Barry Domvile
Sir Barry Domvile | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 5 September 1878 |
| Died | 13 August 1971(aged 92) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | HMSMiranda HMSTipperary HMSCentaur HMSCuracoa HMSRoyal Sovereign Royal Naval College, Greenwich |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George |
AdmiralSir Barry Edward Domvile,KBE,CB,CMG(5 September 1878 – 13 August 1971) was a high-rankingRoyal Navyofficer who was interned during theSecond World Warfor being aNazisympathiser.[1] Throughout the 1930s, he had expressed support for Germany'sAdolf Hitleras well as pro-Naziandanti-Semiticsentiments.[2]
[edit]
Domvile was the son of Admiral SirCompton Domvileand followed his father into the Royal Navy in 1892.[3]In 1912, he became Assistant Secretary to theCommittee of Imperial Defence,and duringWorld War Ihe commanded thedestroyerHMSMiranda,the destroyerHMSTipperary,thecruiserHMSCentaurand then the cruiserHMSCuracoa.[3]After the war, he became Director of Plans in 1920, andChief of Staffto the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean in 1922 before becoming, in 1925, commanding officer of the battleshipHMSRoyal Sovereign.[3]
He served asDirector of Naval Intelligencefrom 1927 to 1930, then commanded the ThirdCruiser Squadronfrom 1931 to 1932, and served as President of theRoyal Naval College, Greenwichfrom 1932 to 1934.[3]
Far-right activism[edit]
Domvile visited Germany in 1935 and was impressed by many aspects of theNazigovernment. He was invited to attend theNuremberg Rallyof September 1936 as a guest of German AmbassadorJoachim von Ribbentrop.Domvile became a council member of theAnglo-German Fellowshipand founded the Anglo-German organisationThe Link.[4]
Domvile supportedSt. John Philby,theanti-SemiticBritish People's Partycandidate in theHytheby-electionof 1939, and visitedSalzburgthat summer, which attracted some criticism.[5]
Domvile was prominent in British far-right circles as the prospect of war seemed imminent in the late 1930s. At one meeting of theRight Club,which had been set up in May 1939, he declared the need for "a bloody revolution" in Britain and added "I am ready to start one right away."[6]
Domvile's pro-Nazi and anti-war sympathies were expressed in an endorsement to the 1939 bookThe Case For Germany.[7]His endorsement consisted of the comment in the preface:[7]
It is a great pleasure to me to introduce the public toDr. Laurie's valuable book on modern Germany.
He is best known to the world as a brilliant scientist, but he has found time in the intervals of his work to pursue with ardour the task upon which every sensible member of the British and German races should be engaged – namely the establishment of good relations and a better understanding between these two great nations.
Dr. Laurie knows full well that this friendship is the keystone to peace in Europe – nay, in the whole world. He is one of the small group who founded the Association known as "The Link", whose sole aim is to get Britons and Germans to know and understand one another better. He is one of the most zealous workers in this good cause in the country.
He writes of the National Socialist movement with knowledge and great sympathy. The particular value of this book lies in the fact that it is written by a foreigner, who cannot be accused of patriotic excess in his interpretation of the great work done by Herr Hitler and his associates. I recommend this volume with confidence to all people who are genuinely impressed with the desire to understand one of the greatest – and most bloodless – revolutions in history. "
Admiral Sir Barry Domvile 8 May 1939
World War II[edit]
In June 1940, Domvile's mistress, Mrs Olive Baker, was arrested for distributing leaflets promotingReichssender Hamburg.She tried to commit suicide in prison and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.[8]
Domvile himself wasinternedduringWorld War IIunderDefence Regulation 18Bfrom 7 July 1940 to 29 July 1943.[9]
During his wartime captivity, he wrote an autobiographical memoir,From Admiral to Cabin Boy.It was first published in 1947 and republished in 2008.[10]
Later life[edit]
Domvile largely faded from public life in the postwar period. He was a supporter of theLeague of Empire Loyalistsbut was never more than a peripheral figure in that group. He was a member of theNational Front's National Council from its formation in 1967 to his death in 1971.[11]
Books[edit]
- By and Large,pub Hutchinson, 1936 (His autobiography)
- From Admiral to Cabin Boy(1947; the cabin referred to is his cell atBrixton prisonduring internment)ISBN0-89562-099-5;online
- Look to Your Moat(A history of British naval and merchant seamen)
- The Great Taboo:Freemasonry
- Straight from the Jew's Mouth
- Truth aboutAnti-Semitism
References[edit]
- ^"Admiral Sir Barry Edward Domvile, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G. (1878-1971)".dumville.org.Retrieved4 July2018.
- ^Woodbridge, Steven (5 October 2020)."The Admiral who admired Hitler: Sir Barry Domvile, Nazism and early Historical Revisionism"(PDF).The British Association for Holocaust Studies.Retrieved1 December2023.
- ^abcdLiddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^Woodbridge, Steven (1 July 2020)."Admiral Domvile and the Nazis: New light on 'The Link' at local level".Kingston University, London. p. 1.Retrieved27 October2021.
- ^Shirley, Craig (2013).December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World.Thomas Nelson. p. 124.ISBN978-1595554581.
- ^"The men and women who plotted to stab Britain in the back during WWII".Times of Israel.Retrieved30 June2020.
- ^abLaurie, Arthur Pillans (1939).The Case for Germany: A Study of Modern Germany.Internationaler Verlag. p. 7.
- ^Gottlieb, Julie V. (2000) Feminine Fascism, Bloomsbury, p.281ISBN1-86064-918-1
- ^"Civil Defence (detainees)".Hansard. 10 February 1943.Retrieved26 October2021.
- ^Domvile, Admiral Barry (15 May 2008).From Admiral to Cabin Boy.Uckfield, Sussex: Historical Review Press.ISBN9780906879771.
- ^Martin Walker,The National Front,Fontana/Collins, 1977, p. 30
 Directors ofNaval Intelligence | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
- 1878 births
- 1971 deaths
- Royal Navy admirals
- British Nazis
- Anti-Masonry
- People detained under Defence Regulation 18B
- Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Royal Navy officers of World War I
- Directors of Naval Intelligence
- Admiral presidents of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich
- 19th-century Royal Navy personnel