W.N.T. Beckett
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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 ...
Walter Napier Thomason Beckett, MVO,
DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...
(1893 – 1941) was a noted Royal Navy officer in both the First World War and the Second World War. He was known to most people as "Joe" Beckett, after a famous British boxer of the same era, as they shared the same surname. Beckett was also a capable amateur boxer, holding the title of Royal Navy Heavyweight boxing champion for some time. In ''Fabulous Admirals and some naval fragments'' published in 1957, Beckett is described as "an Elizabethan character, who was rough, tough, large and strong, and his words smelt of tar, spunyarn, sound commonsense and humour." The author, Commander Geoffrey Lowis RN, included a chapter on Beckett whom he thought a great character. Much of this article is drawn from that book.


Early life

Beckett was born in Bilaspur in the
Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur. ...
of India on 25 March 1893. He was the younger son of Brigadier-General
William Thomas Clifford Beckett Brigadier-General William Thomas Clifford Beckett CBE DSO VD (1862 – 4 March 1956) was a British railway engineer in India and a British Army officer. Beckett was the eldest son of William Henry Beckett, a colonel in the Indian Army and his ...
CBE, DSO, VD (1862–1956) and Bessie Drummond Thomason, daughter of Major-General Charles Simeon Thomason (1833–1911) of the Bengal Royal Engineers. His older brother Clifford became Major-General
Clifford Thomason Beckett Major-General Clifford Thomason Beckett CB, CBE, MC (9 November 1891 – 8 July 1972) was an officer of the British Army who had a distinguished military career which spanned almost thirty-five years, including service in the two world wars. E ...
CB, CBE, MC (1891–1972) of the Royal Artillery, who had a distinguished military career including being Acting General Officer Commanding Malta in 1942. Prior to his military career Beckett's father William had been a senior
Civil Engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
, working on behalf of the Indian government. At the time of W.N.T. Beckett's birth, his father was in charge of constructing the first railway bridges over the Orissa rivers on the East Coast Extension of the Bengal – Nagpur Railway, completing the connection between the cities of Calcutta and
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. In 1901, he was awarded the Gold Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers for a paper he presented on his completed project. The family returned to Great Britain for the boys education, and lived near Grantown-on-Spey in Scotland, where Beckett loved wandering the hills and glens of Speyside. Beckett boarded at Park House School in Kent and in 1906 he entered the
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 ...
, where he excelled at sports and became friends with fellow cadet Prince Edward, the future King Edward VIII. Beckett won innumerable cups and medals for boxing, bayonet fighting, sabres and foils at the Naval Colleges, and later in the fleet and at the Royal Naval and Military Tournament. Prince Edward and Beckett both joined the battleship HMS ''Hindustan'' as
midshipmen 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 Afr ...
in August 1911, and served together for a period of three months, until Edward was sent to
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, for further studies. After two years as a midshipman Beckett was promoted to Acting Sub-Lieutenant and he was also playing
fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
in the Navy rugger team.


World War I


Harwich Force

Beckett served as
Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...
in the destroyer HMS ''Legion'', of Commodore Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt's Harwich Force, and took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the Battle of Dogger Bank. It was about this time he brought out a pamphlet, subsequently published by the Admiralty, 'Questions in Dutch and German for Boarding Officers'. When HMS ''Amphion'', the first Royal Naval ship to be sunk during the First World War, was going down, Beckett was aboard searching for survivors, and became the hero of a tale often told. ''Amphion'' blew up and Beckett found himself sailing through the air amongst a cloud of bric-a-brac, and amongst it was the wardroom clock, of which Beckett observed the time as he tumbled through the air and into the sea. During his time on ''Legion'', Beckett developed a reputation as an excellent seaman, and a practitioner of fine nautical skills and knot-work. These skills and his attention to detail became legendary in the Service, and many shoddy jobs were discarded with the words, "That would never do for Joe Beckett". While Beckett was serving with the Harwich Force, he was befriended by the renowned English author Rudyard Kipling, and was invited to his home
Bateman's Bateman's is a 17th-century house located in Burwash, East Sussex, England. It was the home of Rudyard Kipling from 1902 until his death in 1936. The house was built in 1634. Kipling's widow Caroline bequeathed the house to the National Trust o ...
, in
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
. Kipling was very interested in the Royal Navy, and used Beckett as a source of information for his 1916 naval classic, "Sea Warfare". In one of Kipling's letters, he colourfully describes his meeting with Lieutenant Beckett, and states "he held us breathless or weak with laughter". Beckett also enjoyed their meeting, and went on to visit Bateman's again. He found they had various common interests, including a connection to India, where both men had been born. Kipling had previously based the character ''Findlayson'', the hero of his story ''The Bridge Builders'' on Beckett's great uncle, the well known Indian bridge-builder Frederick Thomas Granville Walton.


