Ramsay, Sir Bertram Home (1883-1945), was an officer in the British Royal Navy. During World War II (1939-1945), Ramsay helped coordinate a number of successful naval operations, including the 1940 evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkerque and the 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy.
Ramsay was born on Jan. 20, 1883, in London. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1898. During World War I (1914-1918), he served in the Dover Patrol guarding the English Channel. In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Ramsay commanded a number of warships, including the battleship Royal Sovereign. He retired from the Royal Navy as a rear admiral in 1938. With war threatening, Ramsay was recalled to service and promoted to vice admiral in 1939.
In May 1940, he helped plan Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of some 338,000 troops from the French port of Dunkerque. He then helped coordinate the 1942 Allied landings in North Africa and the 1943 invasion of Sicily. In June 1944, Admiral Ramsay commanded Operation Neptune, the naval phases of the massive Allied invasion of Normandy.
Ramsay was killed in a plane crash in France on Jan. 2, 1945.
