Francis Thomas Butler Tower: Difference between revisions

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Gunnery Officer HMS Barham 1915-1919
{{ViceRN}} {{SIR}} '''Francis Thomas Butler Tower''', K.B.E., C.B., Royal Navy (21 December, 1885 – 19 July, 1964) was an officer of the [[Royal Navy]].
 
==Life & Career==
Born in London, the son of F. F. Tower, Esq., B.A..
 
Tower served in the {{UK-Canopus|f=t}} and the {{UK-GoodHope|f=t}} before being promoted to the rank of {{LieutRN}} on 15 April, 1906.
 
He was promoted to the rank of {{LCommRN}} on 15 April, 1914.  Early in the Great War, he was at {{UK-Excellent|f=p}}, working in the Experimental Works, and was in command of her tender, {{UK-Kite}} from June 1913 to 12 April, 1915.<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50/69.}} Unnumbered folio.</ref>
 
Tower served as Gunnery Officer in {{UK-Barham}} from 15 April, 1915 to 21 November, 1918.  He was then appointed as the gunnery officer in {{UK-Hood}} when she commissioned, being superseded there on 20 August, 1920.<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50/69.}} Unnumbered folio.</ref>
 
On 16 May, 1927 he was appointed in command of the {{UK-Curacoa|f=t}} as Flag Captain.<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50/69.}} Unnumbered folio.</ref>
 
He was appointed in command of the {{UK-Hood|f=t}} on 30 August, 1933.{{TaylorHood|p. 230}}
 
Tower was placed on the Retired List on 29 June, 1939.  He was reactivated later that very year for a short stint on the Landing Craft Committee.<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50/69.}} Unnumbered folio.</ref>
 
On 8 January, 1945, Tower was appointed to serve in the rank of Rear Admiral as Flag Officer in Command, Southampton, vice [[James Murray Pipon]].<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50/69.}} Unnumbered folio.</ref>
 
He reverted to the Retired List on 30 March, 1946.<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50/69.}} Unnumbered folio.</ref>
 
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*"Sir Thomas Tower" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 21 July, 1964.  Issue '''56069''', col E, pg. 12.
{{refend}}
 
==Service Record==
{{refbegin}}
*[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=ADM+196+Francis+Thomas+Butler+Tower&_sd=&_ed=&_hb= Service Records]
{{refend}}
 
<div name=fredbot:appts>{{TabApptsBegin}}
{{TabNaval}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Geoffrey Blake|Geoffrey Blake]]'''|'''[[H.M.S. Kite (1871)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Kite'']]'''<br>25 Apr, 1913{{NLJan15|p. 315}} &ndash; 12 Apr, 1915<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50.}} Unnumbered folio.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Reginald Foster Pitt Maton|Reginald F. P. Maton]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Alan Ramsay Dewar|Alan R. Dewar]]'''|'''[[Atlantic Fleet (Royal Navy)|Fleet Gunnery Officer, Atlantic Fleet]]'''<br>15 Aug, 1922{{NLJan23|p. 796}}|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Eric William Westgarth Ling|Eric W. W. Ling]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Julian Francis Chichester Patterson|Julian F. C. Patterson]]'''|'''[[Naval Ordnance Department (Royal Navy)|Assistant Director of Naval Ordnance]]'''<br>18 Aug, 1924<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50.}}  f. 205.</ref> &ndash; 23 Mar, 1927<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50.}}  f. 205.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Edward Overend Priestley|Edward O. Priestley]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Douglas Balfour Le Mottée|Douglas B. Le Mottée]]'''|'''[[H.M.S. Vindictive (1918)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Vindictive'']]'''<br>16 May, 1927{{NLFeb29|p. 282''a''}} &ndash; 16 May, 1929|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Lancelot Ernest Holland|Lancelot E. Holland]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Cecil Burnaby Prickett|Cecil B. Prickett]]'''|'''[[H.M.S. Curacoa (1917)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Curacoa'']]'''<br>16 May, 1927{{NLJul27|p. 229}}<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50.}} f. ?.</ref> &ndash; 16 May, 1929<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50.}} f. ?.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Harold Gordon Cooper Franklin|Harold G. C. Franklin]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Stephen St. Leger Moore|Stephen St. L. Moore]]'''|'''[[Chatham Gunnery School|Captain of Chatham Gunnery School]]'''<br>10 Jun, 1929 &ndash; 30 Mar, 1931|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Arthur Ninian Dowding|Arthur N. Dowding]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Thomas Hugh Binney|Thomas H. Binney]]'''|'''[[H.M.S. Hood (1918)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Hood'']]'''<br>30 Aug, 1933{{NLOct35|p. 247}} &ndash; 1 Feb, 1936<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50.}} f. ?.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Arthur Francis Pridham|A. Francis Pridham]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[St. Aubyn Baldwin Wake|St. Aubyn B. Wake]]'''|'''[[Department of the Director of Naval Equipment|Director of Naval Equipment]]'''<br>10 Dec, 1936<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50/67.}} f. ?.</ref> &ndash; 27 Aug, 1939<ref>Tower Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/50/67.}} f. ?.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[James Wilfred Sussex Dorling|James W. S. Dorling]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[James Murray Pipon|James M. Pipon]]'''|'''[[Southampton|Flag Officer in Command, Southampton]]'''<br>8 Jan, 1945|Succeeded by<br>'''?'''}}
{{TabEnd}}
</div name=fredbot:appts>
 
