Henry Blagrove
| Henry Blagrove | |
|---|---|
Henry Blagrove
|
|
| Birth name | Henry Evelyn Charles Blagrove |
| Born | 26 April 1887 Harbledown, Kent |
| Died | 14 October 1939 (aged 52) Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1901 to 1939 † |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Curacoa, HMS Norfolk, HMS Sussex, Second Battle Squadron |
| Battles/wars |
First World War • Battle of Dogger Bank • Battle of Jutland Second World War • Destruction of HMS Royal Oak |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Gordon Lowe |
Rear-Admiral Henry Evelyn Charles Blagrove (26 April 1887 – 14 October 1939) was the first British Royal Navy officer of flag rank to be killed in the Second World War. An experienced staff officer and veteran of several actions of the First World War aboard the battlecruiser HMS Tiger, Blagrove had only just received his appointment as commander of the 2nd Battleship Squadron of the Home Fleet when he was killed in the destruction of his flagship HMS Royal Oak by U-47.
Henry Blagrove was born to Colonel Henry John Blagrove, CB of the 13th Hussars and Alice Evelyn Blagrove neé Boothby at Harbledown, Kent in April 1887. His family owned the Blagrove Estate in the Browns Town & Orange Valley of St Ann’s Jamaica. It had formerly been a slave plantation.
In 1901 aged 14 he entered naval service and trained at HMS Prince of Wales, joining HMS Good Hope as a midshipman in 1903 aged 17. Three years later Blagrove departed the ship as a sub-lieutenant and over the next three years earned promotion to full lieutenant aboard several ships, including HMS Sapphire, HMS Arab and HMS Invincible, the latter being the first of many appointments aboard capital ships.
...
Wikipedia