Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Sir Hubert Guy Dyke Acland, 4th Baronet Acland, DSO (8 June 1890 – 6 May 1978) was an officer in the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

who served during both World Wars.

Biography

Naval career

Acland was born in London, the younger son of Admiral Sir William Acland, 2nd Bt, (1847–1924), and the Hon. Emily Anna Smith (1859–1942). After attending

Bradfield College Bradfield College is a coeducational public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18, in the village of Bradfield, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It is noted for its open-air Greek theatre and its trien ...

, Acland joined the Royal Navy on 15 January 1905, at the age of 14. After training, he was assigned to the

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

, part of the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

, with the rank of

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in 1908. He attained promotion to sub-lieutenant on 15 November 1909, and

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 15 November 1910. He served throughout the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, receiving a

Mention in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) 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 of t ...

. On 15 November 1918, within a few days of the

armistice with Germany {{Short description, none This is a list of armistices signed by the German Empire (1871–1918) or Nazi Germany (1933–1945). An armistice is a temporary agreement to cease hostilities. The period of an armistice may be used to negotiate a peace t ...

, Acland was promoted to lieutenant commander. On 8 March 1920, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

to recognize his "distinguished services as Gunnery Officer of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, while operating in the Baltic in 1919". From late 1920 until early 1922, Acland was Stationed at

Port Edgar Port Edgar is a marina on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, immediately west of the Forth Road Bridge and the town of South Queensferry, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally a naval base, HMS ''Lochinvar'', Port Edgar is now a busy marina ...

on the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

. In July 1922, he returned to sea to serve as Gunnery Officer aboard the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

. Starting in July 1924, he was aboard the cadet training

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

from July 1924, receiving a promotion to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 31 December 1924. Acland spent two years from March 1925 in the Naval Intelligence Division at the Admiralty, before serving aboard the

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

from December 1927 as Fleet Gunnery Officer of the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

. After returning to England in 1930, he briefly commanded the reserve cruiser, at Devonport, before being assigned to the battleship in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

in December. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 30 June 1932, he attended the Royal Navy War College at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

and the Senior Officers' School at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

from March 1933, before being appointed to command of as Senior Officer of the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla on 12 March 1934. From 1 August 1935 he was in command of and the Fishery Protection and Minesweeping Flotilla. He returned to duty at the Admiralty in April 1936 and briefly commanded the target vessel in October of that year. In February 1937, Acland was lent to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

. He served as commanding officer of the heavy cruiser from April 1937 to April 1938, then the

seaplane carrier A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

as she was sailed back to the UK, arriving at Devonport in December 1938. In August 1939, just before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was appointed Senior Officer of the Reserve Fleet at Devonport. From November 1939 was Commanding Officer of the Gunnery School at Chatham. From 15 March 1941, he commanded the fleet repair ship and, from 8 July 1941, served as Naval Aide-de-camp to the King. Acland was officially placed on the Retired List on 6 February 1942 but remained in service on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief at

Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...

in 1943, and from November of that year until the end of the war served under the Flag Officer-in-Charge, Northern Ireland, based in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. He finally retired from the Navy after the end of the war in 1945.

Personal life

On 21 August 1915, Acland married his second

cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, ...

(they were both great-grandchildren of

Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet (29 March 1787 – 22 July 1871) was a British politician and baronet. Background Born in London, he was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 9th Baronet and his wife, Henrietta Anne Hoare, daughter ...

) Lalage Mary Kathleen Acland (1889–1961), at All Saints Church, Dorchester. They had two sons; Major Sir Antony Guy Acland, 5th Bt. (1916–1983) and Lieutenant Colonel James Alison Acland (1919–1993). Acland succeeded to the title of 4th Baronet Acland on 4 December 1970 after the death of his older brother Colonel Sir William Acland, 3rd Baronet. He died at his home on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

on 6 May 1978.

References

External links

*
Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Hubert 1890 births 1978 deaths

304 Year 304 ( CCCIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1057 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 304 ...

Hubert Guy Dyke People educated at Bradfield College Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order