Valentine Maurice Wyndham-Quin
Commander (retired) THE HONOURABLE Valentine Maurice Wyndham-Quin, R.N. (22 May, 1890 – 27 February, 1983) was an officer in the Royal Navy. He acquitted himself with distinction during the war, primarily as a destroyer captain, but suffered a precipitous fall from grace in 1927-1928.
Life & Career
Born the son of the Fifth Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, British Army Colonel and M.P. Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin, Valentine Wyndham-Quin gained one and a half months time on passing out of Britannia. His first naval appointment was to the battleship King Edward VII on 15 January, 1907. He would serve exclusively in battleships until 13 February, 1911 when he was appointed to Victory for the destroyer Lyra.[1]
Wyndham-Quin was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 1 October, 1912.[2]
Wyndham-Quin was appointed in command of the first-class torpedo boat T.B. 037 on 3 March, 1914.[3]
On 16 September, 1918, Wyndham-Quin was appointed in command of the destroyer Tempest.[4]
Post-War
He was appointed in command of the destroyer Sepoy on 14 November, 1919.[5]
Wyndham-Quin was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 1 October, 1920.[6] His naval career was to suffer a cascading series of mistakes. 1922 saw a Court of Enquiry into the loss of a torpedo from Verdun and, later, a collision between Wyndham-Quin's Venetia and sister Violent. In 1923, Venetia lost a chain cable overboard and had a discrepancy in her stores. Wyndham-Quin was rebuked in each of these incidents.
Things quieted down for him during several destroyer commands, unpaid time and work in Malta, but Captain Archdale of H.M.S. Vernon noted in an unsatisfactory report penned in mid 1928, "Unsat. ... Showed a certain zeal up to Sept 27 but has deteriorated rapidly since[.] leadership influence & tact poor. Bad mannered to inferiors. charming to superiors. Not recd." Some time during that same year, a Court of Enquiry probed "irregularities" during Wyndham-Quin's command of the destroyer H.M.S. Tara (which had then been tender to Vernon) and the level of Admiralty displeasure spiked. Beyond a deplorable "lack of supervision and neglect to realize responsibilities", the particulars of their findings are illegible, but it is noted that Wyndham-Quin was "not to be given another appointment in command." As a consequence, his next assignments were shore-based and involved training and discipline of ratings, as well as an appointment to serve in light cruiser Despatch in 1931 – a larger ship where he could be subjected to greater oversight.[7]
On 12 August, 1932, Wyndham-Quin was appointed to the yacht Enchantress as second in command to Commander John Brooke. Superseded on 1 September 1933.[8]
Wyndham-Quin was placed on the Retired List with the rank of Commander on 12 October, 1933.[9]
World War II
Wyndham-Quin served in command of several yachts, including Alastor appointed on 9 September 1939 to assume command upon her commissioning, and for Medusa on 20th September.
He served as the Naval Attaché to Uruguay and Argentina between 1945 and 1947.
See Also
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by David B. Nicol |
Captain of H.M. T.B. 037 3 Mar, 1914[10] |
Succeeded by William J. Berry |
| Preceded by Humphrey M. Robson |
Captain of H.M.S. Waveney 9 Jun, 1916[11] |
Succeeded by Hamilton C. Allen |
| Preceded by Joseph B. Newill |
Captain of H.M.S. Beaver 15 Feb, 1917[12] |
Succeeded by Frederick A. Tollemache |
| Preceded by F. Burges Watson |
Captain of H.M.S. Tempest 16 Sep, 1918[13] |
Succeeded by John J. C. Ridley |
| Preceded by Herbert Owen |
Captain of H.M.S. Tristram 19 Jun, 1919[14] |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by William A. C. Salmond |
Captain of H.M.S. Sepoy 14 Nov, 1919[15] |
Succeeded by Ambrose T. N. Abbay |
| Preceded by Arthur E. H. Wright |
Captain of H.M.S. Venetia 22 Aug, 1922[16] – 1923 |
Succeeded by Reginald Nash |
| Preceded by Charles M. Blackman |
Captain of H.M.S. Vimiera 6 May, 1924[17] |
Succeeded by ? |
Footnotes
- ↑ Wyndham-Quin Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/322. f. 696.
- ↑ Wyndham-Quin Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/322. f. 696.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1915). p. 384.
- ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 916.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 863.
- ↑ Wyndham-Quin Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/322. f. 696.
- ↑ Wyndham-Quin Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/322. f. 696.
- ↑ Wyndham-Quin Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/322. f. 696.
- ↑ Wyndham-Quin Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/322. f. 696.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1915). p. 384.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 399h.
- ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 391q.
- ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 916.
- ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1919). p. 921a.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 863.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1923). p. 828.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1924). p. 284.
