Frederic William Clarkson

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Lieutenant-Commander Frederic William Clarkson, (6 October, 1883 – 15 October, 1914) served in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Born in Dorchester, Clarkson listed his mother as his guardian upon joining the Navy with the September 1897 intake term at H.M.S. Britannia.[1]

Clarkson was invalided with enteric fever from the pre-dreadnought battleship Queen on 2 November 1904 and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 December, 1904.[2]

Clarkson was appointed in command of the destroyer Wizard from January 1910 to October, 1911. Right off in that first month, he was found guilty of an error in judgement in a snafu in fouling a wall in Dundee Docks. In 1911, he temporarily lost torpedo #26 and was considered to be culpable for having neglected Gunnery and Torpedo Orders of March 1911.[3]

Clarkson left Wizard when he was appointed in command of the "D" Class destroyer Cynthia on 31 October, 1911. After very recently been cautioned following a collision between Cynthia and Electra, Clarkson was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 31 December, 1912. He left command of Cynthia when he began a three month appointment in the dreadnought light cruiser Neptune on 1 March, 1913.[4]

Clarkson received a temporary appointment to the first class protected cruiser H.M.S. Hawke on 18 June, 1913. As was often the case, "temporary" here meant little and he was aboard her sixteen months later, dying when she was torpedoed by U 9 on 15 October, 1914.[5]

See Also

Bibliography

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Charles W. E. Whish
Captain of H.M.S. Wizard
15 Jan, 1910[6] – 30 Oct, 1911
Succeeded by
Lionel G. Dawson
Preceded by
Frank G. Terry
Captain of H.M.S. Cynthia
31 Oct, 1911[7] – Feb, 1913
Succeeded by
Christopher J. F. Eddis

Footnotes

  1. Clarkson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/44. f. 447.
  2. Clarkson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/44. f. 447.
  3. Clarkson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/44. f. 447.
  4. Clarkson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/44. f. 447.
  5. Clarkson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/44. f. 447.
  6. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 397a.
  7. The Navy List. (August, 1912). p. 298.