John Gerald Lang

Sir John Gerald Lang, GCB (20 December 1896 – 22 September 1984), was a British civil servant who held the position of Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty from 1947 to 1961.

Family and education Lang was born in Woolwich, to George Thompson Lang, an engineering toolmaker, and his wife Rebecca Davies. He was educated at Haberdashers’ Aske's School in Hatcham, London. During this time he was also a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty.

Retirement During retirement Lang served as vice-president of both the Royal Naval Association and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. He was President of the Samuel Pepys Club and a member of the Navy Records Society and the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights.

Lang was also a governor and officer of Bethlem Royal Hospital and Maudsley Hospital (1961–1970) and, in his eighties, an adviser to Help the Aged.

He died at Tadworth, Surrey, at the age of 87.

Honours Lang was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1946, A Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1947 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1954.