Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Lumley St George Lyster, (27 April 1888 – 4 August 1957)Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945
/ref> 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 F ...

officer during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Naval career

After leaving

Berkhamsted School Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral ...

, in 1902 Lyster joined HMS ''Britannia'' to train for a naval career. In July 1909 he was posted to and later to ''Grafton''. From 1912 he specialized in gunnery, training at , the gunnery school at Portsmouth, and saw active service in 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 ...

, his ship fighting at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

in 1915.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> Lyster was appointed a Naval Member of the Ordnance Committee in 1929 and given command of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

in 1932. He went on to command the 5th Destroyer Flotilla in 1933 and the Royal Navy Gunnery School at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

in 1935 before becoming director of training and staff duties at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

in 1936. He was given command of the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

in 1937 and was made Aide-de-camp to the King in 1939. In the

Lyster was initially rear-admiral in charge of HM Dockyard Scapa Flow and then from 1940 saw further active service as rear-admiral in charge of the Aircraft Carriers in the Mediterranean Fleet. He is notable for drawing up the attack plan for the

Battle of Taranto The Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11–12 November 1940 during the Second World War between British naval forces, under Admiral Andrew Cunningham, and Italian naval forces, under Admiral Inigo Campioni. The Royal Navy launched ...

, beginning in 1935 on the instructions of Admiral

Sir Dudley Pound Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound, (29 August 1877 – 21 October 1943) was a British senior officer of the Royal Navy. He served in the First World War as a battleship commander, taking part in the Battle of Jutland ...

, and for putting it into execution in November 1940.Stephen, Martin. ''Sea Battles in Close-up: World War 2'' (Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan, 1988), p. 34. In 1941 he was appointed as Fifth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Air Services and Commander of the Aircraft Carriers in the Home Fleet, with his flag in , and in 1942 he commanded air operations during Operation Pedestal, for which he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

. His last appointment was as Flag Officer, Carrier Training, in 1943 before he retired in 1945.

Notes

External links

HMS Speaker page which lists Lumley at Page 6

Navy page on Battle of Taranto which lists him
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyster, Lumley Royal Navy vice admirals Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy admirals of World War II Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order 1888 births 1957 deaths Admiralty personnel of World War II People educated at Berkhamsted School Military personnel from Warwickshire