Vice-Admiral Thomas Erskine Wardle, (9 January 1877 – 9 May 1944) was a senior officer 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 ...

. He was the Rear-Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Australian Fleet from 30 April 1924 to 30 April 1926.The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) – Tuesday 22 April 1924. p10.

Early life

Wardle was born on 9 January 1877 in the village of

Winshill Winshill is an area to the east of the town of Burton upon Trent, in the borough of East Staffordshire, England. Flanked to the north and east by the South Derbyshire border, historically the parish of Winshill had always been part of Derbyshir ...

near

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

. the son of

Henry Wardle Henry Wardle (1832 – 16 February 1892) was a British brewer and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892. Wardle was born at Twyford, Berkshire, the son of Francis Wardle and his wife Elizabeth Billinge. In 1853 at ...

then a Member of Parliament for Burton on Trent.

Naval career

Wardle joined the Royal Navy on 15 July 1890 when he entered the training ship HMS ''Britannia'', and during his career served at every Royal Navy station. He was appointed

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

on 15 July 1892 and

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 ...

on 15 January 1896 before being 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 ...

on 15 January 1897. He was awarded the Japanese

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

for services in the Far East. He was 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 1907. 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 with the

10th Cruiser Squadron The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946. First formation The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the T ...

under Vice Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair. Promoted to captain in June 1915 and later given command of the armed merchantman HMS ''Alcantara'', he was in command during the action with the German raider SMS ''Greif'' in the

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

. On 29 February 1916, ''Alcantara'' with HMS ''Andes'', came upon the ''Greif'', which appeared to be an unarmed merchant vessel. While a boarding party was leaving the ''Alcantara'' to board ''Greif'' the German vessel dropped her bulwarks and opened fire on the ''Alcantara''. In the ensuing encounter which followed, ''Alcantara'' and ''Greif'' were sunk. He spent 20 minutes in the water before being rescued. For his gallantry in this fight he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

. He later was in command of HMS ''Danae'' and after the end of the First World War he served as chief of the British mission in Greece and later as part of the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

at the

Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

, in command of HMS ''Calliope''. He became Rear-Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Australian Fleet from 30 April 1924 until 30 April 1926. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

on 5 June 1926. He retired at his own request on 9 July 1926, and was advanced to vice admiral.

Family life

Wardle married Gwendolyne Gladys Marguerite Baird in 1902 in Glasgow, they had two children. They were divorced in 1910 Wardle died on 9 May 1944 at Coniston, Caledon Road, Beaconsfield.

Notes

References

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) – Tuesday 22 April 1924. p10.The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) – Friday 4 January 1924. p7.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardle, Thomas Erskine 1877 births 1944 deaths Military personnel from Staffordshire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath People from Burton upon Trent Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy officers of World War I