Rear-Admiral Sir Cloudesley Varyl Robinson KCB (10 June 1883 – 1959) was a Royal Navy officer.

Biography

He was born in Tottenham in London in 1883, one of three children and the only son of Alice ''née'' Wilson (1862-) and

Charles Napier Robinson Charles Napier Robinson (27 January 1849 – 14 September 1936) was an English journalist and story writer. After a career in the Royal Navy, during which he achieved the rank of Commander, he became a journalist, specialising in naval matters ...

(1849-1936), a Commander in the Royal Navy who on his retirement in 1882 became a journalist and author and the editor of '' The Navy and Army Illustrated''. Cloudesley Varyl Robinson joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet in January 1897. He enlivened the passing-out ceremony of December 1897 at the training ship HMS ''Britannia'' by dancing the hornpipe with cadets Reginald Watkins Grubb and Cuthbert Dixon Longstaff. Robinson had his own passing-out in 1899. In 1900 he was a

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 Afr ...

on the cruiser HMS ''Orlando'' at the China Station during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

when he was set ashore with dispatches for Peking. Robinson was promoted to sub-lieutenant in April 1902 and lieutenant in August 1903. He was promoted to lieutenant-commander in August 1911 and was in the Grand Fleet aboard HMS ''Achilles'' at the commencement of World War I in 1914 and was promoted Commander at the end of 1914. Commander Robinson was present during the operations at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

in 1915 aboard HMS ''Edgar'' following which he commanded the coastal patrol boats located at

Osea Island Osea Island ( oe, Ōsgȳþes īeg, "Osyth's island"), formerly also Osey, is an inhabited island in the estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex, East England. It is approximately in size and is connected to the north bank of the river by a cau ...

in the Blackwater Estuary in Essex. 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 ...

in 1917. Robinson commanded the seaplane carrier HMS ''Empress'' in 1919 and was promoted Captain in June 1921. In November 1921 at St Peter's church in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, 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 b ...

in London he married Helen Marguerite Latreille (1897–). Robinson was Captain in Charge at Singapore from 1921 to 1923 and was appointed the command of the light cruiser HMS ''Constance'' in December 1924. Robinson was the naval attaché at Tokyo and after at Peking from 1926 to 1929. He was in command of the newly converted aircraft carrier HMS ''Courageous'' from 1931 to 1932 and was promoted Rear-Admiral on 5 January 1933 before retiring at his own request in 1934. At the commencement of World War II Robinson was recalled to duty as a Commodore (Second Class) and was appointed second-in-command of the Naval Air Stations between 1940 and 1943 and was Flag Officer Air Stations for the remainder of the War before being placed back on the retired list in August 1945. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the same year.Cloudesley Varyl Robinson
- Royal Museums Greenwich databaseCloudesley Varyl Robinson - The Dreadnought Project Database
/ref> He died in Wandsworth in London in 1959.England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 for Cloudesley V Robinson: 1959, Q4-Oct-Nov-Dec - Ancestry.com
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Cloudesley Varyl 1883 births 1959 deaths People from Tottenham Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal Navy personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy admirals of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from London