Godfrey Ratcliffe Chambers

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Commander (retired) Godfrey Ratcliffe Chambers (15 June, 1888 – 4 January, 1933) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Born in Downton Lodge, Hants, Chambers gained two months' time on passing out of Britannia.

Chambers was appointed to the Duncan of the Channel Fleet on 10 August, 1906. She dropped him off at Gibraltar, sick, in April, 1907. He returned to England in Spartiate in May.[1]

Chambers was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 June, 1910. On 21 August, he was appointed to the Venus.

On 12 July 1911 Chambers was admitted to Haslar Hospital to be treated for an intestinal disease. He was found fit on the 18th despite having been granted two weeks.[2]

On 13 September, 1913 he was appointed to Ghurka as first lieutenant. When she paid off on 2 February, 1914, he briefly went to Marlborough for trials but on 5 March he was sent to join Midge, becoming her first lieutenant at some later point. On 4 February, 1915 he left Midge when he was appointed in command of the first-class torpedo boat T.B. 1. His conduct in her "under dangerous and trying circumstances" on the night of 11/12 November 1915 elicited praise from the Admiralty.[3]

In the wake of this first command appointment in T.B. 1, Chambers served in a variety of other torpedo craft commands: moving to Musketeer from August 1916, then Liffey from October 1916, Nymphe from April 1917, and Orcadia from July, 1917.[4]

Chambers was appointed in command of the destroyer Moresby on 5 March, 1918.[5]

Chambers was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 30 June, 1918.[6]

Post-War

Apart from a stint as Divisional Officer at Inverness which was extended to four years from its commencement in 1920, the ensuing decade of peacetime appointments for him were strictly of the type typically offered to wartime destroyer captains, such as watching over groups of destroyers in reserve and periods of unpaid time. Following these, Chambers was placed on the Retired List at his own request with the rank of Commander on 11 October, 1929.[7]

See Also

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Hilary P. Mead
Captain of H.M. T.B. 1
4 Feb, 1915[8][9] – Aug, 1916[10]
Succeeded by
Arthur K. Gibson
Preceded by
Richard M. King
Captain of H.M.S. Musketeer
25 Aug, 1916[11][12] – 18 Oct, 1916[13]
Succeeded by
John M. Porter
Preceded by
John M. Porter
Captain of H.M.S. Liffey
18 Oct, 1916[14][15] – 31 Mar, 1917[16]
Succeeded by
Samuel B. Graves
Preceded by
George A. Scott
Captain of H.M.S. Nymphe
31 Mar, 1917[17] – Jul, 1917[18]
Succeeded by
Hugh E. Raymond
Preceded by
Guy P. Bowles
Captain of H.M.S. Orcadia
Jul, 1917[19][20] – 5 Mar, 1918[21]
Succeeded by
A. Paul Bush
Preceded by
John A. P. Legh
Captain of H.M.S. Moresby
5 Mar, 1918[22][23] – 20 Feb, 1919[24]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
Sir Andrew B. Cunningham
Captain of H.M.S. Termagant
20 Feb, 1919[25] – 25 Feb, 1919[26]
Succeeded by
Astley D. C. Cooper-Key
Preceded by
Astley D. C. Cooper-Key
Captain of H.M.S. Matchless
25 Feb, 1919[27] – 5 Mar, 1919[28]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
Harold S. Gillett
Captain of H.M.S. Tyrant
10 Jul, 1924[29] – 16 Mar, 1925[30]
Succeeded by
Edward Eastwick-Field
Preceded by
Lewes G. Gardner
Captain of H.M.S. Sportive
28 Feb, 1928[31] – 16 Aug, 1928[32]
Succeeded by
Vessel Inactivated

Footnotes

  1. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  2. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  3. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  4. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  5. The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 848.
  6. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  7. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  8. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  9. The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 400.
  10. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  11. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  12. The Navy List. (October, 1916). p. 396dd.
  13. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  14. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  15. The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 395v.
  16. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  17. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  18. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  19. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  20. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 396a.
  21. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  22. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  23. The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 848.
  24. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  25. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  26. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  27. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  28. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  29. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  30. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  31. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.
  32. Chambers Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/224. f. 236.