Richard Peirse (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir Richard Henry Peirse, KCB, KBE, MVO, DL (4 September 1860 – 10 July 1940)[2] was a senior Royal Navy officer during the First World War.

Sir Richard Henry Peirse
Sir Richard H. Peirse c. 1915
Born(1860-09-04)4 September 1860
York, England
Died10 July 1940(1940-07-10) (aged 79)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1873–1919
RankAdmiral
Commands heldCommander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
HMS Commonwealth
HMS Bedford
HMS Dido
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Member of the Royal Victorian Order
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (France)
Order of the Nile, First Class (Egypt)
RelationsAir Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse (son)
Air Vice Marshal Sir Richard Peirse (grandson)
Other workDeputy Lieutenant of the County of Somerset (1929)[1]

Peirse joined the Royal Navy in 1873 and,[2] in 1885, developed a new naval director[3] which was to become the fire-control system used in all ships with large guns.[4] Promoted to captain in 1900,[5] he commanded HMS Dido during the Second Boer War.[6]

Promoted to rear admiral in February 1909,[7] Peirse was appointed Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station in 1913.[8] Then promoted to vice admiral in October 1914,[7][9] he served in the First World War taking part in the attack on Smyrna in 1915,[10] where he outgunned the Turkish Fleet.[11] He continued in his role on the East Indies Station until December 1915.[12][13] He was promoted to admiral in March 1918.[14]

After the war Peirse became Naval Member of the Central Committee of the Board of Invention and Research.[15] He retired from the navy in January 1919.[16]

Personal life

Peirce lived in Upper Norwood in London[17] and there is a memorial to him in Bedale Parish Church in North Yorkshire.[18]

His son, Sir Richard Peirse, became air chief marshal.[19]

Awards and decorations

References
  1. "No. 33548". The London Gazette. 1 November 1929. p. 6991.
  2. "Enrolment record for Richard Henry Peirse". The National Archives. 15 July 1873. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  3. Fifty Years in the Royal Navy by Admiral Sir Percy Scott Bt.
  4. Famous Conways
  5. "No. 27211". The London Gazette. 17 July 1900. p. 4433.
  6. Edinburgh Gazette
  7. Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904 – 1975
  8. HMS Swiftsure The Straits Times, 24 May 1913, Page 10
  9. "No. 28984". The London Gazette. 24 November 1914. p. 9690.
  10. Attack on Smyrna The Hobart Mercury, 8 March 1915
  11. Turks' Fire powerless; Ottoman Guns Outranged by English; Landing Party Suffers Losses New York Times, 7 March 1915
  12. One hundred years of Admirals
  13. Royal Navy Flag Officers 1914–1918
  14. "No. 30599". The London Gazette. 26 March 1918. p. 3756.
  15. "No. 30730". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1918. p. 6686.
  16. "No. 31162". The London Gazette. 4 February 1919. p. 1798.
  17. National Archives
  18. North Yorkshire County Council Archives
  19. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse Archived 20 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  20. "No. 28842". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 June 1914. p. 4876.
  21. "No. 30730". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1918. p. 6686.
  22. "No. 27604". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 October 1903. p. 6149.
  23. "No. 30756". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 June 1918. p. 7305.
  24. "No. 30979". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 October 1918. p. 12697.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Alexander Bethell		 Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
1913–1915		 Succeeded by
Sir Rosslyn Wemyss
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