Maurice Crause Bomford

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Commander Maurice Crause Bomford (18 February, 1884 – 25 February, 1936) served in the Royal Navy and provided able wartime command service in torpedo craft until having a nervous breakdown in mid 1918.

Life & Career

Born in Surrey, Bomford was raised by his mother.

On 3 January, 1905, Sub-Lieutenant Bomford was appointed in command of the first-class torpedo boat T.B. 54.[1] On 31 December, 1905, he was promoted to Lieutenant.[2]

On 27 February, 1913, Bomford began an appointment as Commander Instructor at the Tyneside Division of the R.N.V.R..[3]

Bomford was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 31 December, 1913.[4]

Bomford was appointed in command of the first-class torpedo boat T.B. 9 on 13 September, 1914. He would incur Their Lordships' displeasure for losing the boat's Emergency Vocabulary Signal Book in November 1914.[5]

On 17 February, 1917 Oberon collided with Lightfoot and Onslow. The Admiralty considered that Bomford had made a serious error in altering back to his original course after making an eight-point turn to starboard, but satisfaction at how he kept the vessel afloat in the immediate aftermath.[6]

On 17/18 May 1917, Bomford, now in command of Peregrine, took S.S. Blackfoot (?) under tow in what the Admiralty later judged to be a "skilful manner" and prevented her from being driven ashore.[7]

Bomford was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1918. Also in June, he vacated command of Peregrine due to what Captain (D), Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla Godfrey termed "a nervous breakdown". On 6 September, he was deemed fit for shore service only after a two-month series of medical evaluations.[8]

Bomford was placed on the Retired List as unfit on 31 July, 1919.[9]

See Also

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
David T. Graham-Brown
Captain of H.M. T.B. 54
3 Jan, 1905[10][11] – 12 Mar, 1906[12]
Succeeded by
Henry G. Moore
Preceded by
Mark G. Newton
Captain of H.M.S. Peterel
23 Oct, 1909[13][14] – 10 Jan, 1910[15]
Succeeded by
Hugh D. Colville
Preceded by
The Hon. William S. Leveson-Gower
Captain of H.M.S. Coquette
10 Jan, 1910[16]c. 21 Apr, 1910[17]
Succeeded by
Anthony L. H. D. Coke
Preceded by
James Bayley
Captain of H.M.S. Myrmidon
21 Apr, 1910[18][19] – Mar, 1912[20]
Succeeded by
Anthony L. H. D. Coke
Preceded by
John P. Champion
Captain of H.M.S. Hope
26 Mar, 1912[21][22] – 3 Feb, 1913[23]
Succeeded by
Ronald Howard
Preceded by
Edward O. Broadley
Captain of H.M. T.B. 9
13 Sep, 1914[24][25] – 13 Jul, 1915[26]
Succeeded by
Frederick E. K. Strong
Preceded by
New Command
Captain of H.M.S. Mandate
13 Jul, 1915[27]c. late Jul, 1915[28]
Succeeded by
Richard A. A. Plowden
Preceded by
Richard A. A. Plowden
Captain of H.M.S. Sheldrake
Jul, 1915[29] – 25 Nov, 1916[30]
Succeeded by
Frederick P. Champion de Crespigny
Preceded by
New Command
Captain of H.M.S. Oberon
19 Dec, 1916[31] – 2 Mar, 1917[32]
Succeeded by
John H. Jauncey
Preceded by
Ernest L. Cardale
Captain of H.M.S. Crusader
18 Mar, 1917[33] – 22 Mar, 1917[34]
Succeeded by
John R. Johnston
Preceded by
Horace Walker
Captain of H.M.S. Peregrine
13 Apr, 1917[35] – Jun, 1918[36]
Succeeded by
Somerville P. B. Russell

Footnotes

  1. The Monthly Navy List. (December, 1905). p. 399.
  2. The Navy List. (March, 1913). p. 8.
  3. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  4. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  5. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  6. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  7. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  8. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  9. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  10. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  11. The Monthly Navy List. (December, 1905). p. 399.
  12. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  13. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  14. The Navy List. (January, 1910). p. 356.
  15. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  16. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  17. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  18. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  19. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 347.
  20. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  21. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  22. The Navy List. (August, 1912). p. 328.
  23. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  24. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  25. The Navy List. (April, 1915). p. 400.
  26. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  27. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  28. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  29. The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 398a.
  30. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  31. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  32. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  33. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  34. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.
  35. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 396l.
  36. Bomford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/47. f. ?.