Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Henry Alexander Stuart-Menteth, (26 August 1912 – 14 May 2000) was a British naval officer famous for his service in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, particularly during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

where he assisted in the sinking of two

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s and helped capture Enigma code fragments, which enabled

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

to decipher the code. He commanded six ships during his career. He married in 1952, having two sons and a daughter, and seven grandchildren in turn. Stuart-Menteth was born as one of four. He joined a navy cadet force in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, serving on several ships. After his promotion course, he served both abroad and in the United Kingdom. He joined shortly before the Second World War. His ship was torpedoed after a raid on a German-held port in April 1940. He was kept in a hospital by the Germans, and was listed at home as killed in action. When the British liberated the area, he was freed. On his next ship, , he helped capture Enigma code fragments, which enabled

to decipher the code. In the same year he was given his first command, . He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in 1942, while working on after the ship sunk a U-boat, and a

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

for sinking another U-boat. Stuart-Menteth was entrusted to the Royal Australian Navy in 1949, where he commanded two destroyers. He ran the Scottish

Corps of Commissionaires The Corps of Commissionaires refers to a global movement in Commonwealth countries of societies created to provide meaningful employment for veterans of the armed services. The Commissionaires movement traces its roots to 1859, when Captain Sir Edw ...

for 20 years after his 1958 retirement.

Early life

Henry Alexander Stuart-Menteth, often abbreviated to Alex Stuart-Menteth, was born on 26 August 1912 in Merstham, Surrey. He was the son of Walter Stuart-Menteth and Violet Stuart-Menteth (née Lafone), one of four: Walter Granville Stuart-Menteth (1906 – 1970), Frances Bevyl Stuart-Menteth (1907 – 1957), and Lucy Violet Stuart-Menteth (1911 – ). In 1926, he became a cadet in

Dartmouth, Devon Dartmouth () is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the western bank of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies within the ...

. With the cadets, he served on the ships in the Atlantic, in the West Indies and

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and on the shore establishment HMS ''President'' on his promotion course.

Naval career

Alex Stuart-Menteth served on the destroyers in the Mediterranean in 1934 and 1935, in the

home fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

in 1935 and 1936, the minesweeper in the

reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

in 1935, and in 1935 serving in China.

Second World War

On 28 August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the

, Stuart-Menteth joined the destroyer . ''Hunter'' was in Captain

Bernard Warburton-Lee Captain Bernard Armitage Warburton Warburton-Lee, VC (13 September 1895 – 10 April 1940) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarde ...

's 2nd Flotilla, along with four other destroyers. On 10 April 1940, in a snowstorm, the Flotilla attacked the port of

Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...

, held by the Germans. Four German destroyers were sunk and seven damaged, notably sinking , an 8,500-ton ship transporting ammunition. ''Hunter'' was set alight and torpedoed, leading to her sinking. As she sank, Stuart-Menteth was trapped by a malfunctioning

davit Boat suspended from radial davits; the boat is mechanically lowered Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on North Sea ferr ...

with a leg wound on the upper deck. A

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...

saved Stuart-Menteth, and they were both picked up by German sailors. HMS Somali (F33)

Stuart-Menteth was taken to Narvik, at a civilian hospital. He remained in the town until its eventual liberation by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. However, whilst he was in hospital, Stuart-Menteth was listed as killed in action, and had an obituary in '' The Times'' as such, which he later read. After further hospitalisation in Britain from April to December 1940, on 3 December Stuart-Menteth became the first lieutenant of the Tribal-class destroyer . She partook in Operation Claymore, an operation to disrupt supplies, to ferry commandoes to shore, and to capture German code. ''Somalia'' brought to a stop ''Krebs'', a German trawler, by firing at her, forcing her to stop. A boarding party found cryptographic keys and rotor machines. This assisted

to decipher several Enigma codes. In May 1941, Stuart-Menteth again assisted the capture of Enigma material from the German ship ''München'', enabling Bletchley Park to begin to decipher German Enigma codes. Several months later, he was given command of his first ship, , a Hunt-class destroyer. Stuart-Menteth joined in March 1942, and helped sink the . He was mentioned in despatches on 2 June 1943 as "Lieutenant-Commander Henry Alexander Stuart-Menteth, Royal Navy"; after commanding ''Aldenham'' in a disastrous mission in the Aegean Sea. In late 1943, Stuart-Menteth took command of , and partook in training officers of landing craft. His last command in the war was , with which he assisted in the sinking of , for which he was awarded a

After the war

After World War II on 13 February 1946 Stuart-Menteth became first lieutenant on , followed by on 4 September 1946, before being entrusted to the Royal Australian Navy in 1949. There he commanded his last two ships, the destroyers and . He went on to work with

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

in Malta, and in 1958 he retired, moving to Scotland. He did, however, operate the Scottish

for close to 20 years, and was chairman of the Edinburgh World Wildlife Fund for 10 years.

Personal life

Stuart-Menteth met Penelope Giles in 1952 in Australia, the couple married, having a daughter and two sons: Andrew Alexander (1954), Walter Henry (1957), and Harriet Lucy (1959); and seven grandchildren. He died on 14 May 2000 in Edinburgh,

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart-Menteth, Henry Alexander 1912 births 2000 deaths Enigma machine People from Surrey (before 1965) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Australian Navy officers