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 Dudley Burton Napier North, (25 November 1881 – 15 May 1961) 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 who served during

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

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 ...

Naval career

North entered the

as an acting

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 high ...

, and was confirmed in that rank 15 March 1901. He was appointed to the HMS ''Charger'' on 31 December 1902, while she was serving the Devonport instructional flotilla. He became Director of Naval Operations in January 1930 and

Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Yachts The Flag Officer, Royal Yachts, (FORY) also styled Flag Officer Commanding Royal Yachts was a senior Royal Navy post that existed from 1884 to 1997. History Royal yachts have been a feature of the monarchy since at least 1660, during this perio ...

in December 1934. Chief of Staff,

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 December 1932 He was promoted vice admiral on 19 June 1936. North went on to be Flag Officer Commanding Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches in November 1939 and was promoted admiral on 8 May 1940. He was relieved of his command in December 1940 on the grounds of his failure to challenge a

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

naval squadron some three months previously. He had narrowly escaped replacement in response to his earlier objection to the

attack on Mers-el-Kébir The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir (Battle of Mers-el-Kébir) on 3 July 1940, during the Second World War, was a British naval attack on neutral French Navy ships at the naval base at Mers El Kébir, near Oran, on the coast of French Algeria. The atta ...

. He was later exonerated of blame.

Ludovic Kennedy Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy (3 November 191918 October 2009) was a Scottish journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and ...

considered the failure to challenge the squadron the fault of people in London, not North.

Personal life

North married Eglantine Campbell in September 1909 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where he was serving on . Eglantine died in 1917 of pernicious anaemia. North later married Eilean Graham in 1923 and they had four children. Their daughter Elizabeth was a novelist.

Honours and decorations

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

12 June 1947 (KCVO 1937) * Order of the Bath UK ribbon

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 ...

1935 *

Companion of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

1922 *

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

Commander of the Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

(United States) 30 April 1946

References

External links

The Papers of Admiral Sir Dudley North
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:North, Dudley Burton Napier Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 1881 births 1961 deaths Royal Navy admirals of World War II People from Great Yarmouth Deputy Lieutenants of Dorset Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun British Home Guard officers Equerries Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II Military personnel from Norfolk