Arthur Allan Morison Duff

From The Dreadnought Project
Jump to navigationJump to search

Admiral SIR Arthur Alan Morison Duff, K.C.B., Royal Navy (19 April, 1874 – 5 April, 1952) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 31 December, 1909.[1]

He was appointed in command of the battlecruiser Lion on November, 1911. A December 1912 inspection found her satisfactory except for gunnery.[2]

In March, 1913, Duff was appointed in command of the light cruiser Southampton, which was attached to the First Battle Squadron. By July, however, he was superseded when Southampton was transferred to the First Light Cruiser Squadron.[3]

Great War

On 9 August, 1914, Duff's Birmingham encountered U 15 which had been immobilised by engine trouble and delivered a fatal ram.[4]

On 24 January, 1915, Duff commanded Birmingham as part of the First Light Cruiser Squadron at the Battle of Dogger Bank.

On 1 March, 1915, there was an explosion aboard Cordelia while in port which killed Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.V.R. Alfred F. C. Vaughan. A Court of Enquiry failed to assign blame for the incident, which inspired "surprise & displeasure" at the Admiralty. Why this note appears in Duff's service record is a mystery, as he was in command of Birmingham at the time; perhaps Duff was on the Court empaneled for the Enquiry. The next day saw him gazetted for a mention in despatches for his role at Dogger Bank.[5]

On 3 April, 1915, he was sent to the hospital ship Rewa to have gall stones removed. He was expected to be fit by 26 April.[6]

In mid-1916, Duff commanded Birmingham at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Second Light Cruiser Squadron.

Duff left Birmingham when he was appointed in command of the battlecruiser Inflexible on 29 November, 1916.[7]

On the occasion of the King's birthday he was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.) on 4 June, 1917.[8]

On 14 August, 1917, he was appointed in command of the battlecruiser Tiger, remaining there through the end of the war.[9]

Post-War

On 14 May 1919, as a Commodore, Second Class, Duff was appointed in command of the light cruiser Caledon and of the Second Light Cruiser Squadron.[10]

He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 24 November, 1920, vice Nicholson.[11]

On 16 May, 1924, Duff succeeded Rear-Admiral Douglas L. Dent as Director of Naval Equipment.[12]

Duff was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 1 March, 1926.[13]

Duff was promoted to the rank of Admiral on 8 May, 1930, vice Keyes,[14] and was placed on the Retired List at his own request on 15 May.[15]

See Also

  • Service Records
  • "Admiral Sir Arthur Duff" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 8 April, 1952. Issue 52281, col D, pg. 8.
  • The National Archives. ADM 196/141.


Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Charles F. Corbett 		Captain of H.M.S. Adventure
13 Jul, 1907[16] – c. 10 Aug, 1909[Inference] 		Succeeded by
James R. P. Hawksley
Preceded by
Charles Martin-de-Bartolomé 		Captain of H.M.S. Indomitable
3 Jan, 1911[17][18] 		Succeeded by
Crawford Maclachlan
Preceded by
Crawford Maclachlan 		Captain of H.M.S. Lion
Nov, 1911[19][20] – Mar, 1913[21] 		Succeeded by
A. Ernle M. Chatfield
Preceded by
A. Ernle M. Chatfield 		Captain of H.M.S. Southampton
Mar, 1913[22] 		Succeeded by
William E. Goodenough
Preceded by
New Command 		Captain of H.M.S. Birmingham
5 Jul, 1913[23] – 29 Nov, 1916[24] 		Succeeded by
Halton S. Lecky
Preceded by
Edward H. F. Heaton-Ellis 		Captain of H.M.S. Inflexible
29 Nov, 1916[25] 		Succeeded by
Bertram S. Thesiger
Preceded by
Rudolf W. Bentinck 		Captain of H.M.S. Tiger
14 Aug, 1917[26] – 1 Apr, 1919[27] 		Succeeded by
William H. D. Boyle
Preceded by
Geoffrey Mackworth 		Captain of H.M.S. Caledon
14 May, 1919[28] – 25 May, 1919 		Succeeded by
Arthur A. M. Duff
Preceded by
Squadron Reconstituted 		Rear-Admiral Commanding, Second Light Cruiser Squadron
14 May, 1919[29][30] 		Succeeded by
Wilmot S. Nicholson
Preceded by
Arthur A. M. Duff 		Captain of H.M.S. Caledon
22 Jun, 1919 – 1 Jan, 1920 		Succeeded by
Everard J. Hardman-Jones
Preceded by
Sir Rudolf W. Bentinck 		Rear-Admiral in the First Battle Squadron
3 May, 1922[31] 		Succeeded by
William A. H. Kelly
Preceded by
Douglas L. Dent 		Director of Naval Equipment
16 May, 1924[32] 		Succeeded by
Henry W. Parker
Preceded by
Lewis Clinton-Baker 		Admiral Commanding Reserves
1927[33] 		Succeeded by
John Donald Kelly

 

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28325. p. 29. 4 January, 1910.
  2. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  3. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 376.
  4. ↑ Uboat.net page on WW1 losses.
  5. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  6. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  7. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30111. p. 5454. 4 June, 1917.
  9. ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 920.
  10. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 738.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 32154. p. 12054. 7 December, 1920.
  12. ↑ "Naval and Military" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 4 February, 1924. Issue 43556, col F, p. 20.
  13. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33139. p. 1650. 5 March, 1926.
  14. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33604. p. 2867. 9 May, 1930.
  15. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33606. p. 3069. 16 May, 1930.
  16. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1909). p. 272.
  17. ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 122.
  18. ↑ The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 331.
  19. ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 123.
  20. ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1912). p. 340.
  21. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  22. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 376.
  23. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 392l.
  24. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  25. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  26. ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 920.
  27. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  28. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 738.
  29. ↑ "News in Brief" (News in Brief). The Times. Monday, 5 May, 1919. Issue 42091, col B, p. 20.
  30. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 738.
  31. ↑ "Naval and Military" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Thursday, 2 March, 1922. Issue 42969, col G, p. 20.
  32. ↑ "Naval and Military" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 4 February, 1924. Issue 43556, col F, p. 20.
  33. ↑ Clinton-Baker (his predecessor) Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 394.

Retrieved from "http://dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php?title=Arthur_Allan_Morison_Duff&oldid=324481"