William Edmund Middleton
Lieutenant William Edmund Middleton, R.N. (18 January, 1880 – 2 April, 1908) served in the Royal Navy.
Life & Career
The son of retired Lieutenant-General Sir Fred Middleton.
Middleton was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 1 October, 1901.
Middleton was appointed in command of Tiger on 28 May, 1906. On 26 September, 1907, he grounded the destroyer and was faulted for an error in judgment in navigating by bearings of searchlights whose position he could only assume.
Middleton was killed when Tiger was sunk in a collision with the armoured cruiser Berwick on 2 April, 1908.[1]
At the time of the loss, Tiger was conducting night exercises off the Isle of Wight with the Portsmouth Flotilla. The "enemy" were six ships led by the battleship Prince George on transit to Portland. Tiger was the second of three destroyers in the second division to make an attack, led by Recruit. When Recruit fired a flare to signal a mock torpedo firing, she peeled off to starboard to clear the enemy ships, but Tiger kept going straight for some reason. The second ship in the enemy line, Berwick struck her amidships and broke her in two. The bow section sank quickly without survivors, and twenty-two survived from the stern section.[2]
See Also
Bibliography
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by Clement L. Long |
Captain of H.M.S. Wolf 8 Feb, 1905 – 10 Mar, 1905 |
Succeeded by Ernest K. Loring |
| Preceded by Ernest K. Loring |
Captain of H.M.S. Welland 10 Mar, 1905[3] – 7 Apr, 1906 |
Succeeded by William F. Blunt |
| Preceded by William F. Blunt |
Captain of H.M.S. Teazer 7 Apr, 1906 – 28 May, 1906 |
Succeeded by George K. Chetwode |
| Preceded by William S. F. Forbes |
Captain of H.M.S. Tiger 28 May, 1906[4] – 2 Apr, 1908[5] |
Succeeded by Vessel Lost |
Footnotes
