Wilfred Tomkinson
| Wilfred Tomkinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 15, 1877 |
| Died | October 7, 1971 (aged 93) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1891–1942 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Lurcher HMS Aurora HMS Hood Battlecruiser Squadron |
| Battles/wars |
Boxer Rebellion World War I World War II |
| Awards |
Companion of the Order of the Bath Member of the Royal Victorian Order |
Vice Admiral Wilfred Tomkinson CB, MVO (15 November 1877 – 7 October 1971) was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander of the Battlecruiser Squadron.
Naval career
Tomkinson joined the Royal Navy in 1891 and served in the destroyer HMS Fame during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.[1] He served in World War I initially commanding the destroyer HMS Lurcher and seeing action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914 and the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915; his war service continued as Senior Naval Officer, British submarines in Venice in 1915 and as Commander of the light cruiser HMS Aurora in 1916 before seeing action again during the Zeebrugge Raid and the Ostend Raid in 1918.[1]
Tomkinson became the first Commanding Officer of the newly-commissioned battlecruiser HMS Hood in 1919,[2] Chief of Staff at the Nore in 1921 and Director of Naval Operations at the Admiralty in 1923.[3] He went on to be Commodore at Royal Naval Barracks, Devonport in 1925, Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in 1927 and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1929.[3] He then became Commanding Officer of the Battlecruiser Squadron in 1931 before being placed in temporary command of the Atlantic Fleet later that year: it was under his command that the Invergordon Mutiny took place and, following the conclusion of the mutiny, he was blamed for being too lenient with the mutineers and placed on half pay.[1] He retired in 1935 but was re-employed during World War II as Flag Officer in charge of the Bristol Channel before retiring again in 1942.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ↑ "H.M.S. Hood's Admirals & Captains". H.M.S. Hood Association. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- 1 2 Senior Royal Navy appointments
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Frederic Dreyer |
Commander, Battlecruiser Squadron 1929–1932 |
Succeeded by Sir William James |