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tower, Francis Thomas}}
 
{{CatPerson|UK|1885|1964}}
{{CatGunneryOfficer|UK}}
{{CatVice|UK}}
{{CatBritannia|September, 1900}}
{{CatRN}}

Latest revision as of 23:30, 21 December 2024

Vice-Admiral SIR Francis Thomas Butler Tower, K.B.E., C.B., Royal Navy (21 December, 1885 – 19 July, 1964) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Born in London, the son of F. F. Tower, Esq., B.A..

Tower served in the battleship Canopus and the armoured cruiser Good Hope before being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 15 April, 1906.

He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 15 April, 1914. Early in the Great War, he was at H.M.S. Excellent, working in the Experimental Works, and was in command of her tender, Kite from June 1913 to 12 April, 1915.[1]

Tower served as Gunnery Officer in Barham from 15 April, 1915 to 21 November, 1918. He was then appointed as the gunnery officer in Hood when she commissioned, being superseded there on 20 August, 1920.[2]

On 16 May, 1927 he was appointed in command of the light cruiser Curacoa as Flag Captain.[3]

He was appointed in command of the battlecruiser Hood on 30 August, 1933.[4]

Tower was placed on the Retired List on 29 June, 1939. He was reactivated later that very year for a short stint on the Landing Craft Committee.[5]

On 8 January, 1945, Tower was appointed to serve in the rank of Rear Admiral as Flag Officer in Command, Southampton, vice James Murray Pipon.[6]

He reverted to the Retired List on 30 March, 1946.[7]

Bibliography

  • "Sir Thomas Tower" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 21 July, 1964. Issue 56069, col E, pg. 12.

Service Record

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Geoffrey Blake 		Captain of H.M.S. Kite
25 Apr, 1913[8] – 12 Apr, 1915[9] 		Succeeded by
Reginald F. P. Maton
Preceded by
Alan R. Dewar 		Fleet Gunnery Officer, Atlantic Fleet
15 Aug, 1922[10] 		Succeeded by
Eric W. W. Ling
Preceded by
Julian F. C. Patterson 		Assistant Director of Naval Ordnance
18 Aug, 1924[11] – 23 Mar, 1927[12] 		Succeeded by
Edward O. Priestley
Preceded by
Douglas B. Le Mottée 		Captain of H.M.S. Vindictive
16 May, 1927[13] – 16 May, 1929 		Succeeded by
Lancelot E. Holland
Preceded by
Cecil B. Prickett 		Captain of H.M.S. Curacoa
16 May, 1927[14][15] – 16 May, 1929[16] 		Succeeded by
Harold G. C. Franklin
Preceded by
Stephen St. L. Moore 		Captain of Chatham Gunnery School
10 Jun, 1929 – 30 Mar, 1931 		Succeeded by
Arthur N. Dowding
Preceded by
Thomas H. Binney 		Captain of H.M.S. Hood
30 Aug, 1933[17] – 1 Feb, 1936[18] 		Succeeded by
A. Francis Pridham
Preceded by
St. Aubyn B. Wake 		Director of Naval Equipment
10 Dec, 1936[19] – 27 Aug, 1939[20] 		Succeeded by
James W. S. Dorling
Preceded by
James M. Pipon 		Flag Officer in Command, Southampton
8 Jan, 1945 		Succeeded by
?

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/69. Unnumbered folio.
  2. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/69. Unnumbered folio.
  3. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/69. Unnumbered folio.
  4. ↑ Taylor. The Battlecruiser Hood. p. 230.
  5. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/69. Unnumbered folio.
  6. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/69. Unnumbered folio.
  7. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/69. Unnumbered folio.
  8. ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1915). p. 315.
  9. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. Unnumbered folio.
  10. ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1923). p. 796.
  11. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. f. 205.
  12. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. f. 205.
  13. ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1929). p. 282a.
  14. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1927). p. 229.
  15. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. f. ?.
  16. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. f. ?.
  17. ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1935). p. 247.
  18. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. f. ?.
  19. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/67. f. ?.
  20. ↑ Tower Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/67. f. ?.

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