Ernest Troubridge

Ernest Troubridge
Born	(1862-07-15)15 July 1862 Hampstead,Middlesex,England
Died	28 January 1926(1926-01-28)(aged 63) Biarritz,France
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1875–1924
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMSQueen Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham 1st Cruiser Squadron British Naval Mission, Serbia
Battles/wars	Russo-Japanese War First World War Pursuit ofGoebenandBreslau Serbian Campaign Macedonian front
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companion of the Order of the Bath Member of the Royal Victorian Order Order of the Rising Sun(Japan) Royal Humane Societysilver medal
Education	Wellington College
Spouse(s)	Edith Mary Duffus ​ ​ (m.1891;died 1900)​ Una Vincenzo, Lady Troubridge ​ ​ (m.1908;sep.1919)​
Parents	Sir Thomas Troubridge, 3rd Baronet(father) Louisa Jane Gurney (mother)
Relatives	Thomas Hope Troubridge(son) Sir Edward Troubridge, 2nd Baronet(grandfather) Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet(great-grandfather)

AdmiralSir Ernest Charles Thomas Troubridge,KCMG,CB,MVO(15 July 1862 – 28 January 1926) was an officer of theRoyal Navywho served during theFirst World War.

Troubridge was born into a family with substantial military connections, with several of his forebears being distinguished naval officers. He too embarked on a career in the navy, rising through the ranks during the lateVictorian period,and commanding ships in theMediterranean.He served as anaval attachéto several powers, including theEmpire of Japanduring theRusso-Japanese War.He spent some time immediately before the outbreak of the First World War as a staff officer and assisted in the drawing up of strategic plans to be adopted in the event of war, though these were later rejected. He returned to seagoing service just prior to the outbreak of war, and commanded a cruiser squadron in the Mediterranean with the rank of rear-admiral. Here his promising career was blighted by the events surroundingthe pursuitof two German warships,SMSGoebenandSMSBreslau.Despite being outclassed by the German warships, Troubridge intended to engage them, but was convinced otherwise by hisflag captainand allowed them to escape toConstantinople.He and his commanding officer were heavily criticised for their failure to intercept the German ships, particularly when it subsequently appeared that they became influential in the Turkish decision to enter the war. Troubridge wascourt-martialled,and although he was acquitted, his reputation was damaged.

Troubridge never had another seagoing command, but did command naval detachments and flotillas on theDanubeduring the Balkan campaigns, winning the respect of Serbian Crown PrinceAlexander.After the war he served on theDanube Commissionand was promoted to admiral, but remained out of favour with theAdmiralty.He spent several years as president of the commission, retiring in 1924 and dying in 1926. He married twice; his second wife, the sculptorMargot Elena Gertrude Taylor,left him to begin a lesbian relationship with the writerMarguerite Radclyffe-Hall.

Family and early life

Ernest Troubridge was born inHampstead,London, on 15 July 1862, the third son ofSir Thomas Troubridge, 3rd Baronet,and his wife Louisa Jane (née Gurney, a niece of the Quaker and prison reformerElizabeth Fry).Thomas Troubridge had served in the army during theCrimean War,and had lost his right leg and left foot at theBattle of Inkerman.

The family had a particularly strong naval tradition. Ernest's great-grandfather,Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet,had fought alongsideNelsonatCape St Vincent,while his grandfather,Sir Edward Troubridge, 2nd Baronet,had also been an admiral.Ernest was also more distantly related to the distinguished admiralsAlexander CochraneandThomas Cochrane, Lord Cochrane.Ernest Troubridge briefly attendedWellington Collegebefore joining the Royal Navy in 1875.He trained aboard theBritanniaatDartmouthas a naval cadet, and by 1884 had been promoted to lieutenant. During his service with the fleet he was awarded the silver medal of theRoyal Humane Society,when in 1888 he saved the life of a young seaman who had fallen overboard in the night while their ship was inSuda Bay,Crete.

Rise through the ranks

Troubridge was promoted to the rank of commander in 1895, serving with theMediterranean Fleetaboard theflagshipof the fleet's second-in-command,HMSRevenge,initially Rear-AdmiralRobert Harris,and later Rear-AdmiralGerard Noel.He was promoted tocaptainon 17 July 1901and went on to serve as anaval attachéto several powers, based at first inViennaand from 1902 inMadrid.He became a naval attaché inTokyolater in 1902, and served as such until 1904. With the outbreak of theRusso-Japanese War,he went to sea with the Japanese warships and was present at theBattle of Chemulpo Bayand the subsequentoperationsoffPort Arthur.After the conclusion of the war, Troubridge was awarded theOrder of the Rising Sunby the Japanese, while the British government appointed him aCompanion of the Order of St Michael and St Georgeand aMember of the Royal Victorian Order.Drury]].

HMSDefence,Troubridge's flagship, in the Mediterranean.

