Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Sir Arthur Cavenagh Leveson GCB (27 January 1868 – 26 June 1929) was a senior officer 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 Fr ...

. He was the Rear Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Australian Fleet from 9 January 1917 to 3 September 1918 and later Commander in Chief,

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

from 10 September 1922 to 22 April 1925.Dodd, Chapt. 8 (Part 2)

Naval career

Born on 27 January 1868 at

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

, London, he attended a private school, and began his naval cadetship aboard the training ship HMS ''Britannia'' on 13 January 1881. He was rated

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

on 15 January 1883 and

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

on 17 January 1887 and promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 27 July 1887. He was awarded the Beaufort Testimonial and Goodenough Medal in 1888 and qualified in gunnery in 1891. Serving as a Gunnery Lieutenant upon HMS ''Victoria'' in 1893, he survived the sinking of HMS ''Victoria'' on 22 June 1893 after she collided with HMS ''Camperdown'' near Tripoli,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

during manoeuvres and quickly sank, taking 358 crew with her, including the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, Vice Admiral Sir George Tryon. He was transferred to Whale Island at the shore establishment HMS ''Excellent'' as a 1st Gunnery Office. He was promoted to

on 27 July 1887. While as a Brigade Major to the Naval Brigade in London, he participated in the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, for which he received the

Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal The Diamond Jubilee Medal was instituted in 1897 by Royal Warrant as a British decoration. The medal was awarded to members of the Royal Family and the court, guests and dignitaries present at the celebrations of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee ...

. Promoted to

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. ...

on 1 January 1899 he became a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. Serving as commander under his first commission aboard HMS ''Canopus'' he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 1 July 1903. From August 1903 until February 1905, he served as the Naval Assistant to the Controller of the Navy. While serving as Flag Captain to Admiral Sir William May, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, he took part in 1904 in the

Entente Cordiale The Entente Cordiale (; ) comprised a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic which saw a significant improvement in Anglo-French relations. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial de ...

at Brest and in Paris, for which he received the Croix d'Officier of the Legion of Honour. He later commanded HMS ''Africa'' and HMS ''Indefatigable'' and received the Coronation Medal of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

in 1911. On 27 September 1912, he was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in the Civil Division in the first batch of naval officers awarded this honour, and was made naval aide-de-camp to King George V in 1913. He was also a commodore (first class) on the staff of Admiral of the Fleet Sir William May, Umpire-in-Chief during the Naval Manoeuvres which took place during July and August 1913. Promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on 1 December 1913, and Director of Operations Divisions of the Admiralty War Staff on 1 May 1914. After the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914, he was second in command of the

2nd Battle Squadron The 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, t ...

, and was present at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

on 31 May 1916, where he was

Mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

, received a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the Military Division, the

Order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

(First Class) with swords and the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

(Second Class). He was appointed the

Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet Fleet Command is responsible for the command, operations, readiness, training and force generation of all ships, submarines, aircraft squadrons, diving teams, and shore establishments of the Royal Australian Navy. Fleet Command is headquartered a ...

in January 1917, commander of the

5th Battle Squadron The 5th Battle Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 5th Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Second Fleet. During the First World War, the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet. Hist ...

in October 1918 and commander of the

in April 1919. He was appointed Commander in Chief, China Station in September 1922. He became the First and Principal Naval aide-de-camp and was awarded the

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

on 3 June 1927.

Family

Leveson married, at St. Paul's,

Valletta, Malta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

, on 3 March 1902, Jemima Adeline Beatrice Blackwood, widow of Edward Henry Stuart Bligh, 7th Earl of Darnley, and daughter of Francis James Lindesay Blackwood. They had one son, Arthur Edmund Leveson (1908–1981), and their eldest granddaughter, Anne Pamela Leveson (born 1946), became Countess of Hopetoun by her marriage in 1968 to the 4th Marquess of Linlithgow, and in 1988 became Countess De La Warr by her second marriage to

William Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr William Herbrand Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr ( ; born 10 April 1948) is a British businessman, nobleman, and peer. He was styled Lord Buckhurst from 1976 until 9 February 1988, when he inherited upon the death of his father William Sackville ...

. Cited in Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson died on 26 June 1929 at

Contrexéville Contrexéville () is a commune of north-eastern France, in the Vosges département. Inhabitants are called ''Contrexévillois''. The mineral springs of Contrexéville have been known locally for many years, but became generally known only toward ...

, France. Cited in

Notes

References

*Dodd, Francis (1917). ''Admirals of the British Navy (1917–1918) – Part 2'', London, Country Life Ltd
online libraryThe Argus (Melbourne, Vic) – Friday 25 May 1917. p6.
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leveson 1868 births 1929 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath People from Kensington Royal Navy admirals of World War I Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Military personnel from London