Geoffrey Arbuthnot

Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Schomberg Arbuthnot, KCB, DSO (18 January 1885 – 4 October 1957) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy.

Sir Geoffrey Arbuthnot
Sir Geoffrey Arbuthnot
Born(1885-01-18)18 January 1885
Havant, Hampshire
Died4 October 1957(1957-10-04) (aged 72)
Heyshott, Sussex
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1900–1946
RankVice Admiral
Commands heldEast Indies Station (1941–42)
HMS Valiant (1935–37)
HMS Suffolk (1929–31)
HMS Seawolf (1925–26)
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches
Knight of the Legion of Honour (France)

Born in Havant, Hampshire, on 18 January 1885, Arbuthnot was the son of Admiral Charles Ramsay Arbuthnot and Emily Caroline Schomberg. Educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth,[1] Arbuthnot joined the Royal Navy in 1900 and fought in the First World War, where he was mentioned in despatches and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1919.[2] He was appointed Naval Member of the Ordnance Committee at Woolwich in 1927 and then given command of the cruiser HMS Suffolk in 1929.[1] He went on to be Deputy Director of Training in 1932, Director of Training and Staff Duties in 1933 and Commander of the destroyer flotillas in the Home Fleet in 1934 before being given command of HMS Valiant in 1935.[1] He was made Naval Aide-de-Camp to King George VI in 1936.[2] In 1937 he became Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport.[1] He also served in the Second World War and, having been Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station from 1941 to 1942,[1] Arbuthnot was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (1942) and a Knight of the French Legion of Honour. He was Chairman of the Honours and Awards Committee from 1942 to 1945 when he retired.[1]

Family

On 22 October 1913, he married Jessie Marguerite Henderson, second daughter of William Henderson of Berkeley House, Frome.[3] They three children; Mary Marguerite (1914–1999), Lieutenant Peter Charles Reginald (1915–1941) and Michael Geoffrey Henderson (1919–1967).[4]

References
  1. "Arbuthnot, Sir Geoffrey Schomberg (1885–1957), Admiral". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  2. Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen (2014). "Royal Navy Officers 1939–1945 (Appleton to Arnold)". unithistories.com. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  3. Arbuthnot, P. S-M. (1920). Memories of the Arbuthnots of Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire. London: G. Allen & Unwin Ltd. p. 313. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  4. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. 1 (107th ed.). Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 121.

Further reading
  • "Obituary: Sir Geoffrey Arbuthnot". The Times. London, England. 5 October 1957. p. 8.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Percy Noble		 Fourth Sea Lord
1937–1941		 Succeeded by
Sir John Cunningham
Preceded by
Sir Ralph Leatham		 Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
1941–1942		 Succeeded by
Sir Geoffrey Layton
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