Douglas Nicholson
| Sir Douglas Nicholson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1867 |
| Died | 1946 |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Hyacinth HMS Hermes HMS St Vincent HMS Conqueror His Majesty's Yachts HMS Agincourt 3rd Battle Squadron Reserve Fleet |
| Battles/wars |
Anglo-Egyptian War World War I |
| Awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Member of the Royal Victorian Order |
Admiral Sir Douglas Romilly Lothian Nicholson, KCB, MVO (1867–1946) was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Reserve Fleet.
Naval career
Nicholson served in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882.[1] He was appointed in command of the destroyer HMS Dove on 24 February 1902,[2] serving in the Channel Fleet as part of the Portsmouth instructional flotilla. In May 1902, the ship hit a rock off Kildorney, and had to be towed by her sister ship HMS Bullfinch to Queenstown,[3] and later back to Portsmouth for repairs.[4] Douglas and the crew transferred to the recently completed torpedo boat destroyer HMS Success, which was commissioned at Portsmouth on 9 June.[5] The following day, the navy held a Court-martial where he was tried for negligence during the Kildorney incident. He was acquitted of negligence, but severely reprimanded for being in error of judgment.[6]
Nicholson became commanding officer of the cruiser HMS Hyacinth in August 1905, of the cruiser HMS Hermes in December 1905 and of the battleship HMS St Vincent in 1910.[7] He went on to be commanding officer of the battleship HMS Conqueror in 1912 and Commodore of His Majesty's Yachts in 1913.[1] He served in World War I as commanding officer of HMS Agincourt in the Grand Fleet from 1914.[7] He continued his war service as Second-in-Command of the 3rd Battle Squadron from March 1917, as Second-in-Command of the 4th Battle Squadron from September 1917 and as Commander of the 3rd Battle Squadron from 1918.[8]
He became Rear-Admiral, Reserve Fleet at Portland in 1919 and Vice-Admiral commanding the Reserve Fleet in 1922 before retiring in 1926.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Friday, 14 February 1902. (36691), p. 9.
- ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Thursday, 22 May 1902. (36774), p. 8.
- ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Monday, 26 May 1902. (36777), p. 7.
- ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Tuesday, 10 June 1902. (36790), p. 12.
- ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Wednesday, 11 June 1902. (36791), p. 13.
- 1 2 Captains Commanding Royal Navy Warships
- ↑ Senior Royal Navy Appointments
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Richard Phillimore |
Commander-in-Chief, Reserve Fleet 1922–1923 |
Succeeded by Sir William Goodenough |