Coastal Motor Boats (DSC)

From April 1916 until the end of World War I, Beckett was employed in Coastal Motor Boats (CMB's), with a group of bright young officers known as the 'Suicide Club'. In May 1916, Beckett took command of the newly built
HM Coastal Motor Boat 4 HM Coastal Motor Boat 4 is the torpedo boat used when Lieutenant Augustus Agar earned a Victoria Cross for carrying out a raid on Soviet warships in Kronstadt and sinking the cruiser ''Oleg''. It was one of a large series of small, fast, shall ...
, designed by Sir John Thornycroft. CMB No. 4 was one of a series of small, shallow draft vessels used during World War I. Operated by a crew of three, it was capable of . The main armament was a single torpedo in a trough abaft the cockpit (from which it was launched tail-first over the stern by a cordite-powered ram). It also had four .303 in Lewis machine guns. While in command of CMB No. 4, Beckett carried out duties of CMB Flotilla Signal Officer, and he trained personnel and conducted smoke trials and experiments. In August 1916, he took command of 3rd Division CMB Flotilla. In December 1916, he proceeded to
Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Zeebrugge on 7 April 1917, as a result one was sunk and one very seriously damaged. For these actions Beckett was
Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
and was 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 ...
(DSC). In May 1917, Beckett was appointed in command of CMB No. 14, the first of a larger-type CMB carrying four depth charges in addition to a torpedo: these boats were long, longer than the forty-foot original type. In July 1917, Beckett was ordered to Portsmouth to form an anti-submarine CMB base there, and command the Portsmouth CMB Flotilla on anti-submarine and convoy duties. He stayed at that post until September 1918, when he was transferred to CMB Base
Osea Island Osea Island ( oe, Ōsgȳþes īeg, "Osyth's island"), formerly also Osey, is an inhabited island in the estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex, East England. It is approximately in size and is connected to the north bank of the river by a cau ...
, where he was in charge of half 2nd CMB flotilla. During this time he wrote the CMB Signal Table for the Admiralty. He continued in that position until after the Armistice on 11 November 1918.


North Russia and the Dwina River

From May to November 1919, Beckett volunteered for "Special Service" on a dangerous secret mission in North Russia using CMBs. The Bolsheviks were attacking the White Russians and Beckett was sent as Second-in-Command of CMB Flotilla – Dwina River Force, under Commander-in-Chief Admiral Sir John Green, with whom he began a long friendship. Beckett was in command of CMB No. 28A. During this time he worked with the military (on land), as a Lewis Gun Officer, and on mine clearance duties on the river. He was left in charge to destroy materiel at their up-river base at Troitsa, and to cover the retirement of military forces.


Between the wars

Following the Russian action Beckett returned to
Osea Island Osea Island ( oe, Ōsgȳþes īeg, "Osyth's island"), formerly also Osey, is an inhabited island in the estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex, East England. It is approximately in size and is connected to the north bank of the river by a cau ...
, but was soon made First Lieutenant of HMS ''Cockchafer'', in which he proceeded to China to serve on the
Yangtse River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
Patrol. In June 1921, Beckett was back in England and in charge of the HM Fishery Gunboat ''Boyne'', on North Sea Fishery duties and minesweeping. During this time he salvaged SS ''Edith'' and towed her to
Dover 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 ...
, but his salvage claim was disallowed. In November 1921 he was appointed to the battleship HMS ''Ramillies'', and became
executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...
. During this time Beckett published ''The boatswain's call: how it is used, and some facts about it'', which was later incorporated into the Official Seamanship Manual. Beckett was made lieutenant-commander while serving aboard ''Ramillies''.


