Sir Robert Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet
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Rear Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot Bt KCB MVO |
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Captain Arbuthnot
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| Born |
23 March 1864 Alderminster, Warwickshire |
| Died | 31 May 1916 (aged 52) At sea off Jutland |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 Royal Navy
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| Years of service | 1877 - 1916 |
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Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet, KCB MVO (23 March 1864 – 31 May 1916) was a British Royal Navy officer during World War I. He met his death at the Battle of Jutland, when the cruiser squadron he commanded came under heavy fire after a bold but ill-judged attack on the German battle fleet.
Born in Alderminster to Major Sir William Arbuthnot, 3rd Baronet and Alice Margaret Thompson, he succeeded to his father's baronetcy on 5 June 1889. In 1904, he became a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO).
Arbuthnot had been a rugby three-quarter back who captained the United Service team and played for Hampshire. He was a boxing champion, who after dinner might bring out boxing gloves and spar with his guests. On one occasion when two sailors were found to be seeking revenge for a punishment, he issued them with boxing gloves and proceeded to take on and knock down the pair. On another occasion when three of his men launched a surprise attack against him while ashore, two had to be taken away to hospital. He was 'almost certainly the only [admiral] who could be seen on the quarterdeck of the flagship doing three grand circles in succession on the horizontal bar'. An interfleet crosscountry race was called "The Arbuthnot Trophy".
He had a Sunbeam Tonneau and competed with it in the 1904 Bexhill Speed Trials. An enthusiastic member of the Motor Cycling Club, he kept his motorbike in his day cabin and engaged in long distance endurance races. In 1908, he came third in the single-cylinder class of the Isle of Man TT, and an annual rally in the Isle of Man and a TT trophy for service members are named after him. He had been a member of the M.C.C. since 1898, and had played for the Club, United Services, and the Navy. There is also a hamlet and post office named after him in Saskatchewan.
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