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 ...

Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith, (1 April 1883 – 29 June 1965) 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 Fr ...

officer and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. He was born Martin Eric Nasmith, adding "Dunbar" to his surname in 1923.

Early life and education

Nasmith was born on 1 April 1883 at 136 Castelnau in Barnes, which was then in the county of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

and is now in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the Londo ...

Early career

Educated at

Eastman's Royal Naval Academy Eastman's Royal Naval Academy, originally in Southsea and later at Winchester, both in England, was a preparatory school. Between 1855 and 1923 it was known primarily as a school that prepared boys for entry to the Royal Navy. Thereafter, it was ...

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and HMS ''Britannia'' at Dartmouth, Nasmith joined the Royal Navy in 1898.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> On 8 May 1912,

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

was in HMY ''Victoria and Albert'' in Weymouth Bay to witness Fleet manoeuvres. Because of heavy fog, the programme was disrupted, and the King expressed the desire to dive in a submarine. He embarked on HM Submarine ''D4'', under then

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 ...

Nasmith's command, and (in the words of ''

The Times ''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'' ( ...

'' of 10 May) "made a lengthy run in her when she was submerged." What made the occasion all the more remarkable was the presence on board of his second son, Prince Albert, who was to become

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

, of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

(

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

and future

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

), and of then Captain

Roger Keyes Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes, (4 October 1872 – 26 December 1945) was a British naval officer. As a junior officer he served in a corvette operating from Zanzibar on slavery suppression missions. Ea ...

, Inspecting Captain of Submarines, who was to become the first Director of Combined Operations (the

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) in the early part of the Second World War. A former prime minister,

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...

, was also embarked, but the then prime minister,

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

, who had been with the King's party earlier in the day, had had to return to London on urgent business and did not dive in ''D4''. Nasmith's diary records that: "We remained under water for ten to 15 minutes, during which time he showed great interest in the proceedings, periscope in particular." A ''

Navy News ''Navy News'' is the official newspaper of the British Royal Navy, produced by a small team of editorial and support staff and published by the Ministry of Defence on a monthly basis. The content of the newspaper is varied, ranging from informati ...

'' article from July 2012 by

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. ...

William Corbett (at whose parents' wedding Nasmith had proposed the toast to the health of the bride and groom), records that Nasmith often wondered what would have happened to the course of 20th century history had he sunk that day, a not unreasonable thought, given that he had very nearly sunk in the Solent in 1905 whilst in command of HM Submarine ''A4''.

First World War

Dunbar-Nasmith was 32 years old, and a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

during the First World War, when the following actions took place for which he was awarded the VC. Nasmith conducted combat operations in the Sea of Marmara for a three-month period. When his torpedoes ran low, he set them to float at the end of their run, so that he could recover them should they fail to hit a target. At one point, he captured a sailing

dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...

, and lashed it to the conning tower of ''E11'' as camouflage, and went on to capture an ammunition ship using small arms. His penetration of the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...

was the first time an enemy ship had done so in over 500 years. He also attacked a railway viaduct. Nasmith's

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 ...

, Guy D'Oyly-Hughes, and second lieutenant, Robert Brown, were awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

, and all the rest of the crew were awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

. Nasmith 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. ...

immediately and to

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 ...

a year later.

Later naval career

Later in the war, Nasmith was in charge of the Seventh Submarine Flotilla in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

and Senior Naval Officer at Reval (later

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

), and was appointed CB in 1920 for that service. He was captain of from 1921 to 1923. He was appointed

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1926 and then became Rear Admiral Submarines in 1929. He became Commander-in-Chief, East Indies in 1932 and Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel in 1935. He was

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 ...

from 1938 and then Commander-in-Chief of Plymouth and Western Approaches Command from the outbreak of war in September 1939. He served as Flag Officer-in-Charge,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from 1942 and retired in 1946. Before retiring in 1946 Nasmith moved to Rothes living out the remainder of his days in the town. In retirement he became Vice Chairman of the Imperial War Graves Commission. He was also appointed Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom, a ceremonial position. He died in Rothes in 1965, aged 83.

Family

In 1920 he married Beatrix Justina Dunbar-Dunbar-Rivers; they had two sons (Rear-Admiral

David Dunbar-Nasmith Rear Admiral David Arthur Dunbar-Nasmith (21 February 1921 – 15 September 1997) was a former Royal Navy officer who became Naval Secretary. Naval career Born the son of Admiral Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, Dunbar-Nasmith joined the Royal Navy as a ...

and the architect Professor Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith) and a daughter.

Legacy

On 11 April 2015, a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

was unveiled at his birthplace in Barnes. On 25 June 2015, the Rothes community hosted a ceremony for the unveiling of a commemorative Victoria Cross paving stone at Rothes's war memorial.

References

Sources

External links

Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945
''(Grampian)''
NASMITH, Admiral Sir Martin (Eric) Dunbar-
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar-Nasmith, Martin 1883 births 1965 deaths British Gallipoli campaign recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy admirals of World War II Royal Navy submarine commanders Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Lords of the Admiralty Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Barnes, London Royal Navy officers of World War I Deputy Lieutenants of Moray Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) People educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy Military personnel from Surrey