Reginald Drax

Admiral The Hon. Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax
Born (1880-08-28)28 August 1880
St Marylebone, London
Died 16 October 1967(1967-10-16) (aged 87)
Poole, Dorset
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service 1894–1941
Rank Admiral
Commands held Director, Royal Naval College, Greenwich (1919–1922)
President of Naval Inter-Allied Commission of Control (Berlin) (Jan 1923 – Aug 1924)
HMS Marlborough (April 1926 – February 1927)
1st Battle Squadron (May 1929 – Apr 1930)
America and West Indies Station (Apr 1932 – Oct 1934)
Plymouth Command (Jun 1935 – Sep 1938)
Battles/wars

First World War

Second World War
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Order of St Stanislas (2nd cl.) with Swords (1916)
Knight Grand Cross, Order of Orange Nassau (19 Jan 1943)
Relations Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany
Other work Home Guard (1941–1943)
Commodore of Ocean Convoys (April 1943 – July 1945)
Justice of the Peace
Deputy Lieutenant, Dorset (Oct 1941)

Admiral the Hon. Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, KCB, DSO, JP, DL (28 August 1880 – 16 October 1967) was a British admiral. He is often referred to as Reginald Plunkett[1] or (after 1916) Reginald Drax.[2]

He was the younger son of John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany (1853–1899)[1] and his wife, the former Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor, née Burton, later Ernle-Erle-Drax (1855–1916).[1] His elder brother was Lord Dunsany, a prolific writer and author of over 60 books.

Biography

Quadruple-barrelled name

Further information: Double-barrelled name

Sir Reginald, born a Plunkett, was christened Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly (Plunkett) on 9 September 1880 at Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone, Westminster,[3] and assumed the Ernle-Erle-Drax on 4 October 1916.[4] His long series of titles, Christian names, surnames and postnominals has made him famous beyond his career as an Admiral in the Royal Navy.[5] Elsewhere, the name has been cited as having inspired some of the more fanciful appellations employed by writers about the British aristocracy such as P. G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh; and in the penultimate episode of Series 2 of the BBC1 costume drama Upstairs Downstairs, the storyline adopts the conceit that Admiral Drax was known amongst his civil servants as "Admiral Acronym". Upstairs Downstairs features a leading character, Sir Hallam Holland, who is a member of the British Government's Foreign Office. The leaking of this nickname by Sir Hallam's lover to the German authorities forms part of the storyline of the final episode.

Early naval career

Plunkett was educated at Cheam School[1] and joined the navy at the age of 14, training aboard the stationary school ship, HMS Britannia.[1] He was promoted Lieutenant 15 January 1901.[6]

He served during the First World War aboard the battlecruiser HMS Lion[1] and was present at the naval battles of Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank and Jutland.[1] He was promoted captain on 30 June 1916.[1]

He was awarded the DSO in 1918 whilst commanding HMS Blanche.[1]

Between the wars

Drax held a series of senior naval appointments between the wars. From 1919 to 1922, he was Director of the Naval Staff College, Greenwich.[1] He then served as President of the Naval Allied Control Commission in Germany from 1923 to 1924.[1]

As a Rear Admiral, he commanded the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet from 1929 to 1930. From 1930 to 1932 he was ashore in the Admiralty as Director of Manning.[1]

Promoted to Vice Admiral on 24 September 1932, he held from 1932 to 1934 the much sought after post of Commander of the America and West Indies Squadron.[1]

From 1935 to 1938, he was Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.[1]

Mission to Moscow

Sir Reginald was the British half of the Anglo-French delegation sent to Moscow in August 1939[1] to discuss a possible alliance with the USSR. As an indication of the low priority the Allied Governments put on the mission, it was sent by sea. The Soviets did not take the delegation seriously because Sir Reginald did not have any power to make decisions without the approval of the British government, rendering him next to powerless.

Second World War

In December 1939, Drax was appointed Commander-in-Chief, The Nore[7] serving until 1941. This was an important post as he was responsible for the protection of the east coast convoys from Scotland to London. These faced the multiple threats of acoustic mines and magnetic mines as well as attacks from the air and by surface vessels, especially after the fall of the Netherlands and Belgium.

As the war continued, advancing years caused him to retire from the active navy list and to join the Home Guard.[1] Nonetheless, he went to sea from 1943 to 1945 as a convoy commodore, during the Battle of the Atlantic.[1]

Alongside Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond and Vice-Admiral Kenneth Dewar, Drax was considered to be an intellectual who held controversial views, including the need for naval reform.[8]

Civilian life

He was an early pioneer of solar heating.[1]

His friend, the James Bond novelist Ian Fleming, named the character Sir Hugo Drax after him as a tribute.[9]

Publications

Family

In 1916, Plunkett married Kathleen Chalmers.[1] They had one son and four daughters.[1] Their son is Henry Walter Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, who is the father of Richard Drax, Conservative MP for South Dorset since the 2010 General Election.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "The Papers of Admiral Sir Reginald Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax - content and context". Janus. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  2. Robert L. Davison (April 2003). "Striking a Balance Between Dissent and Discipline: Admiral Sir Reginald Drax in The Northern Mariner/le Marin du Nord" (PDF). The Northern Mariner. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  3. Christening register of Holy Trinity Church, 1880 (The Metropolitan Archive).
  4. The London Gazette: no. 29783. p. 9861. 13 October 1916.
  5. Boulby, Chris (8 May 2009). "Three surnames for one person. Too many?". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  6. The London Gazette: no. 27372. p. 7146. 5 November 1901.
  7. Naval Command Changed Melbourne Argus, 6 December 1939
  8. Davison, Robert Lynn (1994). Admiral Sir Reginald Drax and British strategic policy: Festina lente (M.A. thesis) Wilfrid Laurier University
  9. Macintyre, Ben (2008). For Your Eyes Only. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7475-9527-4
  10. David Niven (2005-04-28). The Moon's a Balloon. ePenguin. ISBN 978-0-14-023924-9.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Vernon Haggard
Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station
1932–1934
Succeeded by
Sir Matthew Best
Preceded by
Sir Eric Fullerton
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
1935–1938
Succeeded by
Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith
Preceded by
Sir Studholme Brownrigg
Commander-in-Chief, The Nore
1939–1941
Succeeded by
Sir George Lyon
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Sir Roger Backhouse
First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp
1939–1941
Succeeded by
Sir Dudley Pound
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