Herbert Meade

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Admiral Herbert Meade-Fetherstonhaugh as a Captain, 1921.
Portrait: © National Portrait Gallery, London.

Admiral THE HONOURABLE SIR Sir Herbert Meade-Fetherstonhaugh, G.C.V.O., C.B., D.S.O., (3 November, 1875 – 27 October, 1964) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Born Herbert Meade, the son of Admiral The Earl of Clanwilliam, he changed his name on 1 November, 1932.[1]

In December 1895 he took ill with malarial rheumatism. He was not fit until May of 1896, and he was discharged to H.M.S. Excellent.

On 10 February 1897 Captain Dudding reported that Sub-Lieutenant Meade volunteered for a life boat and saved the life of leading seaman Joseph Brailey who had gone overboard from H.M.S. Iphigenia. Meade was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 1 October, 1897.[2]

On 6 May 1902, Meade's Syren collided with the first class protected cruiser Hawke. A Court of Enquiry concluded that no one was to blame in the misadventure.

Herbert convalescing with his brothers and father. Likely in 1904.
Photograph: Courtesy The Lord Clanwilliam.[3]

On 15 March 1904, Meade broke both bones of a leg in an accident aboard the battleship Venerable, requiring his convalescence aboard the hospital ship Maine. At least one of these was a compound fracture, and he had to return to England via Marseilles. He was not found fit until December 1905. An injury pension of £50 for this would eventually be deemed perpetual.[4]

Meade was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1908.[5]

Meade would again suffer a broken leg on 8 March 1909. He was deemed fit only for harbour service on 28 December.[6]

Meade was appointed in command of Goshawk on 19 May 1912[7] and commanded her in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and was commended for his "coolness and verve" and for helping sink the German destroyer Template:DE-V187.[8] He was awarded a D.S.O. for service in this action.

In October 1914, he was appointed in command of the destroyer Faulknor, but on 24 November he was placed in charge of the destroyer Meteor, which was the half-flotilla leader in the First Destroyer Flotilla. Promoted to the rank of Captain on 31 December, 1914, he was given command of the light cruiser Royalist on 23 January 1915.[9]

Meade would command the light cruiser Royalist at the Battle of Jutland, where she supported the Grand Fleet as one of the five ships in the Fourth Light Cruiser Squadron. She would fire a torpedo at enemy pre-dreadnoughts at around 9.5pm and turn away when taken under fire.[10]

In June 1917, he was appointed in command of the light cruiser Ceres.

From April 1919 to 24 May 1921, he served as Chief of Staff to Vice-Admiral Sir Herbert Leopold Heath, being granted the rank of Commodore, Second Class while holding this appointment.[11]

In August 1921, he took command of the battlecruiser Renown. He left the ship as it began an extensive period of refit from 1923 to 1926.

Meade was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 25 November, 1925.[12]

Meade was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 8 May, 1930.[13]

Meade-Fetherstonhaugh was promoted to the rank of Admiral on 31 July, 1934.[14]

See Also

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Leonard A. B. Donaldson
Captain of H.M.S. Teazer
11 Feb, 1902[15] – 1902[16]
Succeeded by
Murray F. Sueter
Preceded by
?
Captain of H.M.S. Syren
1902[17] – 12 Nov, 1902[18]
Succeeded by
Henry C. R. Brocklebank
Preceded by
New Command
Captain of H.M.S. Goshawk
19 May, 1912[19][20] – 6 Oct, 1914[21]
Succeeded by
Dashwood F. Moir
Preceded by
Cecil H. Fox
Captain of H.M.S. Faulknor
6 Oct, 1914[22] – 24 Nov, 1914[23]
Succeeded by
Anselan Stirling
Preceded by
Alan F. W. Howard
Captain of H.M.S. Meteor
24 Nov, 1914[24][25] – 23 Jan, 1915[26]
Succeeded by
Arthur B. S. Dutton
Preceded by
New Command
Captain of H.M.S. Royalist
23 Jan, 1915[27][28]c. Jun, 1917[29]
Succeeded by
The Hon. Matthew R. Best
Preceded by
?
Captain (D), Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla
8 Dec, 1915[30] – 19 Apr, 1916[31]
Succeeded by
Rowland H. Bather
Preceded by
George N. Tomlin
Captain of H.M.S. Ceres
13 Jun, 1917[32][33] – Apr, 1918[34]
Succeeded by
Henry G. E. Lane
Preceded by
Henry T. Buller
Naval Assistant to the Second Sea Lord
Apr, 1918[35][36] – Apr, 1919[37]
Succeeded by
Alexander Lowndes
as Naval Assistant to the Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel
Preceded by
Ernest A. Taylor
Captain of H.M.S. Renown
4 Aug, 1921[38] – 16 Oct, 1922[39]
Succeeded by
The Hon. E. Rupert Drummond
Preceded by
Francis A. Marten
Captain of Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
2 Jan, 1923[40] – 2 Jan, 1926[41]
Succeeded by
Martin E. Dunbar-Nasmith
Preceded by
Albert P. Addison
Rear Admiral (D) Commanding Destroyer Flotillas, Mediterranean
1 Aug, 1926[42] – 1 Aug, 1928[43]
Succeeded by
Arthur B. S. Dutton
Preceded by
Henry T. Buller
Captain of H.M.Y. Victoria and Albert
1 Apr, 1931[44]
Succeeded by
Sir Dudley B. N. North
Preceded by
Sir Henry T. Buller
as Admiral Commanding, H.M. Yachts
Vice-Admiral Commanding, H.M. Yachts
1 Apr, 1931[45] – 15 Dec, 1934[46]
Succeeded by
Dudley B. N. North

Footnotes

  1. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  2. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  3. Email from Paddy Clanwilliam, 20201202.
  4. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  5. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  6. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  7. The Navy List. (April, 1914). p. 321.
  8. Tyrwhitt's report
  9. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  10. Battle of Jutland Official Despatches. pp. 34, 44.
  11. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  12. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  13. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  14. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  15. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  16. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  17. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  18. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  19. The Navy List. (October, 1914). p. 324.
  20. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  21. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  22. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  23. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  24. The Navy List. (January, 1915). p. 356.
  25. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  26. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  27. The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 397s.
  28. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  29. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  30. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  31. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  32. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 392h.
  33. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  34. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  35. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  36. Month inferred from Buller Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 403.
  37. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  38. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  39. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  40. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  41. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  42. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  43. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  44. The Navy List. (July, 1931). p. 279a.
  45. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.
  46. Meade Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 177.