Charles Beecham Land
Commander (retired) Charles Beecham Land, R.N. (1 June, 1884 – 28 March, 1947) was an officer in the Royal Navy.
Life & Career
Born in London, Land joined the January, 1899 intake term at H.M.S. Britannia. Upon emerging in May 1900, he served briefly in the first class protected cruiser Andromeda and then in the battleship Ramillies in the Mediterranean. He was invalided from Ramillies with Mediterranean Fever in October 1901.[1]
On 1 February 1902 he was appointed to the second class protected cruiser Hyacinth of the Cruiser Squadron. On 15 May, he was appointed to the armoured cruiser Sutlej of the Channel Squadron, though he would spend some of this time in H.M.S. Revenge awaiting Sutlej's return from the Mediterranean.[2]
Land was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 15 July, 1904 and lent to command the T.B. 53 for the Annual Manoeuvres of 1904, in which his boat operated out of Portsmouth.[3]
In April 1905, he was sent to Thames for instruction in submarines. In mid-July 11906, he was appointed to Mercury for command of a submarine, though whether this was for a specific boat or a blanket availability for command of her tenders is not noted.[4]
Land was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 15 July, 1912.[5]
Land was appointed in command of the submarine E 5 on 31 August, 1912.[6]
Land was injured in an explosion aboard a submarine in late June, 1913 and went to Haslar Hospital to be treated for shock. He was found fit on 8 September and left E 5 when he was appointed to the battleship Canopus as first officer on 16 September, 1913. He was still in this appointment when he was admitted to Plymouth Hospital on 24 July, 1914 for an ingrown toenail, of all things. He was placed on the Retired List at his own request on 25 July, 1914.[7]
Almost immediately, the war demanded his return to service, and Land was appointed to Maidstone for submarines, on the books of Adamant dated 5 August. On 31 October 1914 he was appointed to Forth as first officer.
Land was granted the acting rank of Commander on 26 October, 1916.
On 28 April, 1917, Land was appointed to Peveril, A.K.A. Q36, to assume command upon her commissioning as H.M.S. Puma. She was damaged in an attack by UC 65 off Southwest England on 30 March 1917, killing nine of her crew. He was superseded in command on 21 July, 1917 in light that he was unable to cope with the psychological strain of Q-ship work.
The Navy tried a somewhat lighter role for him by placing him in command of a "P" boat on 13 August. This, too, proved too much, and he was sent to Haslar on 1 September, suffering from neurasthenia. He was superseded in his command one week later and eventually found fit for shore service by late October. He was sent to Vernon to work with her Paravane section. Though he was declared fit for active service at the end of January, 1918, it was on the proviso that it be in ships larger than a destroyer. Nonetheless, Land remained at Vernon until he reverted to the Retired List on 15 February, 1919.[8]
Land was promoted to the rank of Commander (retired) in recognition of his wartime service, dated 11 November, 1918.[9]
World War II
Initially employed as Officer in Charge, Seaforth and later in censorship duties, he applied for a seagoing command in 1941 while appointed to work with the Flag Officer in Charge, Liverpool.[10]
He reverted to the Retired List on 22 April, 1944.[11]
Land committed suicide by slashing his throat while in an unstable state of mind in March 1947.[12]
See Also
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by Arthur Rice |
Captain of H.M. T.B. 53 14 Jul, 1904[13][14] – 1904 |
Succeeded by Aubrey T. Tillard |
| Preceded by ? |
Captain of H.M.S. C 14 1 Apr, 1908[15] – 4 Jan, 1910[16] |
Succeeded by Gilbert E. Venning |
| Preceded by New Command |
Captain of H.M.S. E 5 15 May, 1913 – 16 Sep, 1913[17] |
Succeeded by Charles S. Benning |
| Preceded by Reginald W. Lawrence |
Captain of H.M.S. P45 13 Aug, 1917[18] – 7 Sep, 1917[19] |
Succeeded by Herbert J. Carn-Duff |
Footnotes
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 301.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ "Appointments for the Naval Manoeuvres." The Times (London, England), Saturday, Jul 09, 1904; pg. 12; Issue 37442.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1910). p. 286.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
- ↑ Land Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/65. f. ?.
