Edward Arthur Aylmer (20 March 1892 – 30 October 1974) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

first-class cricketer and

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. He served in the Royal Navy from 1911–1945, seeing action in both 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 ...

and the

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 ...

. Reaching 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 ...

, he commanded several ships and establishments during his career. He also played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for the

Royal Navy Cricket Club The Royal Navy Cricket Club is a cricket team representing the British Royal Navy and based at the United Services Recreation Ground, Portsmouth, Hampshire. The club was formed in 1863, although cricket is recorded as having been played by seamen ...

Life and naval career

Alymer was born at Falmouth to Frederick Arthur Aylmer and his wife, Constance Isabella Grenfell. He entered the Royal Navy Training Establishment in January 1905, graduating in January 1911 when he was posted to as 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 ...

. Having been made 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 ...

in September 1912, he was promoted to the full rank in May 1913. He served with the Royal Navy during the

, with promotion to the rank of

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 December 1914. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

in June 1917. He made a single appearance in

for the

against

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchar ...

in 1920. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed by

Charles Marriott Charles Stowell "Father" Marriott (14 September 1895 – 13 October 1966) was an English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Lancashire, Cambridge University and Kent. Marriott played between 1919 and 1938 and was considered one of th ...

for 10 runs in the Royal Navy first-innings, while in their second-innings he was unbeaten on 10. He took a single wicket in the Cambridge University first-innings, when he dismissed

Jack MacBryan John Crawford William MacBryan (22 July 1892 – 14 July 1983) was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University and Somerset and made one almost imperceptible appearance in a Test match for England. MacBryan was also a field hoc ...

to finish with innings figures of 1 for 19, though he went wicketless in their second-innings. He was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in December 1922, and was given his first command when he was placed in command of the submarine . He was placed in command of in June 1924, a post he held until May 1926. He was promoted to the rank of

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. ...

in June 1927. Between 1926 and 1929, Aylmer commanded and , before commanding the minesweeper from 1930 to 1932, during which the ship was present at the sinking of .

Later naval career and life

From 1933 to 1935, he was the commanding officer aboard and commanded the

6th Submarine Flotilla 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. He was promoted to the rank of

in June 1935. He was present at the Royal Naval College from March–July 1936, before commanding , and the

1st Submarine Flotilla The 1st Submarine Flotilla ( sv, Första ubåtsflottiljen, 1. ubflj) is a unit of the Swedish Fleet which has operated in various forms since 1904. Its unit staff is located at Karlskrona naval base, Blekinge in Karlskrona Garrison. History The ...

from July 1936 to June 1938. He captained from June–September 1939, before becoming the commanding officer of from December 1939 to August 1940. From August 1940 to February 1942, he commanded . While commanding HMS ''Newcastle'' he escorted

George II of Greece George II ( el, Γεώργιος Βʹ, ''Geórgios II''; 19 July Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S.:_7_July.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O.S.:_7_July">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="nowiki/ ...

to exile in Britain. 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 January 1942, and was made a recipient of the

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I ( el, Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is a Greek order instituted by King Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek r ...

for his role in escorting George II to exile. From April 1942 to August 1943, he was the commanding officer of the Royal Naval College, Eaton. He served as the naval '' aide-de-camp'' to

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

from January–July 1944, while also serving as the naval officer in charge of in the

Colony of Aden Aden Colony ( ar, مستعمرة عدن, ), also the Colony of Aden, was a British Crown colony from 1937 to 1963 located in the south of contemporary Yemen. It consisted of the port of Aden and its immediate surroundings (an area of ). Pr ...

. He retired from active service soon after. He died in October 1974 at Askerwell, Dorset. His wife, Gladwys Phoebe Evans, predeceased him by six years. Their only son,

Gerald Aylmer Gerald Edward Aylmer, (30 April 1926, Greete, Shropshire – 17 December 2000, Oxford) was an English historian of 17th century England. Gerald Aylmer was the only child of Edward Arthur Aylmer, from an Anglo-Irish naval family, and Phoebe ...

, was a historian of 17th century England.

References

External links

*
Royal Navy Officers 1939−1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aylmer, Edward 1892 births 1974 deaths People from Falmouth, Cornwall Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) English cricketers Royal Navy cricketers Royal Navy officers of World War II Recipients of the Order of George I Military personnel from Cornwall Cricketers from Cornwall