Admiral Sir Percy Molyneux Rawson Royds CB CMG

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatment ...

(5 April 1874 – 25 March 1955) was a British

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

The Bridge of HMS Canterbury 1918 IWM ART 1311

Naval career

Royds was born in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, the son of Ernest Royds and the older brother of

Charles Royds Vice-Admiral Sir Charles William Rawson Royds KBE CMG ADC FRGS (1 February 1876 – 5 January 1931) was a career Royal Navy officer who later served as Assistant Commissioner "A" of the London Metropolitan Police from 1926 to 1931. In this rol ...

, also later an admiral. He was educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy in Southsea and joined HMS ''Britannia'',

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

as a Naval Cadet in 1887. He was promoted

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 ...

in 1895 and joined HMS ''Excellent'' as a

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...

nery officer. In 1899 he served in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

as the

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

of HMS ''Arethusa''. In 1904, Royds joined Devonport Barracks as a gunnery officer. In 1905 he was promoted

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. ...

at the unusually early age of thirty and joined 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 ...

HMS ''Europa''. He later transferred to another cruiser, HMS ''Argyll''. In 1908, he was appointed Superintendent of Physical Training at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. This was appropriate, since he had once played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

and 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 ...

and had appeared three times for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1910 he was elected naval representative on the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

and served for many years, latterly as a selector representing

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He also served on the committee of the

Royal Tournament The Royal Tournament was the world's largest military tattoo and pageant, held by the British Armed Forces annually between 1880 and 1999. The venue was originally the Royal Agricultural Hall and latterly the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. In its l ...

and the Olympic Council. In 1912, he was promoted

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 ...

and took a course at the

Royal Naval War College The Royal Naval War College was a training establishment for senior officers of the Royal Navy that existed from 1900 to 1914. It was based originally at Greenwich, then Plymouth, then Portsmouth, and then Greenwich again. Branch colleges were ...

in Portsmouth. The following year he took command of the light cruiser HMS ''Bellona''. He was still commanding her when 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 ...

broke out, and later transferred to the light cruiser HMS ''Canterbury'', which he commanded at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

on 31 May – 1 June 1916. For this action, he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and made a

Companion of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(CMG). On St George's day, 23 April 1918, he was present at the great naval raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend. After the war, Royds was appointed Captain-in-Charge of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. In 1920 he became the Royal Navy's first Director of Physical Training and Sports. In 1921 he was succeeded in this post by his younger brother, Captain Charles Royds, and took command of the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

HMS ''Malaya'' in the Atlantic Fleet. On 19 June 1921 he was appointed an

to the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. He only remained in command of ''Malaya'' until 22 April 1922 and was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 12 May 1922. In 1922 he was elected President of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Rugby Union. On 1 December 1923 he became Admiral-Superintendent of Chatham Dockyard. He was created a Companion of the Bath (CB) in 1924. He relinquished the appointment of Admiral-Superintendent on 7 December 1925. On 1 August 1927 he was promoted Vice-Admiral and retired the following day. In 1927 he was made president of the

. In 1932 he was promoted

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

on the retired list.

Political career

On 1 July 1937, Royds was elected at a by-election as the Conservative

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Kingston-upon-Thames in a by-election, having been president of the local Conservative and Unionist Association for several years. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

for political and public services on 1 January 1938 and retired in 1945. He also served on Surrey County Council for some years.

Family

In 1898, Royds married Florence Yarrow (died 1948). They had one son and three daughters.

References

The Times Digital Archive ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

Notes

External links

*
Photographic portraits of Royds in the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royds, Percy 1874 births 1955 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 Royal Navy admirals Members of Surrey County Council Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Bachelor People from Rochdale English rugby union players England international rugby union players English rugby union administrators Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players Royal Navy personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Royal Navy officers of World War I People educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy