Commodore James Dalgleish (18911964) served as the Chief of the

Seaward Defence Force Seaward may refer to: People: *Carolyn Seaward (born 1960), former beauty queen who appeared in the 1983 Bond film ''Octopussy'' *John Seaward (1786–1858), British civil engineer and mechanical engineer * Kevin Seaward (born 1983), Northern Iris ...

, which later became the South African Navy.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 8 July 1891, the eldest son of John Dalgleish and his wife Jessie Morrie.

Naval career

He joined the Merchant Navy at age 16 and 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 F ...

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 ...

. After demobilisation he served as a navigation officer on a survey vessel before being transferred to the hydrographic section of the South African Naval Service. He later commanded the until it was decommissioned in 1933. He became director of the

on 28 March 1941 after the death of Rear Admiral

Guy Hallifax Rear-Admiral Guy Waterhouse Hallifax (21 June 188428 March 1941) was a South African military commander, who was recruited by the South African government to organise a navy. Naval career Hallifax joined HMS ''Britannia'' in 1899 and serve ...

and was promoted to the rank of captain. He was promoted to acting commodore on 1 May 1946 and confirmed in that rank on 1 August 1946. He retired on 30 November 1946. He died on 30 May 1964, and is buried with his parents in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

in north Edinburgh. The grave lies in the modern sections to the north.

Awards and decorations

References

1891 births 1964 deaths Chiefs of the South African Navy Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British expatriates in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub