November 1893 in
Belfast, Northern Ireland, the son of William Robert Patterson and Elizabeth Fleming. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet on 15 September 1906 and specialised in gunnery. He was appointed the Commodore Commanding His Majesty's Australian Squadron between 2 September 1939 and 1 November 1939. In recognition of the role played while commanding in the
destruction of the Bismarck, he was made a Companion of the
Order of the Bath on 14 October 1941. He was made a Commander of the
Order of the British Empire on 11 June 1946. He was present at the surrender of the Japanese army in
Singapore 12 September 1945. ==Notes==