Vice-Admiral Vincent Barkly Molteno (30 April 1872 – 12 November 1952) was a Royal Navy officer during World War I. He fought and distinguished himself in 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 ...

in April 1916, commanding from the

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

. He was subsequently awarded the Russian Order of St. Anna for bravery, and 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 ...

and Aide-de-camp to the King.

Early life

Molteno was born in Cape Town, then part of the Cape Colony, into a large family of Italian origin. He was the son of

Sir John Charles Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno (5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886) was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Early life Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molten ...

, who at the time was Prime Minister of the Cape, and many of his

relatives Relatives can refer to: * Kinship * ''Relatives'' (1985 film), a 1985 Australian movie * ''Relatives'' (2006 film), a 2006 Hungarian movie * "Relatives", a song by Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין ...

held positions of influence in business and government. Vincent Molteno had little interest in business though. His father died when he was 14 years old; he left the colony to enter the Royal Navy as a cadet. Soon after joining the Navy, he was discovered to be a lethally accurate shot, was selected for special training, and quickly distinguished as a gun specialist. In 1893 he was sent to take part in the Vitu Expedition to Zanzibar as a lieutenant to crush the slave trade, and was awarded the ''General African Medal''. His extraordinary effectiveness on this mission was repeatedly reported in despatches, and led to his being 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. ...

World War I

He commanded several warships in World War I, including HMS ''Revenge'', '' Antrim'', '' King George V'', '' Shannon'', ''

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

'', and ''

Bellerophon Bellerophon (; Ancient Greek: Βελλεροφῶν) or Bellerophontes (), born as Hipponous, was a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his ...

''. It was from ''Revenge'' (also after she was renamed HMS ''Redoubtable'') that he successfully led the bombardment of German bases along the Flanders coast. He also served as Flag-Captain of the 2nd Battle Squadron and the 3rd Cruiser Squadron. Molteno fought at the

, the largest naval engagement of the First World War, commanding from the

HMS ''Warrior''. HMS ''Warrior'' was part of the ill-fated ''First Cruiser Squadron'', which was deployed as a vanguard several miles ahead of the main British fleet. When contact was first made with the German High Seas Fleet, Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot boldly but unwisely ordered the First Cruiser Squadron to engage, and the small squadron thus found itself facing the combined firepower of the German dreadnoughts. The last two ships of the squadron were unable to join up with the admiral and avoided the HSF. HMS Duke of Edinburgh survived the battle but HMS Black Prince was destroyed by German Dreadnoughts during the night action. . (Admiral Arbuthnot himself died when his ship was obliterated with all 903 hands, within minutes of the engagement beginning.) HMS ''Warrior'' fought on, exchanging fire with the combined line of German dreadnoughts for a considerable time. While able to manoeuvre somewhat to minimise the damage, ''Warrior'' was nevertheless taking hits from and shells, and beginning to suffer large fires and massive carnage on deck. With casualties mounting and signs of flooding, Molteno manoeuvred ''Warrior'' out of harm's way as the beleaguered HMS ''Warspite'' unintentionally drew the enemy fire. Once out of danger, Molteno had the heavily damaged ship taken in tow, and the crew were safely landed (08:25, 1 June) before the ship was finally discarded and allowed to sink the next day. He was awarded the Order of St. Anna with Swords for his exceptional performance at the battle. A newspaper from the time reports, Molteno then led attacks on German forces that were covering convoys in the North Sea, commanding from HMS ''Shannon'', and when hostilities ended he was appointed aide-de-camp to the King and was appointed

. He retired in 1921 as rear-admiral but was promoted to vice-admiral in 1926 while on the retired list. He died on 12 November 1952 aged 80.

Family life

Molteno married Ethel Manwaring Robertson in 1915, and they had one daughter Viola born in 1917. Ethel had been married twice before, firstly to George Batley in 1895 and then James Swanston in 1901.

Early life

World War I

Family life

References

Further reading