Rear Admiral Sir Charles Lionel Vaughan-Lee, (27 February 1867-16 March 1928) was a senior
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 ...
officer in the early 20th century. He served during
World War I
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 ...
, rising to the rank of
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 ...
.
Biography
Vaughan-Lee was born in the English village of
Measham
Measham is a large village in the North West Leicestershire district in Leicestershire, England, near the Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire boundaries. It lies off the A42, 4½ miles (7.25 km) south of Ashby de la Zouch, in the Natio ...
in 1867. By 1881 he was a
naval cadet
Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University A ...
on , the Royal Navy's officer cadet training ship. In September 1882, Vaughan-Lee was appointed as a
midshipman on .
Vaughan-Lee was promoted to
captain on 30 June 1904.
In June 1906, he was captain of as part of the
Eastern Fleet
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
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* Eastern Air ...
,
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 ...
Cruiser Squadron.
From 1909 to 1911, he served as the captain of which was also then known as
Royal Naval Training Establishment Shotley.
On 12 August 1915, Vaughan-Lee was 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 ...
and on 8 September he was selected to be the Director of the Admiralty's
Air Department
The Air Department of the British Admiralty later succeeded briefly by the Air Section followed by the Air Division was established prior to World War I by Winston Churchill to administer the Royal Naval Air Service.
History
In 1908, the Bri ...
. He continued in this role until the start of 1917 when he was posted to be the Superintendent of
Portsmouth Dockyard
His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...
.
In 1917, he was awarded the Japanese
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, which represents the second highest of eight classes associated with the award. Notice of the King's permission to accept and to display this honour was duly published in the ''
London Gazette''.
[Order of the Rising Sun, conferred 1917 -- ]
He died on 16 March 1928.
References
External links
Probert Encyclopedia – Charles Vaughan Lee
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan-Lee, Charles Lionel
1867 births
1928 deaths
Military personnel from Leicestershire
Companions of the Order of the Bath
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Royal Navy admirals of World War I
Military aviation leaders of World War I
Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class
Commanders of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
People from Measham
Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War
People educated at Stubbington House School