Dudley North (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir Dudley Burton Napier North, GCVO, CB, CSI, CMG (25 November 1881 – 15 May 1961) was a Royal Navy officer who served during First and Second World Wars.

Sir Dudley North
Born(1881-11-25)25 November 1881
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk[1]
Died15 May 1961(1961-05-15) (aged 79)
Parnham, Beaminster, Dorset
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1897–1946
RankAdmiral
Commands heldGreat Yarmouth (1942–45)
Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches (1939–40)
Royal Squadron (1939)
Royal Yachts (1934–39)
HMS Tiger (1929)
HMS Constance (1927–29)
HMS Revenge (1926–27)
HMS Caledon (1922–23)
HMS New Zealand (1915–16)
Battles/warsFirst World War Second World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of the Star of India
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)
Commander of the Order of St Stanislaus with Swords (Russia)
Croix de Guerre (France)
Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class (Japan)
Order of the Nile, 2nd Class (Egypt)
Order of Merit of Chile

North entered the Royal Navy as an acting sub lieutenant, and was confirmed in that rank 15 March 1901.[2] He became Director of Naval Operations in January 1930 and Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Yachts in December 1934.[3] Chief of Staff, Home Fleet in December 1932[3] He was promoted vice admiral on 19 June 1936.[4]

North went on to be Flag Officer Commanding Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches in November 1939 and was promoted admiral on 8 May 1940.[3][5][6] He was relieved of his command in December 1940 on the grounds of his failure to challenge a Vichy French naval squadron some three months previously. He had narrowly escaped replacement in response to his earlier objection to the attack on Mers-el-Kébir. He was later exonerated of blame.[7] Ludovic Kennedy considered the failure to challenge the squadron the fault of people in London, not North.[8]

Personal life

North married Eglantine Campbell in September 1909 in Sydney, where he was serving on HMS Powerful.[9] Eglantine died in 1917 of pernicious anaemia. North later married Eilean Graham in 1923 and they had four children. Their daughter Elizabeth was a novelist.[10]

Honours and decorations

References
  1. "North, Sir Dudley Burton Napier (1881–1961), naval officer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  2. "No. 27425". The London Gazette. 15 April 1902. p. 2502.
  3. "Senior Royal Navy appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  4. "No. 34287". The London Gazette. 23 June 1936. p. 4016.
  5. Sutherland, Jonathan; Canwell, Diane (2011). Vichy Air Force at War: The French Air Force that Fought the Allies in World War II. Barnsley: Casemate. p. 18. ISBN 9781848843363.
  6. "No. 34849". The London Gazette. 14 May 1940. p. 2892.
  7. "Royal Naval Attack on French Ships 1940". Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  8. Kennedy, Ludovic Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck
  9. "Naval Wedding". Daily Telegraph: 6. 22 September 1909.
  10. Howard, Jo (12 October 2010). "Elizabeth North obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  11. "No. 37977". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1947. p. 2577.
  12. "No. 34420". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 July 1937. p. 4734.
  13. "No. 34166". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1935. p. 3594.
  14. "No. 13826". The Edinburgh Gazette (Supplement). 27 June 1922. p. 1089.
  15. "No. 31398". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1919. p. 7507.
  16. "No. 37549". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 April 1946. p. 2087.
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