Henry Victor Hudson

Hudson as a Lieutenant-Commander.
Photo courtesy his great-grand-nephew Jason Peck of Alberta.

Captain (retired) Henry Victor Hudson, O.B.E., (21 October, 1883 – 12 July, 1954) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Hudson was born in Hawkhurst, Kent. He gained three months seniority on passing out of Britannia and received his first appointment dated 15 January, 1900 to the Mediterranean Fleet's battleship H.M.S. Canopus. The demands of the climate took their toll and Hudson was invalided on 11 March 1901 with Mediterranean fever and sent to Haslar Hospital, where he was admitted on the 24th. He was discharged on 4 April, to be resurveyed later. On 1 July he was deemed fit, to receive Home service appointments, initially, to avoid a recurrence. 8 July brought him an appointment to the battleship Hannibal of the Cruiser Squadron.

Hudson failed in two attempts at the seamanship exam in June and September 1903. He was to be granted a third trial, narrowly passing in December with 690 of 1,000 marks. He entered the Royal Naval College on 19 January, 1904.

Hudson was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 June, 1906 while serving once again back in the Mediterranean in the gunboat Dwarf. Though he continued to serve in Dwarf another six months in lieu of a Sub-Lieutenant, Hudson would be rewarded with a string of four torpedo boat and T.B.D. commands, ending with command of the Bullfinch at the end of 1910.

He was next appointed to Cochrane on 8 February, 1911, leaving her when he was granted three months half-pay to travel abroad for his health on 18 July, 1911. He returned from this respite and was appointed to H.M.S. Excellent's gunnery training ship, H.M.S. Revenge, additional, on 20 October. On 14 March, 1912 he was once again given a destroyer command, Eden of the Home Fleet. In August, he was sent to the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla, first as captain of Success before being placed in command of the Thrasher on 14 October.

Hudson was appointed to the new dreadnought battleship Ajax on 22 September, 1913, in which he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 30 June, 1914.

Great War

On 9 November, 1915, Hudson was sent to the hospital ship Pleny with phlebitis. As he needed to be sent south, he was superseded in Ajax on the 17th. He was sent to Haslar where his right leg was found to have periostitis (?). On 2 February, 1916 Hudson was found fit. As his skills were needed in command of the Grand Fleet's destroyer ranks, however, and he was appointed to the new "M" Class destroyer Narwhal on 10 February 1916, to assume command upon her commissioning.

Hudson commanded Narwhal at the Battle of Jutland, where she operated with the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla screening the Battle Fleet. His report written after the battle records that he fired two torpedoes against the enemy battle line. The first, aimed from 3,000 yards at the third ship which appeared to be a Kaiser class battleship, produced an explosion three minutes after firing. The second torpedo was aimed at an unidentified ship further back in the line.

On 21 October, 1917, there was a collision between Marmion and Tirade. Hudson was found to be responsible for the course of an eastbound convoy and had failed to tell the S.N.O. Lerwick and the S.O. of a westbound convoy of some illegible matter in light of the prevailing weather conditions.

On 15 December, 1917, Hudson faced a Court Martial on the grave charge that he "did cowardly abandon" ships of a convoy. Luckily for him, the charge was not proved and he was acquitted.

Hudson left Narwhal when he was superseded on 11 April, 1918. He was appointed to the destroyer Brisk in May 1918 to take command when she commissioned, on 28 May.

The final wartime notations in his service record are more uplifting. A Court of Enquiry held on 29 September 1918 brought to notice the "efficient way he discharged his duties in attacking an enemy submarine on 28 August, 1918." And, on 22 April, 1919, he was gazetted "for valuable services in cmd of H.M.S. Brisk while employed on Otranto Barrage."

Interbellum

On 11 April, 1919, he was appointed in command of the destroyer Senator.

Freshly equipped with a certificate of service as Master issued by the Board of Trade, Hudson was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December, 1920.

Hudson was placed on the Retired List at his own request with the rank of Captain on 4 August, 1930. He completed a course in Sea Transport work in February, 1931.

World War II

Hudson was given some appointments in 1942. In 1944, he was sent to Australia aboard Golden Hind. Once there, he held in the rank of Acting Captain though his role is not clear. He was reverted to the Retired List on 23 November, 1945.

In 1947, he proceeded to take up permanent residence in Australia. He cruised in Australian waters for a year and offered his services to the Navy in 1948, though no follow-up is indicated on the offer.

See Also

• Service Records
• Twelfth D.F. (Royal Navy) at the Battle of Jutland
• Wikipedia

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Stuart E. Holder	Captain of H.M. T.B. 76 26 Mar, 1907 – 27 Jul, 1908	Succeeded by Harold R. Thrupp as Captain of H.M. T.B. 076
Preceded by Edward C. Watson	Captain of H.M. T.B. 111 27 Jul, 1908 – 19 Oct, 1909	Succeeded by Arthur M. Longmore
Preceded by Clive C. H. Maitland-Addison	Captain of H.M. T.B. 17 19 Oct, 1909 – Aug, 1910	Succeeded by Arthur W. Benson
Preceded by Gerald C. Wynter	Captain of H.M.S. Bullfinch Aug, 1910 – 7 Dec, 1910	Succeeded by Frank Powell
Preceded by Herbert F. Littledale	Captain of H.M.S. Eden 14 Mar, 1912 – Aug, 1912	Succeeded by Frederic G. Schurr
Preceded by Arthur M. Peters	Captain of H.M.S. Success Aug, 1912 – 14 Oct, 1912	Succeeded by Reginald B. C. Hutchinson
Preceded by Reginald B. C. Hutchinson	Captain of H.M.S. Thrasher 14 Oct, 1912 – 22 Sep, 1913	Succeeded by Douglas W. Hamilton-Gordon
Preceded by New Command	Captain of H.M.S. Narwhal 10 Feb, 1916 – 11 Apr, 1918	Succeeded by Edmund F. FitzGerald
Preceded by Algernon E. P. Lyons	Captain of H.M.S. Brisk 28 May, 1918 – 12 Mar, 1919	Succeeded by Wilfred A. Higgins
Preceded by New Command	Captain of H.M.S. Stalwart 12 Mar, 1919 – 17 Mar, 1919	Succeeded by Frederick L. Cavaye as Captain of H.M.A.S. Stalwart
Preceded by Frederick L. Cavaye	Captain of H.M.S. Success 17 Mar, 1919 – 11 Apr, 1919	Succeeded by Oliver R. Wace
Preceded by Kenneth C. Helyar	Captain of H.M.S. Senator 11 Apr, 1919 – 6 Jan, 1921	Succeeded by James R. M. M. Crichton
Preceded by Henry P. Wilson	Captain of H.M.S. Stork 6 Nov, 1921 – 25 Apr, 1922	Succeeded by Robert E. M. Harris
Preceded by Gerald H. Brady	Captain of H.M.S. Foxglove 18 Oct, 1922 – Nov, 1924	Succeeded by John V. Wotton
Preceded by Edgar W. Buchanan	Captain of H.M.S. Weymouth 8 Apr, 1925 – 4 Jan, 1926	Succeeded by Hugh H. Rogers
Preceded by Ralph W. Wilkinson	Captain of H.M.S. Chrysanthemum 26 Jul, 1926 – Nov, 1928	Succeeded by John B. Hughes
Preceded by James C. J. Soutter	Captain of H.M.S. Tourmaline 29 Jan, 1929 – 6 Jan, 1930	Succeeded by Eric P. Vivian