Geoffrey Stewart Fleetwood Nash

Captain Geoffrey Stewart Fleetwood Nash, D.S.O., R.N., Retired (4 October, 1883 – 30 November, 1936) served in the Royal Navy.

His last name was sometimes offered as Fleetwood-Nash, but apparently this was never a double-barrel name, and Fleetwood is the middle name of many of the Nash family.

Life & Career

The second son of a solicitor E. H. Nash from Gerrard's Cross, Ealing, Nash entered Britannia from public school with the May 1898 intake term. He gained seven months' time on passing out in September, 1899 and was sent to join Renown in the Mediterranean, where he remained until 29 May 1902. He spent much of the remainder of the year in the Revenge.

During the Annual Manoeuvres of 1903, he served in T.B. 107, on loan. Later that year, he was appointed to Vernon, additional, for command of T.B. 109.

In the Annual Manoeuvres of 1904, he was lent to command T.B. 66.

Nash was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 1 April, 1905.

On 1 January, 1906, he was appointed to the armoured cruiser Drake of the Second Cruiser Squadron. In February 1908, he was invalided from this appointment with enteric fever and was sent from Gibraltar to London.

Nash was noted for his "fair drawing and French", but excelled at the German language, gained a preliminary certificate in 1909 and qualifying as an acting interpreter in January, 1911 after six months of language studies.

In May 1911, he passed for command of torpedo craft as he was serving as an acting interpreter in German for the Third Fleet.

Nash was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 1 April, 1913.

At the outbreak of war, he was moved to the battleship Triumph, where he remained until being ordered home in December, being sent in a hospital ship following operations at the siege of Tsintao. At this point, he started a series of destroyer commands, the first being Llewellyn from January, 1915 to January 1917 and then he was appointed to the new "R" Class destroyer Radiant, to attend her completion and commission her for service. On 2 February, 1917, his new destroyer collided with a drifter and was informed he should have issued more distinct orders to his Sub-lieutenant. Nash remained in Radiant until September 1918, serving still as an acting interpreter and being promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1917. On 4 December 1917, he encountered an enemy submarine and was commended by the Admiralty for his prompt action in sighting it.

In May 1924, Nash became Staff Officer to the Commander in Chief at The Nore. He left the post in January, 1926. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed Naval Attaché in Berlin.

Nash was placed on the Retired List at his own request at the rank of Captain on 3 January, 1930.

In 1934 he attended a course for Sea Transport Officers and was to be considered for work as such in case of emergency.

However, in late 1936, Nash died suddenly at his home at 82c Lexham Gardens in London, aged 53.

See Also

• Service Records
• Wikipedia

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Alan M. Yeats-Brown	Captain of H.M. T.B. 109 17 Nov, 1903 – 5 Dec, 1905	Succeeded by William F. Sells
Preceded by The Hon. Alexander R. M. Ramsay	Captain of H.M. T.B. 66 14 Jul, 1904 – c. 20 Aug, 1904[Inference]	Succeeded by Henry Pudifoot
Preceded by The Hon. Guy Stopford	Captain of H.M. T.B. 34 19 Jan, 1911 – late 1912	Succeeded by Arthur D. W. Smith
Preceded by George P. Leith	Captain of H.M.S. Moorhen 10 Oct, 1912 – Dec, 1912	Succeeded by Alan Dixon
Preceded by Alan Dixon	Captain of H.M.S. Robin Nov, 1912 – 4 Aug, 1914	Succeeded by Jesse R. Pearce
Preceded by Frederic B. Coppin	Captain of H.M.S. Llewellyn 24 Jan, 1915 – 23 Jan, 1917	Succeeded by William A. C. Salmond
Preceded by New Command	Captain of H.M.S. Radiant 23 Jan, 1917 – 11 Sep, 1918	Succeeded by Miles B. Birkett
Preceded by Wilfred Henderson	Royal Navy Naval Attaché to Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands 15 Feb, 1926 – 14 Apr, 1929	Succeeded by Melville A. Hawes