Edward Owen Cochrane

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Rear-Admiral SIR Edward Owen Cochrane, K.B.E., Royal Navy (17 August, 1881 – 27 January, 1972) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

His great-grandfather's eldest brother was Admiral Lord Cochrane.

Life & Career

Cochrane was born in Windlesham, Surrey, the son of Captain (later Vice-Admiral) Basil E. Cochrane.[1]

As a Midshipman he served aboard H.M.S. Majestic of the Channel Squadron from 1897 to 1898, and then in Illustrious in the Mediterranean Fleet from 1899 to 1901, possibly with a short stint in T.B. 46 in 1900.[2][3]

He served in the destroyer Racehorse of the Chatham Flotilla in 1903 and in the battleship Royal Oak of the Home Fleet until February 1904. He then qualified as gunnery Lieutenant at H.M.S. Excellent.[4]

He entered the Navy and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 15 October, 1902.[5]

He married Mary Lucy George on 18 January, 1908. They would have two children: James Owen Cochrane and Suzanne Gloria Cochrane. James would die in action in Tunisia in 1942, but his daughter Jane would continue to bear the Owen Cochrane name.[2]

Cochrane was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 15 October, 1910.[6]

Cochrane was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1915.[7]

After a stint in command of Lord Nelson, Cochrane was appointed to Lion as gunnery officer and as Squadron Gunnery Officer. In March, 1920, he was moved to Hood in the same role. Cochrane was promoted to the rank of Captain on 31 December, 1920 and superseded in Hood on 16 January.[8]

He was appointed in command of the battlecruiser Repulse in August, 1931.

Cochrane was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 3 January, 1933 and placed on the Retired List the following day.[9]

World War II

Cochrane was called back into the navy on 24th August 1939 and worked as a Convoy Commodore, R.N.R. throughout the war. His family believes that he took the first convoy out to America and brought the last one back.[2] He reverted to the Retired List on 14 September, 1945.

In 1956 while driving in Switzerland, Cochrane hit and injured a man disembarking from a tram on the road between Vevey and Lausanne. The man was "permanently injured" and in October, 1957 Cochrane was tried in absentia by a Swiss court and sentenced to two months in jail. The following year the case was retried at Cochrane's request, and the sentence was quashed after he paid a five-hundred franc fine.

He died in Westminster, London.

Bibliography

  • "Sir Edward Cochrane" (Obituaries). The Times. Saturday, 29 January, 1972. Issue 58388, col G, pg. 14.

Service Records

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Leonard L. P. Willan
Captain of H.M.S. Lord Nelson
Nov, 1918[10] – 9 May, 1919[11]
Succeeded by
Vessel Decommissioned
Preceded by
?
Squadron Gunnery Officer, Battle Cruiser Squadron
9 May, 1919[12]
Succeeded by
Lionel V. Wells
Preceded by
Vivian R. Brandon
Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence Division
15 Jul, 1921[13] – 1 Apr, 1922[14]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
Geoffrey Hopwood
Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence
1 Apr, 1922[15] – 14 Sep, 1923[16]
Succeeded by
George K. Chetwode
Preceded by
Arthur H. Walker
Captain of H.M.S. Cairo
15 Sep, 1924[17][18]
Succeeded by
James A. G. Troup
Preceded by
Bernard W. F. Fairbairn
Captain of Devonport Gunnery School
16 Apr, 1927[19][20] – 8 Apr, 1929[21]
Succeeded by
Cyril G. Sedgwick
Preceded by
Bernard W. F. Fairbairn
Director of Training and Staff Duties
8 Apr, 1929[22]
Succeeded by
Geoffrey S. Arbuthnot
Preceded by
Gerald C. Dickens
Captain of H.M.S. Repulse
17 May, 1931[23]c. mid 1932[24]
Succeeded by
Philip L. Neville
Preceded by
Eric P. Vivian
Captain of H.M.S. Cairo
9 Jun, 1932[25] – 19 Aug, 1932[26]
Succeeded by
George H. D'O. Lyon
 

Footnotes

  1. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Email from grand-daughter Jane Owen Cochrane, 20210110.
  3. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147. His service record does not mention the Torpedo Boat.
  4. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  5. The Navy List. (March, 1913). p. 16.
  6. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  7. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  8. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  9. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  10. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  11. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  12. The Navy List. (December, 1919). p. 801.
  13. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  14. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  15. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  16. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  17. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  18. The Navy List. (April, 1925). p. 220.
  19. The Navy List. (July, 1927). p. 284.
  20. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  21. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  22. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 124.
  23. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  24. Inferred from next appointment. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  25. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  26. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.