Bertram Mordaunt Chambers

Admiral Bertram M. Chambers, 1919.
© National Portrait Gallery, London.

Admiral Bertram Mordaunt Chambers, C.B., R.N., Retired (3 October, 1866 – 27 April, 1945) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

Chambers was born in London. He listed his mother as his guardian upon joining the Navy, but he did have a step-father.

At the examination for naval cadetships Chambers placed twenty-seventh out of thirty-seven successful candidates. Shortly after passing out of Britannia on 21 July, 1881, he was appointed to the masted turret ship Monarch in the Mediterranean. He would remain in her through April, 1883 and then went to the corvette H.M.S. Satellite in the Pacific where he served until 30 April, 1886.

A collision between Sealark and the hooker Gypsy off Plymouth on 23 May 1888 was determined to have resulted from a want of seamanship on his part as officer of the watch.

Chambers was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 1 April, 1889.

On 19 May 1889 he allowed Watchful to be grounded on Wildfire [?] Rock through what was determined to be a "want of discretion."

4 July, 1891 he was declared unfit for duty due to debility and fever. he took two months to regsain his health.

Chambers was awarded the Shadwell Testimonial prize of 1894 for a plan of Peaquara[?] Channel, Callao. He also won the award in 1895 for plans of [illeg], Perico Islands and [illeg] and Victoria Harbour, British Columbia.

Chambers was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December, 1900.

Chambers was promoted to the rank of Captain on 31 December, 1905, and soon thereafter underwent a Signals Course and a War Course in Portsmouth, finishing in June of 1906.

Chambers was appointed Captain of battleship Bulwark on 12 February, 1907, serving as Flag Captain. This post seems to have also placed him in command of Resolution through much of the next year, and on 6 November 1908, he was appointed in command of the second class protected cruiser Talbot.

He was appointed captain of battleship Majestic and a group of ships in IV Division from 2 August, 1910 until being superseded on 24 February of the following year.

He was then loaned to the Australian government for some time.

On 1 July 1912, Chambers was appointed in command of the second class protected cruiser Encounter. He was superseded there in February, 1913.

Great War

Chambers served as captain of Illustrious from August through October of 1914.

In October, he was appointed to command the armoured cruiser Roxburgh, remaining with her until April 1915.

Chambers was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 27 April, 1917. He was placed on the Retired List at his own request on 28 April. On 19 July he was appointed to President as P.C.O. & S.N.O. Escorts Halifax (Principal Convoy Officer and Senior Naval Officer, Escorts, Halifax) based at Sydney, Nova Scotia. He arrived at Sydney on 3 August, 1917.

Chambers contended with the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion of the morning of 6 December, 1917 caused when the French ammunition ship Mont-Blanc caught fire and exploded following a collision with S.S. Imo in the approaches to the harbour.

In September, 1918, he and his staff were transferred to Quebec.

Writing in The Naval Review in 1920, Chambers wrote:

The writer, now retired, considers that he received, very fully, the reward of his deserts, but he thinks that he could have done better and more valuable work for his country had his energies been directed into channels more in conformity with his talents.

Retirement and Personal Life

Chambers with his seven year old son, Marcus, in June, 1917.
Photo: Courtesy of Alastair Gregor.

Chambers was advanced to the rank of Vice-Admiral on the Retired List on 1 May, 1922, and to the rank of Admiral on the Retired List on 8 November, 1926. He died of cancer at Moreton Hampstead, Devon, on 27 April 1945.

On 11 July, 1901, Chambers married Nora Annie Bertrand in a ceremony at St. Jude's, Kensington. She was the daughter of William Wickham Bertrand of Roy Cove, West Falkland Islands. They had a daughter and a son, Marcus Mordaunt Bertrand Chambers (1910 – 2009), who led a life as interesting as his father's.

Bibliography

• "Admiral Bertram Chambers" (Obituaries). The Times. Saturday, 28 April, 1945. Issue 50129, col E, p. 6.
• [Chambers] (February 1920). "Advocating a Better Classification of Abilities". The Naval Review VIII (No. 1): pp. 53-56.
• [Chambers] (August 1920). "Halifax Explosion". The Naval Review VIII (No. 3): pp. 445-457.
• Chambers, Admiral B. M. (1927). Salt Junk: Naval Reminiscences, 1881-1906. London: Constable & Co Ltd.

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/88.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/42.

Naval Appointments
Preceded by John P. Irven	Captain of H.M.S. Ariel 16 Jul, 1901 – 22 Aug, 1901[Inference]	Succeeded by Leopold G. D. Way
Preceded by Arthur Hayes-Sadler	Captain of H.M.S. Resolution 3 Jan, 1907 – 3 Jan, 1908	Succeeded by Sidney T. Stephens
Preceded by Osmond de B. Brock	Captain of H.M.S. Bulwark 12 Feb, 1907	Succeeded by Arthur C. Leveson
Preceded by Bentinck J. D. Yelverton	Captain of H.M.S. Talbot 6 Nov, 1908 – 24 May, 1910	Succeeded by George B. Hutton
Preceded by Herbert A. S. Fyler	Captain of H.M.S. Majestic 2 Aug, 1910 – 24 Feb, 1911	Succeeded by George H. Borrett
Preceded by New Post	Second Naval Member of the Australian Naval Board Mar, 1911	Succeeded by Constantine H. Hughes-Onslow
Preceded by Spencer A. Hickley	Captain of H.M.S. Encounter 1 Jul, 1912 – Feb, 1913	Succeeded by Arthur G. Smith
Preceded by Richard Webb	Captain of H.M.S. Illustrious 1 Aug, 1914 – 31 Oct, 1914	Succeeded by John E. Drummond
Preceded by Sydney S. Hall	Captain of H.M.S. Roxburgh 31 Oct, 1914 – 27 Apr, 1915	Succeeded by Cunningham R. de C. Foot
Preceded by Arthur G. M. Meredyth	Captain of H.M.S. Imperieuse 27 Jul, 1915 – 28 Jun, 1917	Succeeded by Basil H. Fanshawe