Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Percy Douglas (1 November 1876 – 4 November 1939) was a British naval officer who specialised in surveying and was Hydrographer of the Navy.

Career

Henry Percy Douglas was 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 ...

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

before entering 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 ...

training ship as a cadet in 1890. In 1892 he was appointed to as a midshipman. In 1894 he was part of a landing party at

Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the capital of the former Kingdom of Mosquitia, and later the Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regi ...

during the

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

n campaign to annex the

Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...

. In 1895 he was transferred to the newly launched as acting sub-lieutenant; his promotion was confirmed in March 1896 and he was appointed to , the first of the many surveying ships in which he served at various times all over the world. In 1898 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 ...

. In 1908, still with the rank of lieutenant, he was given his first command, the surveying ship . From 1910 to 1914 he was Superintendent of Charts in the Hydrographic Department of the British

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 ...

. He was promoted to Commander on 31 December 1910. In February 1915, at the beginning of the Dardanelles Campaign, Admiral

John de Robeck Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Michael de Robeck, 1st Baronet, (10 June 1862 – 20 January 1928) was an officer in the Royal Navy. In the early years of the 20th century he served as Admiral of Patrols, commanding four flotillas of destroyers. ...

asked the Admiralty for a good surveying officer and Douglas was sent out to join the flagship . Later he transferred to and . De Robeck's dispatches contain several mentions of Douglas' "work of inestimable value to the fleet". His expertise was in fact indispensable for successful landing operations. His zeal and ability were recognized by promotion to acting captain in October 1915, confirmed at the end of the year. After the evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula in January 1916 Douglas returned to the Admiralty and served as Director of the Naval Meteorological Service. Then in 1918 Admiral

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 ...

, commanding the

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dove ...

, who had been with de Robeck in the Dardanelles campaign, asked for Douglas to join his staff at Dover to prepare for the

Zeebrugge Raid The Zeebrugge Raid ( nl, Aanval op de haven van Zeebrugge; ) on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. The British intended to sink obsolete ships in the canal entrance, to prevent Germ ...

and the

First Ostend Raid The First Ostend Raid (part of Operation ZO) was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late spring of 1918 during the First World War. Ostend was attacked in conjunction with the neighbouring h ...

in April 1918. After the raids Douglas was appointed CMG "in recognition of distinguished services during the operations against Zeebrugge and Ostend on the night of the 22nd–23rd April, 1918." He was also awarded the Belgian Order of Leopold and the Italian

Medal of Military Valor The Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: ''Medaglia al valor militare'') is an Italian medal, originally established as a Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of company, and civilians for excepti ...

. After the war Douglas served as Assistant Hydrographer of the Navy 1919–21, then commanded 1921–23 and, briefly, in 1924 for surveys in British Guiana and the West Indies. He was appointed Hydrographer of the Navy in October 1924. About this time he devised the Douglas Sea Scale. As Hydrographer, he was an advocate of echo sounding as a replacement for lead and line in depth measurement. The method increased productivity, and provided a continuous record of depth over a sounding line, reducing the chance of missing hazardous obstructions. He was promoted to

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 ...

in 1927. In 1929, after the normal five years as Hydrographer, he was offered an extension of three years and accepted it on condition of being placed on the Retired List. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1931. From 1928 to 1932 he was the Navy's representative on the

Discovery Committee The Discovery Committee was a popular name for the Interdepartmental Committee for the Dependencies of the Falkland Islands established by the British Government to carry out scientific investigations (which became known as ‘Discovery Investigati ...

for exploration in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. After finally retiring in 1932, Douglas was

Acting Conservator of the River Mersey The Acting Conservator of the River Mersey is a unique position. The holder is responsible for ensuring navigation on, and protecting the environment of, the River Mersey in the North West of England. The Conservator originally acted on behalf o ...

and Nautical Assessor to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. From 1934 until 1939 he was chairman of the

Dover Harbour Board Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. He was chairman of the British Graham Land Expedition Advisory Committee. On the outbreak of

World War II 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 opposing ...

in September 1939 he returned to the Navy and was appointed commodore superintendent of Dover, but he died there on 4 November of the same year.

Honours

Percy Douglas was appointed CMG in 1918, as mentioned above, and CB in 1929. He was a Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King for six months 1926–27 He was knighted KCB in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1933. He was a Younger Brother of

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

. Some geographical features in

are named after him: the Douglas Range, Douglas Islands and

Douglas Strait Douglas Strait is a strait 2 nautical miles (4 km) wide between Thule Island and Cook Island, in the South Sandwich Islands. The existence of this strait was first noted by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen in 1820 ...

Family

Henry Percy Douglas was born at Dacre Hill, Higher Bebington, Cheshire, on 1 November 1876, the second son of Admiral Sholto Douglas (1833–1913) and his first wife, Maria Louisa, the only daughter of William Bickford, of Stonehouse, Devon. On 28 December 1899, he married Katherine Chute Mackenzie, daughter of John Mackenzie, of Belmont, near Kirkcudbright. They had one daughter.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Percy 1876 births 1939 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George English hydrographers Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Hydrographers of the Royal Navy Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Royal Navy admirals of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War I People from Bebington Military personnel from Cheshire Members of Trinity House