Difference between revisions of "John Saumarez Dumaresq"

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==Early Life & Career==
 
==Early Life & Career==
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Dumaresq was born on 26 October 1873 at Rose Bay in Sydney, the son of William Alexander Dumaresq whose father had come to Australia with his two brothers and his sister Elizabeth (b.1798-d.1868), who was married to General Ralph Darling, seventh Governor of New South Wales.  His mother was Edith Helen Dumaresq. When John was two, his family returned to England.
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Dumaresq remained in command of ''Sydney'' until 22 February, 1919 when he became Commodore commanding [[Royal Australian Navy|His Majesty's Australian Fleet]], with the rank of {{Com1RN}}, dated 22 March.<ref>"End of Grand Fleet" (Official Appointments and Notices).  ''The Times''.  Thursday, 3 April, 1919.  Issue '''42065''', col D, pg. 13.</ref>  In June, 1921 he was promoted to {{RearRN}}, becoming the first Australian-born officer to attain that rank and to command the Navy.
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Dumaresq joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1886, aged 13. He was commissioned as a {{LieutRN}} in 1894 and served with the Channel Fleet. In 1904 he was promoted to commander and, having taken an interest in torpedo work earlier in his career, was attached to the Admiralty to supervise the equipment of torpedo vessels. Dumaresq was keenly interested in the science of naval warfare and in 1902 he invented an instrument to calculate [[Range Rate|range rates]], the [[Dumaresq]] that greatly advanced the British methods in [[Fire Control|fire control]] through the war.
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In 1907, Dumaresq married Christian Dalrymple and the following year he commanded the torpedo flotilla when it escorted [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|King Edward VII]] on a visit to Russia. After his return, Dumaresq commanded two of the [[British Home Fleet|Home Fleet]]'s torpedo boat destroyers. Promoted to {{CaptRN}} in 1910, he invented several fire-control devices that were used in the [[First World War]].
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Dumaresq commanded the ''Shannon'', an armoured cruiser, in the [[Battle of Jutland]] in 1916. During this action he conceived the idea of launching aircraft from a ship's deck. In February, 1917 he was transferred to the [[Royal Australian Navy]] as captain of H.M.A.S. ''Sydney'' and later in the year he took command of the British [[Battle cruiser|battle cruiser]] [[H.M.S. Repulse (1916)|''Repulse'']], which he captained in a successful battle against the German flagship, ''Königsberg''. Dumaresq returned to Sydney in December, 1917. To his great pleasure the Admiralty had agreed to the installation of an aircraft-launching platform on ''Sydney'', the first to be fitted to a ship. The first flight was a success and the device offered ships some protection against zeppelins and land-based aircraft.
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Dumaresq remained in command of ''Sydney'' until 22 February, 1919 when he became Commodore commanding [[Royal Australian Navy|His Majesty's Australian Fleet]], with the rank of {{Com1RN}}, dated 22 March.<ref>"End of Grand Fleet" (Official Appointments and Notices).  ''The Times''.  Thursday, 3 April, 1919.  Issue '''42065''', col D, pg. 13.</ref>  In June, 1921 he was promoted to {{RearRN}}, becoming the first Australian-born officer to attain that rank and to command the Navy.
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By the early 1920s, cutbacks in defence spending led Dumaresq into conflict with senior political figures as he sought to ensure that the Navy was properly resourced. He returned to the Royal Navy on 29 April, 1922, thus ending his service with the R.A.N. Dumaresq's final gesture, criticising Australia's apathy towards defence spending, suggests something of his willingness to publicly state his views on matters of national importance. Some regarded him as a strict disciplinarian but he was widely respected, shy of publicity, and has been credited with introducing an esprit de corps into the Navy that the young service had been lacking.
 
By the early 1920s, cutbacks in defence spending led Dumaresq into conflict with senior political figures as he sought to ensure that the Navy was properly resourced. He returned to the Royal Navy on 29 April, 1922, thus ending his service with the R.A.N. Dumaresq's final gesture, criticising Australia's apathy towards defence spending, suggests something of his willingness to publicly state his views on matters of national importance. Some regarded him as a strict disciplinarian but he was widely respected, shy of publicity, and has been credited with introducing an esprit de corps into the Navy that the young service had been lacking.

Revision as of 12:05, 21 March 2011

Rear-Admiral John S. Dumaresq, C.B., C.V.O.
Photo: Australian War Memorial.

Rear-Admiral John Saumarez Dumaresq, C.B., C.V.O., Royal Navy (26 October, 1873 – 22 July, 1922) was an officer of the Royal Navy, who made an important contribution to the field of long-range naval gunnery with the invention of the Dumaresq. He was the first Australian-born officer to command the Australian fleet.

Early Life & Career

Dumaresq remained in command of Sydney until 22 February, 1919 when he became Commodore commanding His Majesty's Australian Fleet, with the rank of Commodore, First Class, dated 22 March.[1] In June, 1921 he was promoted to Rear-Admiral, becoming the first Australian-born officer to attain that rank and to command the Navy.

By the early 1920s, cutbacks in defence spending led Dumaresq into conflict with senior political figures as he sought to ensure that the Navy was properly resourced. He returned to the Royal Navy on 29 April, 1922, thus ending his service with the R.A.N. Dumaresq's final gesture, criticising Australia's apathy towards defence spending, suggests something of his willingness to publicly state his views on matters of national importance. Some regarded him as a strict disciplinarian but he was widely respected, shy of publicity, and has been credited with introducing an esprit de corps into the Navy that the young service had been lacking.

Having raised a stir, on the way to Japan, Dumaresq fell seriously ill in the Philippines with pneumonia.[2] He died in Manila on 22 July of septic pneumonia.[3] The funeral service was held in the Episcopal Cathedral, and he was buried in the British cemetery at San Pedro Macati. His coffin was escorted by a contingent of 1,200 infantry, and a thirteen gun salute was rendered at the cemetery.[4]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "End of Grand Fleet" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Thursday, 3 April, 1919. Issue 42065, col D, pg. 13.
  2. ↑ "News in Brief" (News in Brief). The Times. Wednesday, 17 May, 1922. Issue 43033, col D, pg. 9.
  3. ↑ "Deaths" (Deaths). The Times. Monday, 24 July, 1922. Issue 43091, col A, pg. 1.
  4. ↑ "Death of Admiral Dumaresq" (Obituaries). The Times. Monday, 24 July, 1922. Issue 43091, col E, pg. 14.

Bibliography

Service Record

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