Godfrey Herbert
Commander Godfrey Herbert, D.S.O., R.N. (28 February, 1884 – 8 August, 1961) was an officer in the Royal Navy.
Life & Career
Born in Coventry, the son of the non-practicing solicitor John Herbert.
Herbert was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 December, 1905.[1]
Herbert was appointed in command of the submarine C 30 in June, 1913.[2]
On 19 November, 1913, he was appointed to Maidstone to be Lieutenant aboard D 5.[3]
Promotion to Lieutenant-Commander followed on 31 December, 1913,[4] and on 25 March, 1914, Herbert was appointed to depot ship Adamant for command of submarine D 5.[5] He was to be one of only five of her crew to survive her mining on 3 November, 1914.[6]
Herbert was appointed in command of the Q-ship H.M.S. Antwerp on 27 January, 1915, and was appointed in command of the "Q" ship Baralong on 5 April, 1915. On 19 August, Baralong was involved in the Baralong Incident after sinking U 27 in the Irish Sea. Just eight days later, Herbert was appointed in command of the E 22.
Herbert was awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 13 September, 1915.[7]
Herbert was appointed to Dolphin on 27 April, 1916 and loaned to command the Q-ship Carrigan Head, also known as Q 4 in June. He was superseded in her on 9 October, and was appointed to K 13, to assume command upon her commissioning.
On 29 January, 1917, he was in command of K 13 when she sank on a test dive. Herbert was able to escape from the submarine – his second such bit of luck.
Herbert was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1917,[8] and on 3 July, he was appointed to Colleen, receiving ship in Queenstown, for general staff duties and coordination with the Americans, remaining there through the end of the war.[9]
World War II
Herbert was granted the acting rank of Captain on 10 November, 1939. He served as Captain of H.M.S. Cilicia until being appointed as Captain of Minelayers in Portsmouth on 16 March, 1940.
Herbert was appointed as Captain of Minelayers in Alexandria on 4 November, 1941 and was moved to Port Said sometime in 1942.
He reverted to the Retired List on 10 February, 1943.
See Also
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by Theodore S. Brodie |
Captain of H.M.S. C 36 before Feb, 1911[10] |
Succeeded by Donald I. McGillewie |
| Preceded by Thomas F. Besant |
Captain of H.M.S. C 30 Jun, 1913[11] |
Succeeded by Allan Poland |
| Preceded by Thomas F. P. Calvert |
Captain of H.M.S. D 5 25 Mar, 1914[12] – 3 Nov, 1914[13] |
Succeeded by Vessel Lost |
| Preceded by New Command |
Captain of H.M.S. K 13 ? – 29 Jan, 1917 |
Succeeded by Charles de Burgh as Captain of H.M.S. K 22 |
Footnotes
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1913). p. 39.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 395a.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1913). p. 343.
- ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1914). p. 47.
- ↑ The Navy List. (June, 1914). p. 273.
- ↑ Wikipedia
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 757c.
- ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 176c.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 759.
- ↑ Wikipedia page on Herbert
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 395a.
- ↑ The Navy List. (June, 1914). p. 273.
- ↑ Hepper. British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era: 1860-1919. p. 29.
