Graham Francis Winstanley Wilson
Captain Graham Francis Winstanley Wilson, D.S.O., R.N. (Retired) (23 October, 1886 – 8 September, 1972)[1] served in the Royal Navy.
Life & Career
Born in Woking, the son of Reverend F. Wilson. Wilson apparently did not receive much training at Britannia, being moved to Formidable after just two months, being there from 15 May 1903 to August, 1906.[2]
Wilson was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 29 February, 1908.[3]
Wilson was appointed in command of the first-class torpedo boat T.B. 107 on 30 January, 1912.[4] Wilson was diagnosed with venereal disease, inclusing syphilis type II during his time in T.B. 107. Except for a brief period that first summer for the annual manoeuvres, in which he was loaned to the armoured cruiser Sutlej, his first command would prove uncommonly long in duration, lasting until 2 June, 1914 when he moved on to the Marlborough of the First Battle Squadron.[5]
Wilson was ordered from Marlborough on 6 September 1915, and after a day in limbo he was appointed to the sweeping sloop Zinnia, to take command upon her commissioning. He would command her throughout the war, being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 29 February, 1916. In this role, Wilson was awarded a D.S.O. engaging an enemy submarine on 4 May, 1917.[6]
He was appointed in command of Cicero from 17 May to 8 July, 1919. He commanded Clematis from 8 September 1919 to 2 July, 1920, being promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1920.[7]
Wilson was loaned to the Royal Australian Navy from 25 April, 1924 to 12 June, 1926.
Wilson was placed on the Retired List at his own request at the rank of Captain on 21 November, 1932.[8]
World War II
Wilson was appointed in command of the armed boarding vessel Vandyck and granted the acting rank of Captain on 10 November, 1939. She was sunk by German dive bombers off the coast of Norway on 10 June, 1940[9] and Wilson was captured along with most of the crew when they came ashore. He was released in 1945.[10]
He was Mentioned in Despatches (with others) "For good service, leadership and resource during captivity in Germany in organising escapes from the prison camp over a period of several years by which means valuable information was received by the War Office."[11]
Archive
The Imperial War Museum possesses Captain Wilson's notebook containing presscuttings concerning his service as a midshipman in the battleship HMS FORMIDABLE, 1903 - 1904; ts sailing orders and ms drafts of reports and letters of proceedings relating to his command of HMS ZINNIA (1st Sloop Flotilla) and her employment on anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort duties in the Western Approaches, March 1917 - October 1918; together with four ms diaries (388pp) for June - December 1941 and May 1943 - May 1945 kept while he was the Senior British Officer in Stalag XB Sandbostel and then in Marlag and Milag Nord, containing brief but informative daily entries about life in the camp and at the 'holiday camp' for POWs in Schloss Steinberg, Bavaria, and a few reports on conditions in the camp and on the conduct of individual British officers.[12]
See Also
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by Henry Purdy |
Captain of H.M. T.B. 107 30 Jan, 1912[13] – 2 Jun, 1914 |
Succeeded by Gerald H. Thomson |
| Preceded by New Command |
Captain of H.M.S. Zinnia 7 Sep, 1915[14] – 17 May, 1919 |
Succeeded by Keith R. Farquharson |
| Preceded by Reginald S. Triggs |
Captain of H.M.S. Cicero 17 May, 1919[15] – 8 Jul, 1919 |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by Charlie Forder |
Captain of H.M.S. Clematis 8 Jul, 1919[16] – 2 Jul, 1920 |
Succeeded by Reginald B. C. Hutchinson |
| Preceded by Ronald C. Mayne |
Captain of H.M.S. Rosemary 18 Oct, 1928[17] |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by Claude C. Dobson |
Captain of H.M.S. Canterbury Feb, 1931[18] – 1 Jan, 1932 |
Succeeded by Harold T. C. Walker |
Footnotes
- ↑ (The Times (Monday, 11 September 1972), p. 22.
- ↑ Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/2. f. 2.
- ↑ Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/2. f. 2.
- ↑ The Navy List. (June, 1914). p. 402.
- ↑ Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/2. f. 2.
- ↑ Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/2. f. 2.
- ↑ Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/2. f. 2.
- ↑ Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/2. f. 2.
- ↑ Broughty Ferry Guide and Advertiser (Saturday, 20 July 1940), p. 3.
- ↑ Wilson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/2. f. 2.
- ↑ Third Supplement to The London Gazette of Friday, the 19th of October, 1945 (Tuesday, 23 October 1945), p. 5180
- ↑ https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030004526, accessed on 25 January 2023
- ↑ The Navy List. (April, 1914). p. 402.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1919). p. 945a.
- ↑ The Navy List. (June, 1919). p. 757.
- ↑ "Naval Appointments." The Times (London, England), 12 July 1919, p. 17.
- ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1929). p. 265.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1931). p. 221.
