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 ...

Sir Murray Fraser Sueter (6 September 1872 – 3 February 1960) was a Royal Naval officer who was noted as a pioneer of

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

and later became a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP).

Naval career

Sueter was born in

Alverstoke Alverstoke is a small settlement which forms part of the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It stretches east–west from Fort Blockhouse, Haslar to Browndown Battery, and is centred east of the shore of Stokes Bay and ...

. Coming from a naval background, he entered the

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 ...

as a cadet on ''Britannia'' in 1886 before serving as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

with HMS ''Swiftsure''. In 1894 he was promoted to

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 ...

and in 1896 he was posted to HMS ''Vernon'' to become a specialist in

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

warfare, afterwards serving on the staff. In 1899 he became Torpedo Officer on HMS ''Jupiter''.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry
/ref> In May 1902 Sueter moved to

Reginald Bacon Admiral Sir Reginald Hugh Spencer Bacon, (6 September 1863 – 9 June 1947) was an officer in the Royal Navy noted for his technical abilities. He was described by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jacky Fisher, as the man "acknowledged to be the ...

submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...

HMS ''Hazard'', where he distinguished himself by aiding injured crew members of the submarine A.1 after an explosion aboard. Sueter's book, ''The Evolution of the Submarine Boat, Mine and Torpedo'' (1907), was the result of his close work with

submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

during this time. He married Andrew Clarke's daughter, Elinor Mary "Nell" de Winton, in 1903, a year before his promotion 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. ...

(he was made a

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 ...

in 1909). Elinor Sueter died on 15 December 1948. Murray Sueter's technical skills saw him brought into the

Naval Ordnance Department The Naval Ordnance Department, also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Ordnance, was a former department of the Admiralty responsible for the procurement of naval ordnance of the Royal Navy. The department was managed by a Director, ...

of the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

and in 1909 he supervised the construction of

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

''Mayfly'', a new avenue of naval development. As inspecting captain of airships he oversaw the failure of the experiment but was nonetheless given command of the Navy's

Air Department The Air Department of the British Admiralty later succeeded briefly by the Air Section followed by the Air Division was established prior to World War I by Winston Churchill to administer the Royal Naval Air Service. History In 1908, the Brit ...

in 1912. In this role he oversaw the creation of the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

. Sueter continued his aerial innovations during the early stages of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

including the launching of torpedoes from aircraft and in 1915 he was promoted commodore first class and appointed superintendent of aircraft construction. He sat on the government's "

Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (ACA) was a UK agency founded on 30 April 1909, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. In 1919 it was renamed the Aeronautical Research Committee, later becoming the Aeronautical ...

", located at the National Physical Laboratory, under the chairmanship of Richard Glazebrook and presidency of John Strutt, Lord Rayleigh. He promoted the use of armoured cars for the defence of airfields in France. After the stalemate of the trenches developed the cars were sent to Russia and Egypt. His interest in the armoured car led to involvement in

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful ...

development. In 1917, he clashed with the Admiralty and was posted to command the RNAS in Italy. While in Italy, Sueter sent a letter to King George which incurred the displeasure of the Sea Lords and he was relieved of command. He was given no work from 1918 to 1920 when he was retired as a

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 ...

. After his naval service he worked with

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be t ...

provision and published a number of books, notably ''Airmen or Noahs'' (1928) an autobiography and critique of current naval practices and ''The Evolution of the Tank'' (1937). He was knighted in 1934.

Politics

After his naval service Sueter entered politics as a member of the

Anti-Waste League The Anti-Waste League was a political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1921 by the newspaper proprietor Lord Rothermere. Formation The formation of the League was announced in a January 1921 edition of the '' Sunday Pictorial'' with Rotherme ...

and was co-sponsored by them and the

Independent Parliamentary Group The Independent Parliamentary Group was a right-wing political organisation in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1920 by Horatio Bottomley, elected in the 1918 general election as an independent Member of Parliament. In 1919, Bottomley foun ...

for the

1921 Hertford by-election The 1921 East Hertfordshire division by-election was held on 16 July 1921. It had been necessitated by the resignation of the incumbent MP, Noel Pemberton Billing due to ill-health. References Hertford Hertford Hertfor ...

which he won. He went on to join the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and contested the 1923 general election for them, winning election in

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, n ...

. He went on to hold the seat until his retirement in 1945. During the 1930s he was one of a number of Members of Parliament to become active in the

Anglo-German Fellowship The Anglo-German Fellowship was a membership organisation that existed from 1935 to 1939, and aimed to build up friendship between the United Kingdom and Germany. It was widely perceived as being allied to Nazism. Previous groups in Britain wi ...

. Along with several other members of the group, including a number of parliamentarians, he accepted an invitation from

Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...

to attend the 1936

Nuremberg Rally The Nuremberg Rallies (officially ', meaning '' Reich Party Congress'') refer to a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first rally held took place in 1923. This rally was not particularly large or impactf ...

.Richard Griffiths, ''Fellow Travellers on the Right'', Oxford University Press, 1983, p. 225 He died in

Watlington, Oxfordshire Watlington is a small market town and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire, near the county's eastern edge and less than from its border with Buckinghamshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common, Greenfield and Ho ...

References

External links

Murray Fraser Sueter biodata
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sueter, Murray 1872 births 1960 deaths Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Bath Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Naval Air Service aviators Military aviation leaders of World War I Submarine pioneers People from Gosport People from Oxfordshire UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945

Naval career

Politics

See also

References

External links