William Bowden-Smith: Difference between revisions

From The Dreadnought Project
Jump to navigationJump to search
No edit summary
Line 6: Line 6:
Bowden-Smith was promoted to the rank of {{LieutRN}} on 31 December, 1895.<ref>Bowden-Smith Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43/415.|}}  f. 461.</ref>
Bowden-Smith was promoted to the rank of {{LieutRN}} on 31 December, 1895.<ref>Bowden-Smith Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43/415.|}}  f. 461.</ref>


In January 1904 he was granted 30 days leave to England after his brother had been killed in Somaliland.
Bowden-Smith ended a year in command of the {{UK-Sylvia|f=t}} in March 1901 and was appointed to {{UK-1Resolution}} in the Channel.  In September he joined the {{UK-Formidable|f=t}}.  In June 1902 he was appointed to the {{UK-Surprise|f=t}} as first officer, where he would spend a year and a half before being moved to the {{UK-Crescent|f=t}} as first officer in February 1904, having been granted 30 days leave to England in January after his brother had been killed in Somaliland.<ref>Bowden-Smith Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43/415.|}}  f. 461.</ref>


He was promoted to the rank of {{CommRN}} on 30 June, 1906.<ref>Bowden-Smith Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43/415.|}}  f. 461.</ref>
Bowden-Smith stayed in ''Crescent'' until he was promoted to the rank of {{CommRN}} on 30 June, 1906.  He was then sent to the pre-dreadnought {{UK-Bulwark|f=t}}, in which he would spend 28 months.<ref>Bowden-Smith Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43/415.|}}  f. 461.</ref>


On 22 November 1910, he was admited to Haslar Hospital with a compound fracture of a finger on his right hand, which would require a partial amputation.  He was in the midst of an appointment to the [[Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth]] at the time.<ref>Bowden-Smith Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43/415.|}}  f. 461.</ref>
On 22 November 1910, he was admited to Haslar Hospital with a compound fracture of a finger on his right hand, which would require a partial amputation.  He was in the midst of an appointment to the [[Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth]] at the time.<ref>Bowden-Smith Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43/415.|}}  f. 461.</ref>

Revision as of 15:42, 4 January 2019

Vice-Admiral (retired) William Bowden-Smith, C.B.E. (28 March, 1874 – 17 March, 1962) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

The son of W. Bowden-Smith of Brockenhurst.[1]

Bowden-Smith was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 December, 1895.[2]

Bowden-Smith ended a year in command of the destroyer Sylvia in March 1901 and was appointed to Resolution in the Channel. In September he joined the battleship Formidable. In June 1902 he was appointed to the destroyer Surprise as first officer, where he would spend a year and a half before being moved to the destroyer Crescent as first officer in February 1904, having been granted 30 days leave to England in January after his brother had been killed in Somaliland.[3]

Bowden-Smith stayed in Crescent until he was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1906. He was then sent to the pre-dreadnought battleship Bulwark, in which he would spend 28 months.[4]

On 22 November 1910, he was admited to Haslar Hospital with a compound fracture of a finger on his right hand, which would require a partial amputation. He was in the midst of an appointment to the Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth at the time.[5]

Bowden-Smith was promoted to the rank of Captain on 1 January, 1913. In mid-July, he was placed in command of the third class protected cruiser H.M.S. Topaze for the Annual Manoeuvres of 1913.[6]

Bowden-Smith was appointed in command of the battleship Russell on 5 December, 1913.[7] He remained in her until her loss in a minefield near Malta on 27 April, 1916. Following some time as flag captain to the Commander-in-Chief at The Nore, he was made captain of the armoured cruiser Carnarvon in August 1916. He grounded her on Lichfield Shoal in June 1917 and was subjected to a Court of Enquiry on 9 June which found he had committed an error in judgment by placing undue confidence in his navigating officer.[8]

Carnarvon paid off in February, 1918 and Bowden-Smith was presently appointed in command of Satellite and as Senior Naval Officer, Tyne.

He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 2 August, 1923 and placed on the Retired List the following day.[9]

He was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 5 April, 1928.[10]

Bowden-Smith died at age 87 in Horsham, Sussex. He was survived by his wife Ada Margaret (née Sandham), whom he'd married in 1913, and two sons and a daughter.[11]

See Also

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Robert G. Corbett 		Captain of H.M.S. Chamois
15 Mar, 1900[12] 		Succeeded by
Cecil F. Lambert
Preceded by
? 		Captain of H.M.S. Sylvia
9 Oct, 1900[13] 		Succeeded by
John A. Ingles
Preceded by
Herbert A. S. Fyler 		Captain of H.M.S. Russell
5 Dec, 1913[14] – 27 Apr, 1916[15] 		Succeeded by
Vessel Lost
Preceded by
Ernest A. Taylor 		Flag Captain at the Nore
May, 1916 		Succeeded by
Alexander V. Campbell
Preceded by
Hugh T. Hibbert 		Captain of H.M.S. Carnarvon
1 Aug, 1916[16] 		Succeeded by
Richard G. A. W. Stapleton-Cotton
Preceded by
Edward G. Lowther-Crofton 		Senior Naval Officer, Tyne
Mar, 1918 – 1 Jun, 1919 		Succeeded by
George M. Skinner
Preceded by
Victor G. Gurner 		Commodore in Charge at Hong Kong
Jun, 1920[17] – Jun, 1922[18] 		Succeeded by
Henry E. Grace

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Vice-Adm. W. Bowden-Smith." The Times (London, England), March 19, 1962, Issue 55343, p.16.
  2. ↑ Bowden-Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/415. f. 461.
  3. ↑ Bowden-Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/415. f. 461.
  4. ↑ Bowden-Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/415. f. 461.
  5. ↑ Bowden-Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/415. f. 461.
  6. ↑ Bowden-Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/415. f. 461.
  7. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1914). p. 378a.
  8. ↑ Bowden-Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/415. f. 461.
  9. ↑ Bowden-Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/415. f. 461.
  10. ↑ Bowden-Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/415. f. 461.
  11. ↑ "Vice-Adm. W. Bowden-Smith." The Times (London, England), March 19, 1962, Issue 55343, p.16.
  12. ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 12 March, 1900. Issue 36087, col E, p. 7.
  13. ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1901). p. 305.
  14. ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 397t.
  15. ↑ Hepper. British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era: 1860-1919. p. 58.
  16. ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 392e.
  17. ↑ Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY SENIOR APPOINTMENTS.
  18. ↑ Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY SENIOR APPOINTMENTS.


Retrieved from "http://dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php?title=William_Bowden-Smith&oldid=284798"