Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Henry Fitzhardinge Heaton-Ellis,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

, CB, MVO (19 November 1868 – 23 February 1943) was a British Royal Navy officer.

Naval career

Heaton-Ellis was born in Wyddial,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, to Edward Henry Brabazon Heaton-Ellis and Louisa Harriott Kingscote (20 July 1839 – 17 October 1874). He joined HMS ''Britannia'' as a Naval Cadet in 1882. In 1884 he was promoted

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 ...

and joined the composite screw

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

HMS ''Opal'' on the

Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. The ...

. He was commissioned

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 1889 and promoted Lieutenant in 1892. In 1897 he took command of HMS ''Hardy'', one of the first

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s, at Portsmouth. Five years later, he was on 1 July 1902 posted as first lieutenant on the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS ''Resolution'', serving in the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

. He was promoted to

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. ...

on 31 December 1902. In 1905 he took command of the scout cruiser HMS ''Sentinel'' in the Mediterranean. While there he escorted HMY ''Victoria and Albert'' during King Edward VII's visit to Malta and was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO). In 1907 he was appointed naval attaché in Paris, and later served in the same capacity in Madrid,

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and Brussels until 1911. He was promoted

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. In February 1914 he became assistant director of the Naval Intelligence Division at the Admiralty in London. In April 1915 he took command of the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

HMS ''Inflexible''. 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 the

3rd Battlecruiser Squadron The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was a short-lived Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War. Creation The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was created in 1915, with the return to home ...

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

, HMS ''Invincible'', was hit and blew up, but Heaton-Ellis led the squadron forwards past the wreck of the flagship so brazenly that the Germans thought the ''Inflexible'' must be the leading ship of the British battle fleet and swerved away. For these services he was appointed

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 ...

(CB). In November 1916, Heaton-Ellis was appointed

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

to Rear-Admiral Sir William Pakenham, commanding the

Battlecruiser Squadron The Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service from 1919 to the early part of the Second World War. Its best-known constituent ship was HMS ''Hood'', "The Mighty Hood", which was lost in the Battle of t ...

, in HMS ''Lion''. In August 1917 he was appointed Naval Liaison Officer in Paris with the rank of Commodore. He was promoted Rear-Admiral in October 1919 and retired a few months later, although he was promoted Vice-Admiral on the retired list in 1925. Heaton-Ellis was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1919 and

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE) in the 1920 New Year Honours. He was president of the

Navigators' and Engineer Officers' Union {{Infobox union , name = Merchant Navy and Airline Officers' Association , image = , founded = 1956 , predecessor = , successor = , dissolved = 1985 , merged = National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipp ...

from 1937 and superintendent of the Watts Naval School in Norfolk from 1939 to 1941. Both of his sons were killed in the First World War.

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, '' The Times'', 25 February 1943 *'' Who Was Who'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Heaton-Ellis, Edward 1868 births 1943 deaths People from East Hertfordshire District Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy officers of World War I Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Members of the Royal Victorian Order British trade union leaders