Sir Barry Domvile | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 5 September 1878 (1878-09-05) London, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 13 August 1971 (1971-08-14) (aged 92) London, England, United Kingdom |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1892–1936 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | HMSMiranda HMSTipperary HMSCentaur HMSCuracoa HMSRoyal Sovereign Royal Naval College, Greenwich |
| Battles / wars | World War I |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George |
AdmiralSir Barry Edward Domvile,KBE, CB, CMG (5 September 1878 – 13 August 1971) was a high-rankingRoyal Navy officer who was interned during theSecond World War for being aNazi sympathiser.[1] Throughout the 1930s, he expressed support for Germany'sAdolf Hitler as well as pro-Nazi andanti-Semitic sentiments. Domvile was implicated in two fascist plots against the British government in 1940.[2]
Domvile was the son of Admiral SirCompton Domvile and followed his father into the Royal Navy in 1892.[3] In 1912, he became Assistant Secretary to theCommittee of Imperial Defence, and during theFirst World War he commanded thedestroyerHMSMiranda, the destroyerHMSTipperary, thecruiserHMSCentaur and then the cruiserHMSCuracoa.[3] After the war, he became Director of Plans in 1920, andChief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean in 1922 before becoming, in 1925, commanding officer of the battleshipHMSRoyal Sovereign.[3]
He served asDirector of Naval Intelligence from 1927 to 1930, then commanded the ThirdCruiser Squadron from 1931 to 1932, and served as President of theRoyal Naval College, Greenwich from 1932 to 1934.[3]
Domvile visited Germany in 1935 and was impressed by many aspects of theNazi government. He was invited to attend theNuremberg Rally of September 1936 as a guest of German AmbassadorJoachim von Ribbentrop. Domvile became a council member of theAnglo-German Fellowship and founded the Anglo-German organisationThe Link. He was also a member of theRight Club.[4]
Domvile supportedSt. John Philby, theanti-SemiticBritish People's Party candidate in theHytheby-election of 1939, and visitedSalzburg that summer, which attracted some criticism.[5] Domvile was prominent in British far-right circles as the prospect of war seemed imminent in the late 1930s.[6] His pro-Nazi and anti-war sympathies were expressed in an endorsement to the 1939 bookThe Case For Germany.[7]
In 1940, Domvile was implicated as a participant in a fascist plot, organized by Leigh Vaughan-Henry, against the British government. Vaughan-Henry was reported to have already organized 18 cells of 25 members each for the coup, which was intended to take place when Germany landed in Britain. He was also implicated in another plot organized byArchibald Maule Ramsay, the founder of the Right Club.[8]
In June 1940, Domvile's mistress, Olive Baker, was arrested for distributing leaflets promotingReichssender Hamburg. She tried to commit suicide in prison and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.[9] Domvile himself wasinterned duringSecond World War underDefence Regulation 18B from 7 July 1940 to 29 July 1943.[10] During his wartime captivity, he wrote an autobiographical memoir,From Admiral to Cabin Boy. It was first published in 1947 and republished in 2008.[11]
Domvile largely faded from public life in the postwar period. He denied theHolocaust and continued to defend Germany, describing the war as a "punitive expedition" against a "nation which had rebelled against the financial system." Domvile decried theNuremberg executions in October 1946, stating that, "The Nuremberg victims died bravely, and are more likely to survive in history as martyrs, than criminals." He later became a supporter of theLeague of Empire Loyalists but was never more than a peripheral figure in that group. Domvile was a member of theNational Front's National Council from its formation in 1967 to his death in 1971.[12]
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| Preceded by | Director of Naval Intelligence 1927–1930 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President, Royal Naval College, Greenwich 1932–1934 | Succeeded by |
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