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, ...

William Oswald Story, CBE (April 1859 – 14 January 1938) was a senior Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy officer.

Biography

The son of Joseph Story, of Bingfield,

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, William Oswald Story joined the Royal Navy in 1872, joining the '' Britannia'' as a cadet. As a midshipman in HMS ''Modeste'', he took part in the

Perak Expedition The Perak War (1875–76) took place between British and local forces in Perak, a state in northwestern Malaysia. The sultan of Upper Perak and other local chiefs attempted to end foreign influence in the region and remove the British adminis ...

of 1875–76. He then took part in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 as a sub-lieutenant on the gunboat HMS ''Mosquito'' and commanded a landing party at Chalof, for which he was specially commended in despatches and specially promoted to lieutenant the same year. He again saw service in the

Suakin Expedition The Suakin Expedition was either of two British military expeditions, led by Major-General Sir Gerald Graham V.C., to Suakin in Sudan, with the intention of destroying the power of the Sudanese military commander Osman Digna and his troops during ...

of 1884, as a lieutenant on HMS ''Dryad''. Promoted to commander in 1896 and captain in 1902, Story successively commanded HMS ''Hearty'' from 1900 to 1902, HMS ''Narcissus'' from 1903 to 1905, HMS ''Grafton'' from 1905 to 1906, HMS ''Cumberland'' from 1906 to 1907, HMS ''London'' from 1907 to 1908, and HMS ''Canopus'' from 1908 to 1909. He was Rear-Admiral-in-Charge of the Eastern Coast Guard District from 1909 to 1911. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1911 and retired at his own request in 1912, settling in Guelph, Ontario. On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Story offered his services and was appointed Admiral-Superintendent, Esquimalt Dockyard, in the Royal Canadian Navy, as well as Senior Naval Officer West Coast. From 1918 to 1919, he was Admiral-Superintendent, Halifax Dockyard. He was promoted to vice-admiral on the Retired List in 1917 and admiral on the Retired List in 1919. For his service during the war, Story was appointed a CBE in 1920. He also received the French Legion of Honour, 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 ...

, and the Spanish Order of Naval Merit. In retirement, Story, the only full admiral living in Canada, eventually settled in Montreal, and was involved in various patriotic organisations until his death in 1938.

Family

Story married Olave Janet Baldwin, daughter of Captain Baldwin of Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1891; they had three sons and seven daughters.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Story, William Oswald 1859 births 1938 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy admirals British expatriates in Canada Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Legion of Honour Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War