Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe

Admiral of the Fleet SIR Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., C.V.O., Royal Navy (23 December, 1864 – 27 July, 1937) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe, the younger son of Somerset Frederick, seventh Lord Calthorpe, by his wife, Eliza Maria, only child of Captain Frederick Chamier, R.N., and widow of Captain Frederick Crewe, was born in London 23 December 1864.

Calthorpe entered the Royal Navy from the training ship Britannia in 1878. He soon made his mark, gaining special promotion to lieutenant in 1886 for meritorious examinations. In 1887 he was posted to the Vernon in order to qualify in torpedoes. He was promoted to Commander in 1896 for active service on the Africa station; he served in the latter rank for six years, five of which were spent at sea, and was promoted Captain in 1902. As a captain he was for three years naval attaché to Russia, Sweden, and Norway, after which he commanded the cruiser Roxburgh, the battleship Hindustan, and was Captain of the Fleet (Commodore, First class) of the Home Fleet until his promotion to Rear-Admiral on 27 August, 1911, vice Simons. He was Rear-Admiral in the First Battle Squadron (1912–1913) with his flag in the St. Vincent, Rear- and Vice-Admiral in command of the Second Cruiser Squadron (1914–1916) (flag in the Shannon), Second Sea Lord and Admiral Commanding Coastguard and Reserves (1916–1917), and British Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean (1917–1919) (flag in the Egmont, Superb, and Iron Duke). He was promoted to Admiral in 1919 and was Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, from 1920 to 1923. In July 1924 he became first and principal naval aide-de-camp to King George V and held this, his last service appointment, until his promotion to Admiral of the Fleet in May 1925. This was an exceptional record of continuous service and testifies to the esteem in which he was held by his superior officers afloat and at the Admiralty. As a lieutenant he was perhaps fortunate in seeing active service when such opportunities were rare. As commander he was a highly successful executive officer, and as captain he was noted for handling his ships well and for getting the best results from his officers and men.

Having spent part of his boyhood in France Calthorpe spoke French fluently and was a student of French history. This was to prove a great asset to him when naval attaché in Russia and in the high appointments which he held later. When captain of the fleet to Sir William Henry May, who initiated great advances in the battle tactics of a modern fleet, he was an invaluable adviser and assistant to his chief, who made handsome acknowledgement of the fact. In 1912, as a result of the Titanic disaster, a Board of Trade committee was appointed to make recommendations for the increased safety of life at sea. J. C. Bigham, Viscount Mersey, was president and Calthorpe was the Admiralty's representative. Their conclusions were of great practical value and were adopted and passed into law without delay or amendment.

In the battle squadron and cruiser squadron commands that Calthorpe held as a rear-admiral no signal opportunities of distinction presented themselves, but in August 1917 he was given command of all the British naval forces in the Mediterranean. Supreme command was vested in the Allied (French) commander-in-chief, Admiral Gauchet, but this officer was never active in direction or guidance and Calthorpe, as president of a mixed commission at Malta of French, Italian, and Japanese admirals, bore the main responsibility for the defence of Allied trade throughout the Mediterranean, and the operations against Turkey. He controlled, in addition to vessels of those nations and of the United States of America and Greece, over a thousand ships, large and small, flying the white ensign. His measures were successful, and as the climax of the war approached the probability of a Turkish capitulation became evident.

On 22 October 1918 Calthorpe was empowered by the Admiralty to conclude an armistice with Turkey, acting as sole negotiator on behalf of all the Allies. His position in so doing was a delicate one. French agreement to this procedure was apparently lacking and expostulations were immediately forthcoming from the French government and, what made matters still more difficult, from his nominal superior officer, Gauchet. Prescience had, however, already taken Calthorpe to Mudros, the Turkish plenipotentiaries were fetched by a British cruiser, the discussions were expedited by his skilful and rapid diplomacy, and the armistice was signed on 30 October. The fait accompli was perforce accepted, and it is not surprising that the Allied fleet, British, French, Italian, and Greek, which passed the Dardanelles and anchored off Constantinople on 13 November was led by the British flagship and commanded by the British commander-in-chief. He was at once also nominated British high commissioner in Turkey and fulfilled the duties of both appointments with striking success, in the face of Turkish intrigues, Allied dissensions, a French naval mutiny, and a spasmodic state of war with Bolshevist Russia until his relief a year later.

Calthorpe's subsequent service as commander-in-chief, Portsmouth, and as Admiralty representative on the armament commission of the League of Nations, although less momentous, was in the highest traditions of the naval service, and his promotion to admiral of the fleet was a fitting recognition of all that he had accomplished for the navy and the nation. His character was an admirable blend of simplicity and sagacity, moderation and firmness, prudence and prompt decision; he had great charm of manner, and was the soul of honour. Self-seeking ambition or advertisement were wholly alien to his nature, and he commanded the complete confidence and affection of his colleagues and subordinates in the Royal Navy, and of the many foreign officers of high rank who served with him, or under his direction, in the war of 1914–1918.

Calthorpe was awarded many British and Allied decorations, including the C.V.O. (1910), the G.C.M.G. (1919), the G.C.B. (1922), and the highest orders of France, Italy, Greece, Rumania, China, Japan, and the United States.

On his retirement from the navy in 1930 Calthorpe resided in the Isle of Wight where he was a D.L. and a J.P. and a notable supporter of all good causes in that locality. He married in 1900 Effie, daughter of Robert Dunsmuir, of Victoria, British Columbia, and had no issue. He died at Ryde 27 July 1937.

There is a portrait of Calthorpe by Philip Connard, painted on board the Superb in 1919, at the Imperial War Museum.

Bibliography

• "Sir Somerset Gough Calthorpe" (Obituaries). The Times. Wednesday, 28 July, 1934. Issue 47748, col B, pg. 16.

Service Record

• ADM 196/20
• ADM 196/42