Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Hubert Edward Dannreuther, DSO (12 December 1880 – 12 August 1977) was a British admiral and one of six survivors of the sinking of HMS ''Invincible'' during the battle of Jutland.

Early life

Hubert Dannreuther was born the son of the German pianist

Edward Dannreuther Edward George Dannreuther (4 November 1844, Strasbourg – 12 February 1905, Hastings) was a German pianist and writer on music, resident from 1863 in England. His father had crossed the Atlantic, moving to Cincinnati, and there established a pia ...

and Chariclea Anthea Euterpe (Ionides) Dannreuther (1844–1923). He was a godson of Richard Wagner. His eldest brother Tristan Dannreuther (1872–1963) also served as an officer in the Royal Navy, and was an Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence after WWI. He joined HMS ''Britannia'' as a naval cadet in 1895. After being made chief naval cadet in 1896 he was sent to the Australia station as a midshipsman on board HMS ''Flora''. In Australia he served on HMS ''Orlando'' and HMS ''Royal Arthur'', and was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 October 1900. He served on HMS ''Doris'' in the Channel Fleet from late Spring 1902, and was promoted to

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 ...

on 15 October 1902. He was from 1911 to 1912 gunnery officer on board HMS ''Exmouth'' in the Mediterranean Fleet.

First World War

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 ...

he served as gunnery officer of HMS ''Invincible'' during the Battle of Heligoland Bight and 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 ...

. For this he was mentioned in dispatches and promoted to commander. At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, HMS ''Invincible'' was the flagship of the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron. She was hit in her "Q" turret by a salvo from SMS ''Derfflinger'', which blew the roof off the turret over the side. It was either this shell hit which caused a flash down the magazine or a second shell in the same salvo that penetrated the armour and exploded in the magazine, causing a massive explosion. The ship broke in two and sank with the loss of all but six of her crew of 1,021. Dannreuther was amongst those few rescued. After 20 minutes in the freezing waters of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

, Dannreuther was rescued by the destroyer HMS ''Badger''. For his service at Jutland he was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the DSO and the Russian

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

, 3rd Class, with Swords. Upon his return to Britain he was awarded the privilege of an audience at Buckingham Palace with

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and Queen Mary. From 1916 to 1918 Dannreuther served as commander on . In 1917 he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with palms.

Later life

From 1919 to 1920, Dannreuther served on HMS ''Excellent''. Promoted to captain in 1920, he was made Vice-President of the Chemical warfare Committee from 1920 to 1923. From 1924 to 1926, he commanded the cruiser HMS ''Dauntless''. From 1927 to 1929, Dannreuther served as Superintendent of Training of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

while simultaneously commanding the

Flinders Naval Depot HMAS ''Cerberus'' is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base that serves as the primary training establishment for RAN personnel. The base is located adjacent to Crib Point on the Mornington Peninsula, south of the Melbourne City Centre, Victor ...

. Dannreuther commanded the aircraft carrier HMS ''Eagle'' from 1929 to 1930. Promoted to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

, from 1931 to 1932, he commanded the Royal Naval Barracks in Portsmouth and he was appointed Naval Aide-de Camp to the King from 23 September 1932 onwards. In 1932, he was promoted to Rear-Admiral and placed on the retired list. In 1939 he held the position of Assistant Director General, Control Division, Ministry of Information. He married Janie Hay Thorborn in 1916 and they had three children, Hubert Harold (b. 1917), Ion Alexander (b. 1920) and Raymond Portal (b. 1923); Hubert and Raymond were both Captains in the Royal Navy, Hubert serving on HMS ''Cossack'' during the "''Altmark'' incident". He died on 12 August 1977 in Leamington Spa.

References

Royal Navy Officers 20th Century (non-World War II)

External links

Imperial War Museum interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dannreuther, Herbert Edward 1880 births 1977 deaths Royal Navy rear admirals Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Royal Navy officers of World War I English people of German descent Civil servants in the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class People educated at Stubbington House School English people of Greek descent