Montague Robert Bernard

From The Dreadnought Project
Jump to: navigation, search

Captain (retired) Montague Robert Bernard (8 April, 1884 – 1 May, 1952) was an officer in the Royal Navy. His first name is sometimes spelled Mountague, but the more conventional spelling is used at least half the time.

Life & Career

Born in Bents Brook, Dorking.

Bernard was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 1 April, 1906.[1]

On 1 March, 1909, he was admitted to Haslar Hospital for ten days for a chest injury. He would have frequent unspecified health issues from here, but it may be that they stem from this incident or be related the heart ailment that killed him.[2]

Bernard was appointed in command of the destroyer Kangaroo on 29 July, 1912. In March of 1913, he damaged her bow by hitting the wall in Granville Dock in Dover. At some time in 1914 he also struck a buoy. He received light reprimands from the Admiralty in both incidents.[3]

Bernard was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 1 April, 1914.[4]

Great War

Bernard was appointed to command the Tribal Class destroyer Saracen on 6 January, 1915 and assumed command on the 7th.[5]

He was mentioned in despatches for his service between 3 December 1915 and 29 May, 1916, gazetted 25 July, 1916.[6]

Bernard was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1916.[7]

He was in command of the destroyer Nubian when she was torpedoed at at Battle of Dover Strait on the night of 26-27 October, 1916.[8] The Court of Enquiry into her loss cited Bernard's "strained physical condition" as he attempted to ram an enemy vessel.[9]

On 1 December, 1916, the Vice-Admiral, Dover granted him two weeks of sick leave and he left his now nominal command of the bisected Nubian. Bernard was found to be unfit upon his survey on the 18 December and scheduled to be resurveyed on 18 January, at which time he was found to be fit only for shore service. He was placed in command of the inactive battleship Jupiter on 29 January. This quiet spell saw Bernard wrestling with continued unspecified health issues until 25 May when he was found to be fit once again. Five days later, he was appointed in command of the destroyer Murray.[10]

On 1 April, 1918 he was appointed in command of the convoy sloop Syringa and she spent the rest of the war supporting the efforts of the Northern Patrol. Bernard was commended by Vice-Admiral, Northern Patrol Reginald Godfrey Otway Tupper for his services in this command.[11]

Post-War

Bernard was appointed in command of the flotilla leader Valkyrie on 9 July, 1920.[12]

Bernard was placed on the Retired List at his own request on 6 November, 1922.[13]

Bernard was promoted to the rank of Captain on the Retired List on his forty-fifth birthday, 8 April, 1929.[14]

World War II

Bernard was appointed in command of the Armed Merchant Cruiser Cheshire on 30 August, 1939 and was in command when she was torpedoed and heavily damaged in October 1940.[15] In 1941, he became Base Captain in Cardiff on the staff of the Flag Officer in Charge. He suffered some heart ailments that year.[16]

Bernard died of a cardiac infarction in 1952.

