Admiral Sir Herbert Goodenough King-Hall, (15 March 1862 – 20 October 1936) 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 ...

officer who went on to be

Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station The Commander-in-Chief, Africa was the last title of a Royal Navy's formation commander located in South Africa from 1795 to 1939. Under varying titles, it was one of the longest-lived formations of the Royal Navy. It was also often known as the C ...

Naval career

Born the son of Admiral Sir

William King-Hall Admiral Sir William King-Hall, (11 March 1816 – 29 July 1886) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore from 1877 to 1879. Naval career King-Hall joined the Royal Navy in 1829, and took part in operations off the ...

, Herbert King-Hall joined the

in 1875. He fought 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 ...

in 1882, and later commanded the special service vessel '' HMS Hearty''. Promoted to Captain in 1900, he took part in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

and was mentioned in despatches. After the war ended in June 1902, King-Hall stayed in South Africa as Principal Transport Officer at

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He was appointed in command of HMS ''Endymion'' in 1903. King-Hall was appointed assistant director of

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

in 1905 and was given command of HMS ''Indomitable'' in 1908. Promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1909, he became Second-in-Command of the 2nd Battle Squadron before being appointed

in 1913 and serving in that role 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 ...

. He led the operation to successfully destroy and then sink SMS ''Königsberg'' on the Rufiji River in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

in July 1915. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in the

1916 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1916 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were announced on 1 January 1916. A number of the honours were gazetted as being ...

. His last appointment was as

Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands The Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. He was charged with the administration of the Orkney and Shetland Islands and operating and defending the fleet base at Scapa Flow that was the main a ...

in 1918.

Family

In 1905 he married Lady Mabel Emily Murray, daughter of Viscount Stormont (son of

William Murray, 4th Earl of Mansfield William David Murray, 4th Earl of Mansfield, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, KT, DL (21 February 1806 – 1 August 1898) was a British Conservative politician. The son of David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, and Frederica Markham, daughter of ...

). His older brother was Admiral Sir George King-Hall, his nephew the naval officer, writer, politician and playwright Stephen King-Hall, his niece the novelist, journalist and children's fiction writer Magdalen King-Hall.King-Hall, Stephen. ''My Naval Life''. Faber & Faber, 1952, p 15ff.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:King-Hall, Herbert 1862 births 1936 deaths Royal Navy admirals of World War I Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People educated at Stubbington House School