Arthur Hugh Oldham

From The Dreadnought Project
Jump to: navigation, search

Captain (retired) Arthur Hugh Oldham (3 March, 1871 – 17 August, 1928) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

On 13 January, 1891, Captain Wiseman recorded that Oldham was hard working and "correct", but "not quick."[1]

Oldham was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 June, 1893.[2]

Oldham was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 30 June, 1904.[3]

In January, 1906, Oldham was declared "unsuitable for destroyer" by Rear-Admiral Winston. Appointed in command of the former ironclad H.M.S. Triumph, now the training ship Tenedos on 1 January, Admiral Pearson reported that the ship was "[n]ot so clean as she should be."[4]

In January, 1907, Oldham was not recommended for advancement by Captain Hall.[5]

He was appointed in command of the old training ship Daedalus on 26 November, 1908. He left when she paid off on 30 September 1910, and on 22 October, 1910 he went to work with the Milford Division of the Coast Guard.[6]

Great War

Oldham was appointed in command of the armed boarding steamer Suva on 25 August, 1915. On 13 March, 1916, he applied to the Naval Assistant to the Second Sea Lord, Captain Hubert George Brand, asking that he be relieved, but he was asked for his reasons, as a previous application had been refused for reasons deemed inadequate. Apparently his reasons were psychological in basis, as Oldham was invalided from the ship on 15 April, 1916 with anthenia. On 13 June, he was found fit for duty with some qualifications.[7]

Oldham was appointed in command of the first class protected cruiser Gibraltar in May, 1917. Much of the remaining war years would be consumed with his efforts to escape naval service, or at least to find the least demanding appointments possible. In June of 1917, he applied to be placed on the Retired List with the rank of Captain or to be given a better paid appointment as Commander. He was informed that retirement was suspended during the hostilities and that any question of rank advancement would only be considered when he completed six months in his present command appointment. Oldham was duly promoted to the rank of Commander on 26 October, 1917 and remained in Gibraltar until March of 1918 when he was appointed in command of the battleship Venerable.[8]

Post-War

In December, 1918, there was some confusion over whether Oldham would be granted leave and he was ordered to join Courageous "immediately." Oldham asked that his appointment to command the aircraft carrier be cancelled and that his appointment to the Milford Division of the Coast Guard be reinstated. This was refused.[9]

Oldham was placed on the Retired List at his own request with the rank of Captain on 5 August, 1919.[10]

Oldham died of a cerebral hemorrhage at a nursing home in Weymouth on 17 August, 1928.[11]

See Also

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
John F. E. Green
Captain of H.M.S. Pigmy
15 Jan, 1901[12][13] – 25 Oct, 1902[14]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
John G. Armstrong
Captain of H.M.S. Lapwing
3 Jan, 1903[15][16] – 17 Sep, 1904[17]
Succeeded by
Alfred B. Barker
Preceded by
John Kiddle
Captain of H.M.S. Racehorse
3 Jan, 1905[18] – 1 Apr, 1905[19]
Succeeded by
Rupert S. Gwatkin-Williams
Preceded by
Rupert S. Gwatkin-Williams
Captain of H.M.S. Ribble
1 Apr, 1905[20] – 26 May, 1905[21]
Succeeded by
Reginald F. Parker
Preceded by
James U. Farie
Captain of H.M.S. Kestrel
18 May, 1905[22] – 11 Jul, 1905[23]
Succeeded by
James U. Farie
Preceded by
Cecil F. Thursby
as Captain of H.M.S. Triumph
Captain of H.M.S. Tenedos
1 Jan, 1906[24] – 10 Jan, 1907[25]
Succeeded by
Henry C. Carr
Preceded by
Owen F. Gillett
Captain of H.M.S. Hawke
13 Mar, 1908[26][27] – 26 Nov, 1908[28]
Succeeded by
Henry D. Wilkin
Preceded by
Henry G. Keenor
Captain of H.M.S. Enchantress
18 Aug, 1915[29] – 25 Aug, 1915[30]
Succeeded by
The Hon. Arthur C. Strutt
Preceded by
Arthur B. F. Dawson
Captain of H.M.S. Gibraltar
16 May, 1917[31][32] – 11 Feb, 1918[33]
Succeeded by
William B. Macdonald
Preceded by
William B. Fawckner
Senior Naval Officer, Swarbacks Minn
c. Nov, 1917[34] – late 1918
Succeeded by
Command Disestablished
Preceded by
Charles A. Radcliffe
Captain of H.M.S. Venerable
11 Mar, 1918[35] – Jun, 1918[36]
Succeeded by
Lewis T. L. Jones
Preceded by
William B. Macdonald
Captain of H.M.S. Gibraltar
18 Jun, 1918[37] – Feb, 1919[38]
Succeeded by
Hugh P. Buckle
Preceded by
Guy D. Fanshawe
Captain of H.M.S. Courageous
17 Apr, 1919[39][40] – 9 Jul, 1919[41]
Succeeded by
Frederick C. G. St. Clair

Footnotes

  1. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  2. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  3. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  4. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  5. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  6. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  7. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  8. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  9. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  10. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  11. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  12. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  13. The Navy List. (May, 1902). p. 292.
  14. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  15. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  16. The Navy List. (October, 1904). p. 338.
  17. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  18. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  19. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  20. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  21. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  22. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  23. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  24. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  25. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  26. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  27. The Navy List. (October, 1908). p. 324.
  28. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  29. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  30. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  31. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  32. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 394.
  33. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  34. Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 9.
  35. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  36. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  37. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  38. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  39. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.
  40. The Navy List. (June, 1919). p. 767.
  41. Oldham Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/187. f. 201.