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, ...

Crawford Maclachlan, CB (11 July 1867 – 21 April 1952) was a

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 ...

officer.

Biography

The son of George Maclachlan of Maclachlan, Crawford Maclachan was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and entered the

in 1880. He took part in the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

and was promoted to

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 sub ...

in 1890. He specialized in navigation and became known as an able navigation officer. He served in China in 1900, and later became navigation officer of HMS ''Exmouth'', the flagship of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson,

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet H, or h, is the eighth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches''), or region ...

. He commanded HMS ''Scylla'' from 1907 to 1909, being promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in 1908. Whilst in command of ''Scylla'', his skiff capsized off St Johns, Antigua; he managed to righting her and, with water up to his waist, drifted for two days, on one occasion being washed overboard and attacked by sharks, before being found and rescued. In June 1909, he was appointed to the command of HMS ''Andromeda'', and in September 1909 he was given command of HMS ''Hibernia'', which he held until October 1910. In 1910, he served on an Admiralty committee appointed to consider the question of the berthing accommodation for His Majesty's ships in the dockyards and other waters. He was captain of HMS ''Lion'' from September to November 1911, of HMS ''Indomitable'' from November 1911 to February 1912, and of HMS ''Sirius'' from February 1912 to 1913, recommissioning her for service in the Atlantic. In June 1914, he was given command of the battleship HMS ''King Edward VII'', the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Bradford. He was in command when she was sunk by a German mine on 6 January 1916. All of the crew bar one man were saved. Maclachlan was the last to leave the ship, boarding the destroyer ''Nessus'' at 16:10. He was then given command of HMS ''Royal Oak'' the same month, and commanded her 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 ...

in 1916. After the battle, he acted as flag captain to Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cecil Burney, who had transferred his flag from HMS ''Marlborough'' until she was repaired. He was appointed a CB in June 1918. Relinquishing command of ''Royal Oak'' in January 1919, he 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 regarded ...

in February 1920 and appointed Rear-Admiral, Reserve Fleet, Rosyth. In October 1921, he was appointed Rear-Admiral and Senior Naval Officer, Yangtze. He relinquished the appointment in 1923, was promoted to vice-admiral in 1925, and was placed on the retired list in 1926. He was promoted to

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, ...

on the retired list in 1930.

References

External links

* {{NPG name, 142500, Crawford Maclachlan 1867 births 1952 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy officers of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War