He took command of thebattleshipHMSQueen,serving asflag captainto the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, AdmiralCharles Carter Drury.After the expiration of this posting, Troubridge spent the years between 1908 and 1910 ascommodore,commanding the royal naval barracks atChatham,and in 1910 became PrivateNaval Secretaryto theFirst Lord of the Admiralty.Until 1911 this wasReginald McKenna,who was succeeded that year byWinston Churchill.Troubridge was promoted to flag rank in March 1911 with his promotion to rear-admiral, and in 1912 he became chief of the War Staff.During his time on the War Staff, he was involved in the drawing up of plans for naval strategy in the event of war. The plans, which involved the establishment of a massive cordon of warships in British waters, provoked criticism from a number of naval officers and were eventually shown to be unsound in a series of naval exercises and manoeuvres in the summer of 1912.Churchill arranged for Troubridge to leave office at the end of the year, replacing him with Vice-AdmiralSir Henry Jackson.Troubridge returned to active service at sea in January 1913 with his appointment to command the Mediterranean Fleet's cruiser squadron, consisting ofHMSDefence,HMSBlack Prince,HMSDuke of EdinburghandHMSWarrior,under the fleet's commander-in-chief, AdmiralArchibald Berkeley Milne.During this period, Troubridge flew his flag aboardDefence.

First World War

Pursuit ofGoebenandBreslau

Main article:Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau

On the entry of the British into the First World War in early August 1914,Germanyhad two ships in the Mediterranean, forming theirMittelmeerdivision,thebattlecruiserSMSGoebenand thelight cruiserSMSBreslau.The German ships, under Rear-AdmiralWilhelm Souchon,had been shadowed by a British battlecruiser force, while Milne deployed his fleet to bottle up the German ships.After carrying out a shore bombardment, the Germans were observed to coal atMessina,causing Milne to send most of his force to wait west ofSicily,to prevent Souchon from interfering with French troop convoys. Troubridge and his force of four cruisers were sent to cruise west ofCephaloniain case Souchon should try to enter theAdriaticand join theAustro-Hungarian fleet.The Germans sailed from Messina on 6 August and were observed to be making for the Adriatic. They were shadowed by the light cruiserHMSGloucester,which reported that the Germans did not intend to enter the Adriatic, but were in fact heading east towardsCape Matapan.Gloucestercarried out an attack on the German ships, hoping to slow them down sufficiently for Troubridge's cruisers to bring them to action. However, Troubridge had received orders from Milne in late January that, on the instructions of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, the British force in the Mediterranean was not to engage superior forces. Churchill had intended this to mean the Austro-Hungarian and Italian fleets, but Troubridge took it to include the Germans.The orders transmitted to Milne stated that his primary objective was to support the transport of French troops, with the engagement of individual German ships a secondary objective. A superior force should only be engaged in combination with the French.

The battlecruiserSMSGoeben

From his experiences in the Russo-Japanese War, Troubridge was aware that modern naval ordnance could devastate his squadron and that theGoeben's 11-inch guns considerably outranged his own, which consisted of 9.2-inch and 7.5-inch guns.A night attack on the German force using the cruiserHMSDublinfailed when the British ship was unable to make contact, so Troubridge attempted to catch the Germans in narrow waters to reduce the range.Troubridge was still unaware of German intentions, and feared they might double back to the north-east and effect a junction with the Austro-Hungarian fleet.Troubridge resolved to intercept the German squadron and headed southwards to do so, but his flag captain,Fawcet Wray,argued against seeking battle.Troubridge was reluctant to do so anyway, knowing that his ships would be both outranged and attacking in daylight, but felt it was the only honourable option. Wray argued that it would be suicide for the squadron to fight the bigger and longer-ranging guns of theGoebenand, as Wray had a particular reputation in the fleet as an expert on gunnery, Troubridge allowed himself to be persuaded. In tears, Troubridge ordered the chase to be abandoned, a decision that caused Wray to say 'Sir, this is the bravest thing you have ever done.'Troubridge's signal was transmitted shortly afterwards:

4.49am, 7/8/14, to Milne:
Being only able to meetGoebenoutside the range of our guns and inside his, I have abandoned the chase with my squadron.Goebenevidently going to the Eastern Mediterranean.

The chase abandoned, the Germans made it toConstantinople,and the ships were almost immediately turned over to the Turkish Navy.

Court-martial

Both Troubridge and Milne came under considerable criticism for their failure to engage and destroy the German squadron, criticism which intensified when it appeared that the presence of the German ships had been influential in the subsequent Turkish decision to enter the war.Troubridge was ordered back to Britain in September, and faced a court of inquiry held at the Navigation School,Portsmouth.After investigating the events surrounding the chase ofGoebenandBreslau,the court of inquiry decided to court-martial Troubridge on the grounds of his failure to engage the enemy.The court-martial was held on boardHMSBulwark,moored atPortland,from 5 to 9 November 1914.After deliberating, the court came to the conclusion that the charge was not proved, owing to the nature of his orders and theAdmiralty's failure to clarify them, and Troubridge was 'fully and honourably acquitted'.Despite this verdict, the criticism lingered, with accusations that he had let the fleet down. Neither Troubridge nor Milne received another seagoing command, and in January 1915 Troubridge was appointed to head the British naval mission toSerbia.

