Sir Roger Backhouse | |
|---|---|
 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Backhouse | |
| Born | (1878-11-24)24 November 1878 Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 15 July 1939(1939-07-15) (aged 60) London, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Service years | 1892–1939 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | First Sea Lord Home Fleet 1st Battle Squadron 3rd Battle Squadron HMS Malaya HMS Lion HMS Conquest |
| Conflicts | First World War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George |
Admiral of the FleetSir Roger Roland Charles Backhouse,GCB, GCVO, CMG (24 November 1878 – 15 July 1939) was aRoyal Navy officer. He served in theFirst World War as acruiser commander and after the war became a battle squadron commander and laterCommander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. BecomingFirst Sea Lord in November 1938, his major contribution in that role was to abandon the official British policy of sending a major fleet to Singapore to deter Japanese aggression (theSingapore strategy), realising the immediate threat was closer to home (from Germany and Italy) and that such a policy was no longer viable. He died from abrain tumour in July 1939 just before the outbreak of theSecond World War.
Backhouse was fourth son ofSir Jonathan Backhouse, 1st Baronet and Florence Backhouse (née Salusbury-Trelawny); his elder brother, AdmiralOliver Backhouse, also achieved flag rank in the Royal Navy.[1] Backhouse joined theRoyal Navy as acadet in the training shipHMSBritannia in 1892 and went to sea as amidshipman in thebattleshipHMS Repulse in theChannel Squadron in 1894.[2]
Backhouse transferred to thecorvetteHMS Comus on thePacific Station in October 1895 and, having been promoted tosub-lieutenant on 15 March 1898[3] and to lieutenant on 15 March 1899,[3] he joined the battleshipHMS Victorious in theMediterranean Fleet in November 1899.[2] After attending the gunnery schoolHMS Excellent, he was posted as gunnery officer to the battleshipHMS Russell in the Mediterranean Fleet in February 1903 and then to the battleshipHMS Queen in Mediterranean Fleet in April 1904, before returning to HMSExcellent to join the directing staff in July 1905.[2] He became gunnery officer in the battleshipHMS Dreadnought in theChannel Fleet in August 1907 and, having been promoted tocommander on 31 December 1909,[4] he rejoined the directing staff at HMSExcellent in February 1910.[2] He became Flag Commander to theCommander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, first inHMS Neptune from March 1911 and then inHMS Iron Duke from March 1914.[2]
Backhouse served in theFirst World War, earning promotion tocaptain on 1 September 1914,[5] and being appointed commanding officer of the light cruiserHMS Conquest in the Harwich Force in November 1915 before being given command of the battle cruiserHMS Lion, flagship of the Battle Cruiser force, in November 1916.[2] He was appointed aCompanion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 4 June 1917.[6]
Backhouse became Director of Naval Ordnance at theAdmiralty in September 1920 and then commanding officer of the battleshipHMS Malaya in January 1923, before receiving promotion torear admiral on 24 February 1925[7] and being given command of the3rd Battle Squadron in May 1926.[2] He becameThird Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy in November 1928, and having been promoted tovice admiral on 9 October 1929,[8] he became Commander of the1st Battle Squadron and Second-in-Command of theMediterranean Fleet in April 1932.[9] Appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the1933 New Year Honours,[10] he was promoted to fulladmiral on 11 February 1934[11] and becameCommander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, with his flag in the battleshipHMS Nelson, on 20 August 1935.[9] Two months later, when being flown back from London to Portsmouth, hisSupermarine Walrus aircraft made a bad landing and began to sink; he and the crew had to be rescued, leaving him uninjured but shaken.[12] He was appointed aKnight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 20 May 1937.[13]
Advanced toKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the1938 New Year Honours[14] and appointedFirst and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp tothe King on 1 July,[15] Backhouse becameFirst Sea Lord on 7 September 1938.[9] Taking office shortly before the signing of theMunich Agreement, his major contribution as First Sea Lord was to abandon the official British policy of sending a major fleet to Singapore to deter Japanese aggression (theSingapore strategy), realising the immediate threat was closer to home (from Germany and Italy) and that such a policy was no longer viable.[9] With failing health, he resigned as First Sea Lord in May 1939 and, having been promoted toAdmiral of the Fleet on 29 June 1939, he died from a brain tumour in London on 15 July 1939 just before the outbreak of theSecond World War.[9]
In 1907 Backhouse married Dora Louise Findlay, daughter ofJohn Ritchie Findlay proprietor of the British newspaper,The Scotsman; they had two sons and four daughters.[2]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy 1928–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet 1935–1938 | |
| Preceded by | First Sea Lord 1938–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp 1938–1939 | Succeeded by |
