Arthur Cavenagh Leveson

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Sir Arthur C. Leveson, portrayed as a Rear-Admiral.
Portrait: Francis Dodd, 1917. Imperial War Museum. ART 1758.

Admiral SIR Arthur Cavenagh Leveson, G.C.B., F.R.G.S., Royal Navy (27 January, 1868 – 26 June, 1929) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

Arthur Cavenagh Leveson was born on 27 January, 1868, in Kingston, the son of Mr. Edward J. Leveson, an East Indies Merchant, and Mary Leveson. He entered the Royal Navy through the training ship Britannia on 15 January, 1881.

Leveson was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant dated 27 July, 1887.[1]

Leveson was promoted to the rank of Commander on 1 January, 1899.[2]

Captain

Leveson was promoted to the rank of Captain on 30 June, 1903.[3]

He was appointed Captain of Bulwark on 3 January, 1908.[4]

He was appointed in command of the battleship King Edward VII on 7 February, 1905.[5]

He was appointed in command of the battleship Africa on 13 June, 1908.[6]

From 15 December, 1911, to 5 January, 1912, Leveson served as Vice-President of a Conference on Gunnery held at the Admiralty.[7]

He was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Civil Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.) on 21 September.[8]

Flag Rank

Leveson was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 1 December, 1913, vice Baker Baker.[9] He was forty-five years and ten months old.

Great War

Oliver later recounted:

Fisher had a hatred of the D.O.D. R.A. Leveson, and when Fisher was yarning in my office, as he often did, and Leveson came in, as soon as he went out Fisher would say he was a 'traitor'. I asked him once what he had against Leveson and he said he could not remember but he knew he had something. Fisher was so set against Leveson that I went to Churchill and told him and asked that he might get a command at sea and Churchill sent him to the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron to relieve R.A. Moore. A month after Leveson had gone Fisher said he remembered what he had against Leveson and said "He was Willie May's Flag Capt." That was about 6 years before and Fisher and Sir William May were anything but friends.[10]

Leveson was discharged as D.O.D. on 16 January, 1915, and on 17 January he was appointed Rear-Admiral, Second-in-Command, of the Second Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet.

Jutland

Post-Jutland

On 15 September he was appointed an Additional Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (C.B.) dated 31 May.[11]

He struck his flag on 4 December, and hoisted his flag in Australia as Rear-Admiral Commanding the Second Battle Cruiser Squadron in the Battle Cruiser Force. On 10 January, 1917, he was also appointed Rear-Admiral Commanding the Australian Fleet.[12]

From 1 September to 1 October, 1918, he was appointed to President for Special Service at the Admiralty. On 1 October he was took command of the Fifth Battle Squadron with the rank of Acting Vice-Admiral.

Post-War

Leveson was confirmed in the rank of Vice-Admiral on 1 January, 1919.[13] On the same day he was appointed an Additional Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (K.C.B.).[14]

Leveson was promoted to the rank of Admiral on 1 June, 1922, vice Heath.[15]

On the occasion of the King's birthday Leveson was appointed an Ordinary Member of the First Class, or Knight Grand Cross, of the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) on 3 June, 1927.[16]

He was placed on the Retired List on 22 February, 1928.[17]

Footnotes

  1. The London Gazette: no. 25875. p. 6204. 16 November, 1888.
  2. The London Gazette: no. 27040. p. 84. 6 January, 1899.
  3. The London Gazette: no. 27572. p. 4187. 3 July, 1903.
  4. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 3 January, 1908. Issue 38533, col A, p. 4.
  5. Leveson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 472.
  6. The Navy List (October, 1908). p. 273.
  7. G.024/1912. The National Archives. ADM 1/8328.
  8. The London Gazette: no. 28648. p. 7107. 27 September, 1912.
  9. The London Gazette: no. 28780. p. 9083. 9 December, 1913.
  10. Oliver Typescript Memoirs. II. National Maritime Museum. OLV/12. ff. 119-120.
  11. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29751. p. 9070. 15 September, 1916.
  12. M-2213/17 of 10 January, 1917. The National Archives. ADM 137/2134. f. 613.
  13. The London Gazette: no. 31104. p. 199. 3 January, 1919.
  14. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31099. p. 106. 1 January, 1919.
  15. The London Gazette: no. 32717. p. 4329. 6 June, 1922.
  16. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 33280. p. 3605. 3 June, 1927.
  17. The London Gazette: no. 33362. p. 1493. 2 March, 1928.

Bibliography

  • "Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson" (Obituaries). The Times. Friday, 28 June, 1929. Issue 45241, col D, pq. 18.
  • Mackay, Ruddock Finlay (1973). Fisher of Kilverstone. London: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198224095.

Service Records


Naval Appointments
Preceded by
George A. Ballard
Director of the Operations Division
1914 – 1915
Succeeded by
Thomas Jackson

Preceded by
Sir Robert K. Arbuthnot, Bart.
Rear-Admiral in the Second Battle Squadron
1915 – 1916
Succeeded by
William E. Goodenough

Preceded by
Sir William C. Pakenham
Rear-Admiral Commanding,
Second Battle Cruiser Squadron

1916 – 1918
Succeeded by
Lionel Halsey
Rear-Admiral Commanding the Australian Fleet
1916 – 1918
Preceded by
Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas
Vice-Admiral Commanding,
Fifth Battle Squadron

1918 – 1919
Succeeded by
Command Abolished

Preceded by
Sir Henry F. Oliver
Vice-Admiral Commanding,
Second Battle Squadron

1919 – 1920
Succeeded by
Sir William C. M. Nicholson

Preceded by
Sir Alexander L. Duff
Commander-in-Chief on the China Station
1922 – 1924
Succeeded by
Sir Allan F. Everett

Court Appointments
Preceded by
Sir Montague E. Browning
First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp
1926 – 1928
Succeeded by
Sir Richard F. Phillimore

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