Doveton Sturdee

Sir Doveton Sturdee, Bt
Sturdee as vice admiral after the Battle of the Falkland Islands
Born	(1859-06-09)9 June 1859 Charlton, London
Died	7 May 1925(1925-05-07) (aged 65) Camberley, Surrey
Buried at	St. Peter's Church, Frimley
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1871–1921
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	Nore Command 4th Battle Squadron 2nd Cruiser Squadron 3rd Cruiser Squadron 1st Battle Squadron HMS New Zealand HMS King Edward VII HMS Bulwark HMS Bedford HMS Porpoise
Battles/wars	Anglo-Egyptian War First World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet GCB, KCMG, CVO (9 June 1859 – 7 May 1925) was a Royal Navy officer. After training as a torpedo officer, he commanded two different cruisers and then three different battleships before becoming commander of the 1st Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet. He went on to command the 3rd Cruiser Squadron and then the 2nd Cruiser Squadron.

Just before the start of the First World War Sturdee became Chief of War Staff at the Admiralty. In November 1914 the Royal Navy suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Coronel. In response Sturdee was sent to the South Atlantic to seek out the German squadron, commanded by Graf Maximilian von Spee, which had caused the damage at Coronel. On 8 December 1914, while coaling at Stanley, Sturdee encountered von Spee and the subsequent action became known as the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Von Spee, finding that he was engaged with a superior force, was forced to flee. In the course of the pursuit Sturdee's forces sank almost the entire German squadron. Only one light cruiser escaped but she was hunted down in March 1915.

In the closing years of the war Sturdee served as commander of the 4th Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet and then as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.