See Also

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Philip A. Warre
as Captain of H.M. T.B. 26
Captain of H.M. T.B. 026
13 Jun, 1908[17] – 23 Jun, 1908[Inference]
Succeeded by
Arthur G. Tippet
Preceded by
Edgar C. Cookson
Captain of H.M. T.B. 033
c. Jul, 1908[18][19] – 1 Apr, 1909[20]
Succeeded by
Henry D. Simonds
Preceded by
Edward P. U. Broad
Captain of H.M. T.B. 051
2 Jun, 1911[21] – 30 Jun, 1911[22]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
Henry L. M. Coxon
Captain of H.M. T.B. 068
1 Jul, 1911[23] – 5 Aug, 1911[24]
Succeeded by
Harold G. Campbell
Preceded by
Frederick N. Eardley-Wilmot
Captain of H.M.S. Haughty
5 Aug, 1911[25] – 31 Oct, 1911[26]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
Francis R. Scarlett
Captain of H.M.S. Conflict
31 Oct, 1911[27] – Jul, 1912[28]
Succeeded by
Leonard P. Vavasour
Preceded by
Michael K. H. Kennedy
Captain of H.M.S. Flying Fish
2 Jul, 1912[29] – 29 Jul, 1912[30]
Succeeded by
Lawrence D'O. Bignell
Preceded by
Charles L. Fox
Captain of H.M.S. Kangaroo
29 Jul, 1912[31][32] – 6 Jan, 1915[33]
Succeeded by
Henry Forrester
Preceded by
Arthur S. D. George
Captain of H.M.S. Saracen
6 Jan, 1915[34][35] – 2 Apr, 1915[36]
Succeeded by
Montague R. Bernard
Preceded by
Herbert R. L. Edwards
Captain of H.M.S. Tartar
2 Apr, 1915[37][38] – 20 Apr, 1915[39]
Succeeded by
Robert H. B. Hammond-Chambers
Preceded by
Montague R. Bernard
Captain of H.M.S. Saracen
20 Apr, 1915[40][41] – 28 Mar, 1916[42]
Succeeded by
Victor L. A. Campbell
Preceded by
John I. Hallett
Captain of H.M.S. Nubian
28 Mar, 1916[43][44] – 1 Dec, 1916[45]
Succeeded by
Vessel Crippled
Preceded by
Charles F. Corbett
Captain of H.M.S. Jupiter
29 Jan, 1917[46] – 30 May, 1917[47]
Succeeded by
Charles A. Radcliffe
Preceded by
Henry T. Dorling
Captain of H.M.S. Murray
30 May, 1917[48][49] – 6 Nov, 1917[50]
Succeeded by
Hugh B. Wrey
Preceded by
Hugh B. Wrey
Captain of H.M.S. Mohawk
6 Nov, 1917[51]c. late Nov, 1917[52]
Succeeded by
Cuthbert P. Blake
Preceded by
Cuthbert P. Blake
Captain of H.M.S. Termagant
Nov, 1917[53] – 29 Mar, 1918[54]
Succeeded by
Sir Andrew B. Cunningham
Preceded by
Maurice B. R. Blackwood
Captain of H.M.S. Syringa
1 Apr, 1918[55][56] – 30 Jan, 1919[57]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
Edward M. Rae
Captain of H.M.S. PC 42
30 Jan, 1919[58] – 9 Jul, 1920[59]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
Hugh D. Colville
Captain of H.M.S. Valkyrie
9 Jul, 1920[60][61] – May, 1921[62]
Succeeded by
John D. Harvey
Preceded by
Brian C. Gourley
Captain of H.M.S. Verity
May, 1921[63] – May, 1922[64]
Succeeded by
William J. Whitworth

Footnotes

  1. The Navy List. (March, 1913). p. 7.
  2. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  3. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  4. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  5. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  6. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  7. The Navy List. (January, 1919). p. 345.
  8. Naval Operations. Vol. IV. p. 61.
  9. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  10. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  11. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  12. The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 879a.
  13. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  14. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  15. Uboat.net
  16. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  17. The Navy List. (July, 1908). p. 400.
  18. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  19. The Navy List. (October, 1908). p. 400.
  20. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  21. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  22. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  23. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  24. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  25. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  26. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  27. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  28. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  29. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  30. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  31. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  32. The Navy List. (January, 1915). p. 341.
  33. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  34. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  35. The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 397v.
  36. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  37. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  38. The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 397v.
  39. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  40. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  41. The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 397v.
  42. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  43. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  44. The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 396g.
  45. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  46. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  47. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  48. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  49. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 395u.
  50. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  51. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  52. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  53. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  54. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?. This date not crystalline in terms of legibility.
  55. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  56. The Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 913.
  57. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  58. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  59. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  60. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  61. The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 879a.
  62. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  63. Bernard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49/96. f. ?.
  64. Inferred from Curteis's record and a cancelled appointment for Bernard that month.