Rear Admiral

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Edward Barry Stewart Bingham VC, OBE (26 July 1881 – 24 September 1939) served in the

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 ...

during 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 was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his actions in engaging the German fleet during the Battle of Jutland.

Military career

The third son of Lord Clanmorris, Edward Bingham was born in

Bangor Castle Bangor Castle is a country house situated in Castle Park in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. The building, which is also referred to as Bangor Town Hall and is now used as the offices of Ards and North Down Borough Council, is a Grade A li ...

, County Down,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Educated at Arnold House and in HMS ''Britannia'', he entered the Royal Navy in 1895 as an acting sub-lieutenant. He was confirmed as a sub-lieutenant 15 March 1901. At the beginning of the First World War, he was appointed Commander (Executive Officer) of , which saw action at the

Battle of the Falkland Islands The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a First World War naval action between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 in the South Atlantic. The British, after their defeat at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, s ...

in December 1914. On 31 May 1916, during the Battle of Jutland off

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, Commander Bingham was in command of a destroyer division. He led his division in their attack, first on enemy destroyers and then on the battle cruisers of the German

High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet (''Hochseeflotte'') was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet (''Heimatflotte'') was renamed as the High Seas ...

. Once the enemy was sighted Bingham ordered his own destroyer, , and the one remaining destroyer of his division, , to close to within 2,750 meters of the opposing battle fleet so that he could bring his

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es to bear. While making this attack ''Nestor'' and ''Nicator'' were under concentrated fire of the secondary batteries of the German fleet and ''Nestor'' was subsequently sunk. For his actions, Bingham earned the

, one of relatively few awarded for naval bravery during

World War I 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 ...

. Bingham was picked up by the Germans at Jutland, and remained a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

(latterly at

Holzminden Holzminden (; nds, Holtsminne) is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden. It is located on the river Weser, which at this point forms the border with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Histor ...

) until the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

. After the war, he remained with the Royal Navy and retired as a Rear Admiral in 1932. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Bingham died in 1939 and is buried in the

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

cemetery in northwest

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Family

In 1915, Bingham married Vera Patterson; they had a son and a daughter. The marriage was dissolved in 1937.

Victoria Cross medal

Bingham's Victoria Cross was

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ed by

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in 1983 and was purchased by the North Down Borough Council, County Down, who outbid a Canadian millionaire. It is on display at the North Downs Museum in

. Bingham's Victoria Cross and his Order of St Stanislaus medal were both stolen by an opportunist thief in the mid 1990s. He was quickly caught and when the items were valued with help from the Imperial War Museum, at tens of thousands of pounds. The thief was charged with a major theft. U-19 gun Ward Park Bangor inscription geograph

U-19 gun Ward Park Bangor inscription geograph

References

* ''

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fo ...

'' (1981, 1988 and 1997) * * ''

Ireland's VCs List of Irish Victoria Cross recipients lists all recipients of the Victoria Cross (post-nominal letters "VC") born on the island of Ireland, together with the date and place of their VC action. The Victoria Cross is the highest war honour of ...

'' (Dept of Economic Development, 1995) * ''

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 3 ...

'' (David Harvey, 1999) * ''

Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross List of Irish Victoria Cross recipients lists all recipients of the Victoria Cross (post-nominal letters "VC") born on the island of Ireland, together with the date and place of their VC action. The Victoria Cross is the highest war honour of ...

'' (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)

External links

*
Location of grave and VC medal
''(Golders Green)''
Commander Bingham's action at the Battle of Jutland
''Imperial War Museums'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bingham, Edward 1881 births 1939 deaths Irish sailors in the Royal Navy Anglicans from Northern Ireland 20th-century Anglo-Irish people Royal Navy rear admirals Irish World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Officers of the Order of the British Empire British World War I prisoners of war Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross World War I prisoners of war held by Germany Royal Navy officers of World War I People from Bangor, County Down Younger sons of barons People educated at Arnold House School Military personnel from County Down