William Francis Benwell

Captain (retired) William Francis Benwell, D.S.O. (10 October, 1871 – 9 August, 1951) served in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Benwell gained eight months' time on passing out of Britannia in mid-January, 1887. He was first appointed to the armoured cruiser Bacchante which was operating in the East Indies.

Benwell was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 June, 1893.

Benwell was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December, 1904.

Benwell was placed on the Retired List at his own request with the rank of Captain on 5 January, 1912.

Benwell was appointed to President for Transport Service, Humber in August, 1914. On 5 September, his posting was altered to Southampton. In December, 1914, he was moved to Dieppe.

In May 1915, Benwell was appointed District Naval Transport Officer, Dunkirk. On 28 July, 1917 he was moved to District Naval Transport Officer & Senior Naval Officer, Bon[illeg]. Some of this latter work was likely in the area of Ceylon.

See Also

• Service Records
• Wikipedia

Naval Appointments
Preceded by ?	Captain of H.M. T.B. 97 9 Jan, 1895 – 5 Aug, 1895	Succeeded by Thomas N. James
Preceded by James W. Pochin	Captain of H.M.S. Speedwell 5 Jul, 1901 – 30 Jun, 1904	Succeeded by Edward A. Thomas
Preceded by George J. Todd	Captain of H.M.S. Cygnet 1 Apr, 1905 – Apr, 1905	Succeeded by Vernon F. Tuson
Preceded by John A. Gregory	Captain of H.M.S. Quail Apr, 1905 – late Apr, 1905	Succeeded by Cyril P. Ryan
Preceded by Cyril P. Ryan	Captain of H.M.S. Locust late Apr, 1905 – 6 Oct, 1905	Succeeded by Claude L. Cumberlege
Preceded by Claude L. Cumberlege	Captain of H.M.S. Banshee 6 Oct, 1905 – 9 Jan, 1906	Succeeded by Cyril P. Ryan
Preceded by Cyril P. Ryan	Captain of H.M.S. Quail 10 Jan, 1906 – 28 May, 1906	Succeeded by Archibald T. Stewart
Preceded by Osmond J. Prentis	Captain of H.M.S. Spitfire 28 May, 1906 – 22 Jun, 1906	Succeeded by Vaughan A. E. Hanning-Lee
Preceded by Harold G. Grenfell	Captain of H.M.S. Cherwell 20 Nov, 1906 – 10 Sep, 1907	Succeeded by William D. Paton
Preceded by Laurence E. Power	Captain of H.M.S. Alert 7 Jan, 1910 – 25 Nov, 1910	Succeeded by Hugh G.-C. Somerville
Preceded by Oswald W. Ormsby	Captain of H.M.S. Commonwealth 16 May, 1911 – 6 Jun, 1911	Succeeded by Price V. Lewes
Preceded by Robert K. Arbuthnot	Captain of H.M.S. Boadicea 6 Jun, 1911 – 17 Oct, 1911	Succeeded by Vernon H. S. Haggard

Footnotes

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