John de Robeck

Sir John de Robeck, Bt
Sir John de Robeck
Born	10 June 1862 Naas, County Kildare, Ireland
Died	20 January 1928 (aged 65) London, England, United Kingdom
Allegiance	United Kingdom / British Empire
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1875–1924
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Desperate HMS Angler HMS Mermaid HMS Carnarvon HMS Dominion 9th Cruiser Squadron Eastern Mediterranean Squadron 3rd Battle Squadron 2nd Battle Squadron Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Michael de Robeck, 1st Baronet GCB, GCMG, GCVO (10 June 1862 – 20 January 1928) was Royal Navy officer. In the early years of the 20th century he served as Admiral of Patrols, commanding four flotillas of destroyers.

De Robeck commanded the allied naval force in the Dardanelles during the First World War. His campaign to force the straits, launched on 18 March 1915, was nearly successful, as the Turkish land-based artillery almost ran out of ammunition: however, mines laid in the straits led to the loss of three allied battleships. The subsequent ground campaign, like the naval campaign, was ultimately a failure and the ground troops had to be taken off the Gallipoli peninsula by de Robeck on the night of 8 January 1916. He went on to become Commander of the 3rd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet and then Commander of the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet.

After the war de Robeck became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and British High Commissioner to Turkey, and then Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet.

Born the son of John Henry Edward Fock, 4th Baron de Robeck (a member of the Swedish nobility) and Zoë Sophia Charlotte Fock (née Burton), de Robeck joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS Britannia on 15 July 1875. Promoted to midshipman on 27 July 1878, he joined the frigate HMS Shannon in the Channel Squadron in July 1878 and then transferred to the training ship HMS St Vincent at Portsmouth in April 1882. Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 27 July 1882, he joined the gunnery school HMS Excellent in August 1882 before transferring to the gunboat HMS Espoir on the China Station in August 1883. Promoted to lieutenant on 30 September 1885, he transferred to the battleship HMS Audacious, flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, China in early 1886, to the brig HMS Seaflower in March 1887 and to the battleship HMS Agincourt, flagship of the Channel Squadron, in November 1887. He joined the staff of the training ship HMS Britannia in September 1888 and then transferred to the armoured cruiser HMS Imperieuse, flagship of the China Station, in January 1891 before returning to the staff of the training ship HMS Britannia in August 1893.