Tufton Percy Hamilton Beamish
Rear-Admiral Tufton Percy Hamilton Beamish, C.B., D.L., Royal Navy, Retired (26 July, 1874 – 2 May, 1951) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the First World War.
Life & Career
He was confirmed in the rank of Sub-Lieutenant dated 14 July, 1894.[1]
Beamish was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 December, 1896.[2]
Beamish was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December, 1907.[3]
From 15 December, 1911, to 5 January, 1912, he served as a member of a Conference on Gunnery held at the Admiralty, representing the Vice-Admiral commanding, Third and Fourth Divisions, Home Fleet.[4]
On 26 February, 1913 he commissioned the Proserpine at Malta.[5]
He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 30 June, 1914.[6]
Great War
On 1 August, 1914, Beamish was appointed Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord, Prince Louis of Battenberg. He was superseded on 30 October when Prince Louis resigned, and on 31 October was appointed captain of the battle cruiser Invincible. On 6 November he became Flag Captain to Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee, who flew his flag in Invincible while commanding the fleet assembled in the South Atlantic in the wake of the Battle of Coronel to hunt down and destroy the German East Asia Squadron. At the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December Invincible and her sister ship Inflexible sank the German armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, while the rest of the German squadron bar the light cruiser Dresden was destroyed by the rest of the British squadron.
He was superseded in command of Invincible on 19 February, 1915, and on 11 March was given command of the light cruiser Cordelia in the Grand Fleet. He was lent briefly in command of the light cruiser Birmingham on 4 April. While commanding Cordelia he was present at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May, 1916, for which he was commended for his services following a recommendation in the despatches of Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet at Jutland.
Beamish was superseded in command of Cordelia on 1 June, 1917, and on the occasion of the King's birthday he was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.) on 4 June.[7] He was appointed to President, additional, for service under the Director of the Mobilisation Division on 28 August.
Post-War
Beamish was appointed to Victory for the Senior Officers' Technical Course on 8 August, 1920, and on 16 November was appointed to Harebell in command and as Senior Officer of the Patrol and Fishery Protection Flotilla (Captain A/P).[8] He was superseded in this command on 6 September, 1921. He was placed on the Retired List at his own request dated 3 June, 1922.[9]
He was elected Member of Parliament in the Conservative interest for the Lewes Division of East Sussex on 11 July, 1924, and was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral on the Retired List on 1 January, 1925.[10] He stood down as the member for Lewes in 1931 owing to ill-health, but was able to stand again in 1936 and win, holding the seat until 1945 when he was succeeded by his son, Major T. V. H. Beamish, M.C.
Beamish died aged seventy-six on 2 May, 1951, from a cerebral haemorrhage at his home, Chelwood Gate, Sussex.
See Also
Bibliography
- "Rear-Adml. Tufton Beamish" (Obituaries). The Times. Thursday, 3 May, 1951. Issue 51991, col E, pg. 6.
Papers
Service Records
- The National Archives. ADM 196/141.
- The National Archives. ADM 196/89.
- The National Archives. ADM 196/44.
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by ? |
Assistant to the Chief of the Admiralty War Staff Jan, 1912 |
Succeeded by Arthur V. Vyvyan |
| Preceded by Richard G. A. W. Stapleton-Cotton |
Captain of H.M.S. Barham Jan, 1913[11] – 26 Feb, 1913[12] |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by Arthur H. C. C. Home |
Captain of H.M.S. Proserpine 26 Feb, 1913[13] – 9 Feb, 1914[14] |
Succeeded by Henry C. D. Field |
| Preceded by Charles Bartolomé |
Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord 1 Aug, 1914[15] |
Succeeded by Thomas E. Crease |
| Preceded by Charles Martin-de-Bartolomé |
Captain of H.M.S. Invincible 31 Oct, 1914[16] – 19 Feb, 1915[17] |
Succeeded by Arthur L. Cay |
| Preceded by Arthur V. Vyvyan |
Captain of H.M.S. Cordelia 11 Mar, 1915[18][19] – 1 Jun, 1917[20] |
Succeeded by The Hon. Arthur L. O. Forbes-Sempill |
Footnotes
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26681. p. 6252. 19 November, 1895.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26809. p. 4. 1 January, 1897.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28096. p. 34. 3 January, 1908.
- ↑ G.024/1912. The National Archives. ADM 1/8328.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 363.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28842. p. 4880. 22 June, 1914.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30111. p. 5454. 4 June, 1917.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 783.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28096. p. 4551. 16 June, 1922.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33010. p. 219. 9 January, 1925.
- ↑ Beamish Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 51
- ↑ Beamish Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 51
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 363.
- ↑ Beamish Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 51
- ↑ Beamish Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 51.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1914). p. 338.
- ↑ Beamish Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 51
- ↑ Beamish Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 51.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 393g.
- ↑ Beamish Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 51
