Ronald Niel Stuart
| Ronald Niel Stuart | |
|---|---|
Ronald Niel Stuart VC
|
|
| Born |
26 August 1886 Toxteth, Liverpool |
| Died | 8 February 1954 (aged 67) Charing, Kent |
| Buried at | Charing Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Naval Reserve Merchant Navy
|
| Years of service | 1914–1951 |
| Rank | Captain and Commodore |
| Unit | Royal Naval Reserve |
| Commands held |
Royal Navy: Q-ship HMS Tamarisk Merchant Navy: SS Brandon, SS Minnedosa, SS Duchess of York, RMS Empress of Britain |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Victoria Cross Distinguished Service Order Royal Navy Reserve Decoration Mentioned in Despatches Croix de Guerre (France) Navy Cross (United States) |
Ronald Niel Stuart VC DSO RD RNR (26 August 1886 – 8 February 1954) was a British Merchant Navy commodore and Royal Navy captain who was highly commended following extensive and distinguished service at sea over a period of more than thirty-five years. During World War I he received the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Order, the French Croix de Guerre avec Palmes and the United States' Navy Cross for a series of daring operations he conducted while serving in the Royal Navy during the War at Sea.
Stuart's Victoria Cross was awarded following a ballot by the men under his command. This unusual method of selection was used after the Admiralty board was unable to choose which members of the crew deserved the honour after a desperate engagement between a Q-ship and a German submarine off the Irish coast. His later career included command of the liner RMS Empress of Britain and the management of the London office of a major transatlantic shipping company. Following his retirement in 1951, Stuart moved into his sister's cottage in Kent and died three years later. A sometimes irascible man, he was reportedly embarrassed by any fuss surrounding his celebrity and was known to exclaim "Mush!" at any demonstration of strong emotion.
Ronald Niel Stuart was born in 1886 in Liverpool to Neil Stuart and Mary Harrison, both from experienced seafaring families. Neil Sr. had been born on Prince Edward Island in Canada and had met and married Mary in Montreal. She was the daughter of a master mariner from Australia. In the 1880s the family moved to Liverpool, where Stuart was born as the youngest of six children. Neil worked in the city as a dock superintendent and owner of a wholesale tea shop before dying suddenly while preparing for a return to the Merchant Navy.
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