Mediterranean service

September 1924, Beckett was appointed in command of the destroyer HMS ''Vendetta'', in the Mediterranean Sea, under Commander-in-Chief Admiral Sir Roger Keyes. In October 1924, HMS ''Vendetta'' proceeded to the Red Sea and Beckett acted as Senior Naval Officer (SNO) at
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
during operations between
Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted ...
and Emir Ali, to safeguard British interests and property. Beckett was then ordered to Port Sudan, to take charge as SNO and to arrange the evacuation of the Egyptian Army from Khartoum, after the assassination of Sir Lee Oliver Stack, the British Governor-General of Sudan and Egyptian army commander.


Royal service

Beckett had one of his most pleasant duties in March and April 1925, when HMS ''Vendetta'' and another destroyer were chosen to accompany the Royal Yacht on a cruise of the Mediterranean. The purpose of the cruise was for King George V to recuperate after a period of serious illness. The King was joined by Queen Mary, Prince George, Duke of Kent, Princess Victoria and their party. During the cruise Beckett had the opportunity to spend time with the Royal family, and upon the completion of their cruise, King George V presented Beckett with a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) for the services he had given during their most enjoyable cruise. See accompanying photo taken by Princess Victoria, of Beckett with King George V aboard HMS ''Vendetta'' during the cruise. On 14 April 1927, he was appointed in command of HMS ''Velox'' in the Atlantic Fleet. During this period Beckett began to court Gladys Hemery Lindon, an heiress of an old Welsh family, the Edwardes of
Rhyd-y-gors The name Rhyd-y-gors or Rhydygors has been associated with two historic sites near the market town of Carmarthen in Southwest Wales. The first was the Normans, Norman Rhyd-y-gors Castle and the other was Rhyd-y-gors Mansion, home of the Edwar ...
. In 1928 they wed, and were deeply in love. He always referred to her as his 'Snowdrop'. They settled at her home, St Regulus, near Southampton, and soon after Beckett was made a
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. ...
. On 21 February 1935 their daughter Rosemary Caroline Rowan Beckett was born.


Scuttling of HMY ''Britannia''

In 1936, Beckett was selected by the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, Admiral Sir
John Kelly John or Jack Kelly may refer to: People Academics and scientists * John Kelly (engineer), Irish professor, former Registrar of University College Dublin *John Kelly (scholar) (1750–1809), at Douglas, Isle of Man *John Forrest Kelly (1859–1922) ...
GCVO, KCB for an unusual task. Beckett had served under Sir John Kelly in the past, and the two were on very good terms. After the death of King George V, King Edward VIII asked Sir John Kelly to organise the scuttling of HMY ''Britannia'', as it was King George V's dying wish. Kelly felt there was no better man for the job than Beckett, who had been made a Captain by this stage, and was in command of the destroyer HMS ''Winchester''. On 10 July 1936, ''Winchester'' towed the stripped hull of the Royal Yacht out past the Isle of Wight to St Catherine's Deep, and in the presence of Sir Philip Hunloke, who had so often sailed Britannia for the King during her racing career, ''Britannia'' was scuttled by Captain Beckett.


World War II

Prior to the announcement of the Second World War, Beckett had spent time honing his skills with the Senior Officers Technical Course and Senior Officers War Course. In January 1939, Beckett was appointed Captain of Dockyard, Deputy Superintendent and King's Harbour Master of HMNB ''Devonport'' (HMS ''Drake''). This was an unusual job for a junior Captain, but one to which Beckett was well fitted. Beckett was a seadog, and was not happy to be serving on land. When the opportunity of the Captaincy of the heavy cruiser became available, Beckett jumped at the opportunity. She was receiving an extensive refit at Devonport Dockyard following her participation in the Battle of the River Plate. Beckett was appointed captain of the ''Exeter'' during her refit and supervised the whole process.


