Captain John Dodson Daintree,

CBE 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 o ...

(2January 186421September 1952) was a British

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 ...

officer, who served as Commissioner of Weihaiwei from 1901 to 1902, and as Inspector-General of the Coast Guard service after its formation in 1923.

Naval career

Daintree joined the Royal Navy in 1879, and was posted as a supernumerary naval cadet to , serving on the

North America station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...

. He was a

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 ...

when posted to for navigating duties in January 1886, 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 sub ...

later the same year, on 2 October 1886. The following year, he was on 13 September 1887 posted to , in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

, and a year later to in October 1888. 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 1899, he was in March 1900 transferred to the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...

, for Compass course, and the following month posted as a lieutenant for navigation to the HMS ''Amphitrite''. Flag of the Commissioner of Weihaiwei (1899-1903)

Flag of the Commissioner of Weihaiwei (1899-1903)

In 1901 he was appointed by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

as Commissioner of

Weihaiwei Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popula ...

, then under British rule. The

were responsible for Weihaiwei after it was leased in 1898, as it was envisaged that it would become a naval base similar to

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

. As such, the first Commissioners of Weihaiwei were appointed from the British Army or Navy and based themselves in Liu-kung Tao. However a survey led by the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

deemed that Weihaiwei was unsuitable for a major naval base or trading port. As a result in late 1901, responsibility was transferred from the War Office to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

, which wanted a civilian to be appointed as the Commissioner. Thus Daintree was re-assigned after only a year. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 1 January 1908, and had retired from the navy when he was re-called for service as Senior Naval Officer at Newhaven late in the First World War. Situated on the English Channel in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, Newhaven was a minor Royal Navy base during that war, serving as Portsmouth's auxiliary operational base. After the war, he served for several years as Senior-inspector of Life-Saving Apparatus under the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. On the formation of the Coast Guard Force in April 1923, he was appointed its first Inspector-general , serving as such until 1926, when he retired. He devoted the rest of his life to visiting schools all around the country to lecture on life-saving at sea and how to restore people on the verge of drowning back to life. Daintree died at

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

on 21 September 1952.

References

External links

National Portrait Gallery: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw95811/John-Dodson-Daintree?LinkID=mp77313&role=sit&rNo=0 {{DEFAULTSORT:Daintree, John Dodson 1864 births 1952 deaths Royal Navy officers Royal Navy captains