Basil Richard Brooke
Captain (retired) Basil Richard Brooke, D.S.O. (27 November, 1882 – 8 October, 1929) served in the Royal Navy.
Contents
Life & Career
Brooke gained seven month's time on passing out of Britannia. His father died one year after he was promoted to the rank of Midshipman, leaving him to be raised by Lady Wilhelmina Brooke.[1]
Brooke was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 December, 1903.[2]
Brooke was appointed to H.M.S. Vulcan in 1904. Captain Heath offered Brooke a positive evaluation and appreciated that Brooke had skills in wireless. Brooke was appointed to the third class protected cruiser Sapphire on 6 March 1905 to act as her gunnery officer. Here, he was not so well regarded. In January, 1907 outgoing Captain Cecil Foley Lambert described Brooke as "Disappointing. To[o] careless." Brooke's gunnery work proved so unsatisfactory that Lambert felt obliged to hand these duties to another man. Brooke was appointed to Diamond at the end of the month as first and gunnery officer and performed much better, with Commander Onslow offering lavish praise in his evaluation of February, 1908.[3]
Brooke was appointed in command of the gunboat Widgeon on the China Station on 27 April, 1910. He gave up command on 23 April, 1912.[4]
Brooke was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 31 December, 1911.[5]
Upon being superseded in command of Speedwell on 9 August, 1913, Brooke was appointed to join the battleship Dominion. He served in the pre-dreadnought until being appointed in command of the torpedo gunboat Gossamer on 17 July, 1915.[6]
Superseded in Gossamer on 20 November, 1915, Brooke was appointed in command of the sweeping sloop Myrtle some time before the end of the year. Minesweeping would prove to become his forte.[7]
Brooke was promoted to the rank of Acting Commander on 7 September, 1916.[8]
Brooke was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December, 1916.[9]
Post-War
Brooke assisted in the arduous effort to clear the seas of mines.
In June, 1921, Brooke was cautioned to be more careful after some rifles from Magnolia went missing.[10]
Brooke was promoted to the rank of Captain on 27 November, 1927.[11]
Brooke succumbed to stomach cancer at Fountain Street Nursing Home in Ulverston.
See Also
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by William C. O'G. Cochrane |
Captain of H.M.S. Speedwell 28 Feb, 1913[12] – 7 Aug, 1913[Inference] |
Succeeded by Aubrey E. D. Moore |
| Preceded by F. C. Guy St. Clair |
Captain of H.M.S. Gossamer 17 Jul, 1915[13] – 20 Nov, 1915[14][15] |
Succeeded by Charles E. Aglionby |
| Preceded by ? |
Captain of H.M.S. Myrtle 2 Dec, 1915[16] |
Succeeded by Frederic S. Piper |
| Preceded by ? |
Captain of H.M.S. Sherborne 10 Feb, 1919[17] |
Succeeded by Cyril H. G. Benson |
| Preceded by Herbert W. E. C. Whyte |
Captain of H.M.S. Magnolia 24 Nov, 1919[18] |
Succeeded by David Wardlaw-Ramsay |
Footnotes
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ The Navy List. (March, 1913). p. 10.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ Brooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/25. f. 230.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 377.
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 394j.
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 394j.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 394s.
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1916). p. 396e.
- ↑ The Navy List. (March, 1919). p. 907.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1920). p. 805.