Balkan service

The British naval mission to Serbia was intended to support Serbian efforts to resist the Austro-Hungarian flotilla, consisting ofmonitorsand patrol vessels, operating on theDanube.For this task, Troubridge commanded a small group of seaman andmarinesarmed with eight4.7-inch naval guns.They were later reinforced with a 45-footpicket boatfitted withtorpedodropping gear.Allied control of the Danube became strategically vital after theGallipoli Campaignbegan, as it prevented river-borne supplies from reaching theBlack Sea,from where they could be transported toTurkey.Despite initial success in preventing Austro-Hungarian domination of the waterway, the entry of Bulgaria into the war and the combined Austrian-German-Bulgarian offensive in October caused the disintegration of the Serbian position. Troubridge and his force retreated with the Serbian army to the Adriatic coast, reaching the small port ofSan Giovanni di Medua.Troubridge was rescued by the Italian Royal Navy and contributed to the overseeing of the withdrawal of the remains of the army and many thousands of refugees toCorfuthroughout December and January.On 16 December he was joined by Lieutenant CommanderCharles Lester Kerr,his flag-lieutenant, who had escaped with his men across the Albanian mountains during an attempt to save the remaining 4.7-inch guns. They and their party left on 21 January in an Italian destroyer and transferred to HMSQueen,based in Taranto, Italy.

Impressed with his services, Serbian Crown PrinceAlexanderrequested Troubridge as his personal advisor and aide. Troubridge, having been promoted to vice-admiral in June 1916, went out toSalonikato join the reformed Serbian armies. He remained in the Balkans throughout the campaigns of the next two years, which culminated in the final collapse of Bulgaria in September 1918.The French commander-in-chief in the area,Louis Franchet d'Espèrey,appointed Troubridge admiral commanding on the Danube. Troubridge quickly requested the formation of a new naval brigade, to be supported with artillery and torpedo gear in order to prosecute the Danube campaign, but this was rejected by the Admiralty in favour of a gunboat flotilla.Displeased by Troubridge's acceptance of a French appointment, they tried to prevent him from having command of the flotilla.

Post-war service

Troubridge remained in the Balkans for several months after the end of the war, and returned to Britain in early 1919, having been promoted to admiral in January 1919.While he was able to restore his position, he attempted to intervene without orders in the establishment ofBéla Kun'sHungarian Soviet Republicin March 1919.His actions brought questionable results, and he remained out of favour with the Admiralty. His experience in the Danube area led to his appointment as president of a provisional inter-alliedDanube Commissionin 1919.He was replaced by a representative favoured by theForeign Officeon the establishment of the permanent international Danube commission, but when this representative, and a representative favoured by the Admiralty both departed, Troubridge was recalled in June 1920.He had been created aKnight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St Georgein June 1919.His tenure as president of the commission lasted until March 1924, during which time he was placed on the retired list by the Admiralty, on the grounds that his salary came from the commission.

Personal life

Troubridge married Edith Mary Duffus on 29 December 1891. The couple had one surviving son,Thomas Hope Troubridge,who followed his father into the navy and eventually became a vice-admiral.Edith died in 1900 after delivering a stillborn fourth child.Ernest remarried on 10 October 1908. His second wife was the sculptorMargot Elena Gertrude Taylor,more commonly known as Una Vincenzo.The couple had a daughter, but separated in 1919, Una having begun a relationship in 1915 withMarguerite Radclyffe-Hall.Sir Ernest Troubridge died suddenly inBiarritzon 28 January 1926, and was buried there.

Honours and awards

• Grand Cross of theOrder of the White Eagle(Kingdom of Serbia)
• Grand Cross of theOrder of the White Eagle with Swords(Kingdom of Serbia)
• Grand Officer of theOrder of Karageorge Starwith Swords (Kingdom of Serbia)
• Commander of the Order of Karageorge Star with Swords (Kingdom of Serbia)
• Officer of the Order of Karageorge Star with Swords (Kingdom of Serbia)
• Grand Cross of theOrder of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus(Kingdom of Italy)
• Grand Officer of theOrder of the Redeemer(Greece)
• Grand Cross of theOrder of the Star of Romania
• Order of the Rising Sun(Japan)
• Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
• Companion of the Order of the Bath
• Member of the Royal Victorian Order
• Croix de Guerre(France)
• Royal Humane Societysilver medal
• Czechoslovak War Cross(Czechoslovakia)

References

• Halpern, Paul G. (2004)."Troubridge, Sir Ernest Charles Thomas (1862–1926)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36563.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
• Lambert, Nicholas A. (2002).Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution.University of South Carolina Press.ISBN1-57003-492-3.
• Speller, Ian (2004).The Royal Navy and Maritime Power in the Twentieth Century.Routledge.ISBN0-415-35004-2.
• Strachan, Hew(2003).The First World War: To Arms.Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-926191-1.
• Tucker, Spencer (2005).Encyclopedia of World War I.Vol. II. ABC-CLIO.ISBN1-85109-420-2.
• Wachman, Gay (2001).Lesbian Empire: Radical Crosswriting in the Twenties.Rutgers University Press.ISBN0-8135-2942-5.

External links

• The Forgotten Admiral Troubridge(RTS Documentary - Official Channel)