Difference between revisions of "Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair"

Revision as of 14:57, 23 March 2012

Admiral SIR Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., M.V.O., HON LL.D. (McGill) Royal Navy (30 August, 1864 – 17 August, 1958) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

De Chair was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, dated 19 May, 1885.^[1]

De Chair was promoted to the rank of Commander on 22 June, 1897.^[2]

Captain

De Chair was promoted to the rank of Captain on 26 June, 1902.^[3]

In a letter to the editor of The Navy List of 22 September, 1904, de Chair stated that his full name was now Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair.^[4]

De Chair was appointed to Victory on 1 November, 1906, for command of the armoured cruiser Cochrane, building at Fairfield's, Govan.^[5]

Following King Edward VII's visit to Russia, de Chair was appointed a Member of the Fourth Class of the Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O.) on 10 June, 1908.^[6]

On 6 March, 1911 de Chair was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to King George V, in place of Ernest C. T. Troubridge, promoted to flag rank.^[7]

Flag Rank

On 31 July, 1912, de Chair was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, vice Frederick T. Hamilton.^[8] On 9 January, 1913 he was appointed Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty.^[9] On the occasion of King George V's birthday 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 22 June, 1914.^[10] On 29 June he was appointed Admiral of the Training Service.^[11]

Great War

Evidently the First Sea Lord, Sir Henry B. Jackson, broached to Sir John R. Jellicoe (Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet), the possibility of de Chair being appointed Senior Naval Officer and Admiral Superintendent of Gibraltar Dockyard. On 23 July, 1915, Jellicoe wrote to Jackson:

I should very much doubt de Chair's liking Gibraltar. It would - if precedents go for anything - be fatal to his future. He is a very first rate sea officer & is suited to any command afloat. I should doubt his caring to leave 10^th CS for anything but a sea command and I should be very sorry to see him placed in a position which might prejudice his future. I do not want to suggest that he should not leave 10^th CS if the winter is expected him to try him too highly, but only to beg that if he goes it may be to a sea command.^[12]

On 1 January, 1916, he was appointed an Additional Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.).^[13]

He was confirmed in the rank of Vice-Admiral on 5 October, 1917.^[14]

In his memoirs de Chair gave his account of the end of his tenure as Vice-Admiral Commanding the Third Battle Squadron:

A few days later, after Jellicoe had been so unjustly dismissed, and while my flagship was still coaling, I received an urgent telegram from Wemyss to go to the Admiralty. On arrival I was greeted warmly by him, but I was still boiling over with indignation about Jellicoe's dismissal, and the way Wemyss had betrayed him. When Wemyss began talking of filling vacancies at the Admiralty, and asked me to take one of the posts on the Board of Admiralty vacated by one of the admirals who had resigned in consequence of Jellicoe's dismissal, I told him that I would not and could not take and post at the Admiralty, as I felt so keenly the disgraceful manner in which Jellicoe had been treated. I added that I was surprised that any naval officer on the Board of Admiralty could remain there, as it looked as if they condoned this action of Jellicoe's dismissal. In fact, I expressed myself forcibly, and let myself go, and left him after a scene which did me no good and had disastrous results, in so far that, shortly afterwards I was relieved of my command and put on half-pay—and that in war-time, when I might have been of use afloat, as I was essentially a sea officer.^[15]

Having hauled down his flag, De Chair went to Bracknell for "a delightful rest."^[16] However,

One day in June 1918 I met Admiral Thursby in London. He said, "I hear you are to relieve me as Admiral Commanding Coast Guards and Reserves!" I was dumbfounded, as I had hoped to join Beatty in the Grand Fleet. However, Thursby told me it was only a stepping-stone to better things, so I felt more at ease, but still I thought I should be offered the post formally and hear the reason. Nothing however happened, and I was abruptly told I was appointed.^[17]

De Chair later wrote, "As time went on, I realised that I could expect very little help from the Admiralty, but Beatty, the C.-in-C. of the Grand Fleet, wrote to me that he expected to have me with him on one of the first vacancies of his Battle Squadrons in the Grand Fleet, so I worked on in the hope of getting to sea again, and taking part in any action that might transpire."^[18]

Post-War

De Chair was promoted to the rank of Admiral on 25 November, 1920, vice Nicholson.^[19]

Governor of New South Wales

On 8 November, 1923 de Chair was appointed Governor of the State of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia^[20] and was placed on the Retired List at his own request dated 1 November in order to take up the appointment.^[21]

Commenting on the Premier of New South Wales, de Chair later wrote, his "lack of scruple gave me a great and unpleasant surprise."^[22]

Footnotes

Bibliography

Papers

Service Records