Admiral Sir Eric John Arthur Fullerton, KCB, DSO (1878 – 9 November 1962) 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 ...

officer.

Naval career

Fullerton was the second son of Admiral Sir John Fullerton and entered the Royal Navy himself in 1892 as a cadet in HMS ''Britannia''. He was promoted sub-lieutenant in 1899 and

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 ...

in 1900. He specialised as a

physical training instructor Physical training instructor (PTI) is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness. United Kingdom In the British Army, specialist Ph ...

in early 1903, then joined the new

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

as Inspector of Gymnasia. In 1905 he joined the battleship HMS ''Renown'' and in January 1907 transferred to HMS ''Queen'', flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. In October 1908 he joined the royal yacht, HMY ''Victoria and Albert'', and was promoted commander in 1910. In 1911 he was appointed executive officer of the battleship in the Mediterranean, and the following year rejoined Osborne.Obituary, ''

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'', 12 November 1962 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 he was given command of the

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HMS ''Mersey'', which was used for operations off the

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coast, and also commanded the

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consisting of ''Mersey'' and its two sister ships, HMS ''Humber'' and HMS ''Severn''.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He later transferred his command to HMS ''Severn''. In 1915, after he had been promoted captain, his ships completed the destruction of the German cruiser SMS ''Königsberg'' in the Rufiji River in German East Africa. For this action 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, ty ...

(DSO). In 1916 he took command of the battleship HMS ''Orion'' in the

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, remaining in command for the remainder of the war. In 1918 he was appointed officer-in-charge of the naval officers taking courses at the

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. He was appointed Companion of the

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(CB) in the 1920 New Year Honours. In August 1921 he returned to sea as

Captain of the Fleet In the Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command. The equivalent post was called fleet captain in the U.S. Navy of the 18th and 19th ...

of the Atlantic Fleet to Admiral Sir Charles Madden and in 1923 he was appointed

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

of the Naval Barracks at Chatham. In May 1926 he was promoted

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

at the relatively early age of 48. In April 1927 he was appointed

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and in December 1929 he became Commander-in-Chief of the

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. He was promoted vice-admiral in 1930. In 1932 he became

Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this offic ...

. He held the post until 1935, in which year he was promoted Admiral, and retired in 1936, although he served with the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

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 opposi ...

. He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

(KCB) in 1934.

Family

Fullerton married Dorothy Sybil Fisher, daughter of John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, in 1908.

References

External links

Royal Navy Officers 1939−1945
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fullerton, Eric 1878 births 1962 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Navy officers of World War I People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne People from Hamble-le-Rice Military personnel from Hampshire Royal Naval Reserve personnel