Death

During this time Beckett's health began to fail, partially due to the heavy workload entailed in running a dockyard in time of war, and the stress of refitting ''Exeter'', but also due to injuries he had sustained earlier in his career. During his time on the Dwina River in North Russia, he had been exposed to poison gas, that had caused damage to his chest and lungs, and while in CMB's he had received
shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam ...
in his left knee. These wounds, particularly his chest, finally took their toll on him and he was sent to have chest X-rays. After a month of ill-health, through which he persevered at the dockyard, Beckett left on Friday, 7 March 1941, for the last time. On the night of Saturday 8 March, he had great pain in his chest and stomach. On the morning of Sunday 9 March, two doctors saw him at home and he was taken to Saltash Hospital for an exploratory operation. He had the operation at 3.00 pm. His wife Gladys saw him at 7pm and stayed with him, but at 10pm he lost consciousness and he finally died at 3.00 am, with Gladys at his side, on Monday 10 March 1941, the day he was due to recommission . Beckett is remembered on the war memorial in Grantown-on-Spey in Morayshire, Scotland. Beckett's wife Gladys Hemery died in 1964, and their daughter Rosemary Caroline Rowan lives with her husband and family in Queensland, Australia.


Legacy

HM Coastal Motor Boat 4 HM Coastal Motor Boat 4 is the torpedo boat used when Lieutenant Augustus Agar earned a Victoria Cross for carrying out a raid on Soviet warships in Kronstadt and sinking the cruiser ''Oleg''. It was one of a large series of small, fast, shall ...
, Captained by W.N.T. Beckett in 1916–1917, and used by Beckett during CMB attack on Zeebrugge, 7 April 1917, for which he was awarded DSC and mentioned in Despatches, is on permanent display at the
Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
, Duxford. Beckett received the thanks of the Admiralty for devices he had designed (e.g. a balloon indicating device for locating fired practice torpedoes ated 14 August 1924 a device submitted concerning a sprocket wheel for mine moorings ated 15 November 1926. Buried: Havant and Waterloo (Warblington) Cemetery, sec. 2, old ground, grave 105 Beckett's published work includes: *The boatswain's call: how it is used, and some facts about it, 1922, Gieves Ltd, Portsmouth (Later incorporated in the Official Seamanship Manual ated 10.03.1927). *A few naval customs, expressions, traditions and superstitions, 1930, Gieves Ltd, Portsmouth *Questions in Dutch and German for Boarding Officers, 1914 (A pamphlet published by the Admiralty);


References


Further reading

*Fabulous Admirals, and some naval fragments (Commander GL Lowis, Putnam & Co. Ltd, London, 1957 ... (One chapter on Captain W.N.T. Beckett) ) *A few naval customs, expressions, traditions and superstitions (Captain W.N.T. Beckett, Gieves Ltd, Portsmouth, 1930) *Burke's Landed Gentry, 18th Edition (London, 1965) *The Bridges over the Orissa Rivers on the East Coast Extension of the Bengal – Nagpur Railway. (W.T.C. Beckett, M. Inst. C.E., Paper No. 3250, 1901)
Beckett’s Naval Career
*The Letters of Rudyard Kipling, Volume IV, 1911 – 1919 (Editor – Thomas Pinney, MacMillan, London, 1998)

*Record of Service of Lieutenant Commander W.N.T. Beckett (Unpublished, 1928) *Personal Diary of Gladys Hemery Beckett (Unpublished, 1941)


External links



''(Grantown-on-Spey, Morayshire, Scotland)''

Career of Major General CT Beckett

*'' (Marquis of Ruvigny & Raineval, London, 1907)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, W.N.T. Military personnel of British India Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy personnel of the Russian Civil War Royal Navy officers of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Members of the Royal Victorian Order 1893 births 1941 deaths British male boxers People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Royal Navy captains