Arthur Tudor Darley
Commander Arthur Tudor Darley, Royal Navy (29 August, 1876 – 1 November, 1914) was an officer of the Royal Navy in the period leading up to the First World War. He was killed while temporarily attached to the armoured cruiser Good Hope at the Battle of Coronel in November, 1914.
Early Life & Career
Darley was born in Glensouthweil, County Dublin, the son of Wellington Darley and Anne Frances Tudor on 29 August, 1876.
In the examination for cadetships in the Royal Navy held on 25 November, 1890, Darley placed seventh out of fifty-seven successful candidates, with 1,475 marks.[1]
He joined the training ship H.M.S. Britannia in 1891, and passed out seventh out of fifty-seven naval cadets in January, 1893 before being promoted Midshipman on 15 March of that year.
On 15 September, 1896 Darley was promoted Acting Sub-Lieutenant and was consequently given command of Torpedo Boat No. 53 on 15 June, 1897 for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee Fleet Review. He was confirmed in the rank of Sub-Lieutenant on 16 October.[2] On 15 December, 1898 he was promoted to Lieutenant and appointed to the battleship Repulse.
He was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December, 1909,[3] and then appointed Flag Commander to Admiral Arthur Leigh Winsloe on the China Station. On 10 November, 1910, on leave, he married Charlotte Sinclair in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin. Darley was one of the first fifteen Commanders to be appointed to the Admiralty War Staff and after duty at the Admiralty he was in March, 1914 temporarily appointed to the cruiser Good Hope while waiting to take up duty on the flagship on the China Station.
While in the Good Hope Darley was present at the Battle of Coronel, the first major British naval defeat in a hundred years, and was lost at sea. He left behind a daughter, Evelyn Elizabeth (born 23 October, 1911) and a son, Arthur who was born after Darley's death on 15 December, 1914.
Footnotes
- ↑ "Cadetships in the Royal Navy" (News). The Times. Tuesday, 16 December, 1890. Issue 33196, col B, p. 10.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26901. p. 5725. 19 October, 1897.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28325. p. 29. 4 January, 1910.
Bibliography
Service Record
- The National Archives. ADM 196/44.
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