Admiral 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 ...

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 previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth 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 Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

, which was then in the county of Surrey and is now in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

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 ...

in Winchester 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 ''

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'' 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, 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 i ...

), 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

Commandos Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

) 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 f ...

, 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 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

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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) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

, 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 immediately and to captain a year later.

Later naval career

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

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and Senior Naval Officer at Reval (later

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), 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

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, in 1926 and then became

Rear Admiral Submarines Commodore Submarine Service is a post in the Royal Navy which involves command of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. It evolved from the post of Inspecting Captain of Submarines in 1901 and would later evolve to become the post of Flag Officer Su ...

in 1929. He became

Commander-in-Chief, East Indies The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

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 Rothes (; gd, Ràthais) is a town in Moray, Scotland, on the banks of the River Spey, south of Elgin. The town had a population of 1,252 at the 2011 Census. A settlement has been here since AD 600. History and castle At the south end of the ...

living out the remainder of his days in the town. In retirement he became Vice Chairman of the

Imperial War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

. He was also appointed

Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom The Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom is an honorary office generally held by a senior Royal Navy admiral. The title holder is the official deputy to the Lord High Admiral, an honorary (although once operational) office which was vested in th ...

, 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 Sir James Duncan Dunbar-Nasmith (born 15 March 1927) is a British conservation architect. He was born in Devon,''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007'' the son of Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, (1883–1965) and Be ...

) and a daughter.

Legacy

On 11 April 2015, a blue plaque 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