Douglas Nicholson

Sir Douglas Nicholson
Born4 March 1867
Died8 February 1946 (aged 78)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Navy
RankAdmiral
CommandsHMS Hyacinth
HMS Hermes
HMS St Vincent
HMS Conqueror
Flag Officer, Royal Yachts
HMS Agincourt
3rd Battle Squadron
Reserve Fleet
Battles / warsAnglo-Egyptian War
World War I
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Admiral Sir Douglas Romilly Lothian Nicholson, KCMG, KCVO (4 March 1867 – 8 February 1946) was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Reserve Fleet.

Born the son of Sir Lothian Nicholson, a former Governor of Gibraltar, and Mary Romilly, Nicholson served in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882.[1] He was appointed in command of the destroyer HMS Spiteful on 11 January 1901,[2] as she was serving in home waters, and was in charge when she ran aground near the Isle of Wight the following month and during a collision with sister ship HMS Peterel in October. After a year with the Spiteful, he was appointed in command of HMS Dove on 24 February 1902,[3] serving in the Channel Fleet as part of the Portsmouth instructional flotilla. In May 1902, the ship hit a rock off Kildorney, and had to be towed by her sister ship HMS Bullfinch to Queenstown,[4] and later back to Portsmouth for repairs.[5] Douglas and the crew transferred to the recently completed torpedo boat destroyer HMS Success, which was commissioned at Portsmouth on 9 June.[6] The following day, the navy held a court-martial where he was tried for negligence during the Kildorney incident. He was acquitted of negligence, but severely reprimanded for being in error of judgment.[7]

In December 1902, Nicholson was appointed to the seagoing training ship HMS Northampton, to serve in command of HMS Calliope, tender to the larger Northampton.[8]

Nicholson became commanding officer of the cruiser HMS Hyacinth in August 1905, of the cruiser HMS Hermes in December 1905 and of the battleship HMS St Vincent in 1910.[9] He went on to be commanding officer of the battleship HMS Conqueror in 1912 and Commodore of His Majesty's Yachts in 1913.[1] He served in World War I as commanding officer of HMS Agincourt in the Grand Fleet from 1914.[9] He continued his war service as Second-in-Command of the 3rd Battle Squadron from March 1917, as Second-in-Command of the 4th Battle Squadron from September 1917 and as Commander of the 3rd Battle Squadron from 1918.[10]

He became Rear-Admiral, Reserve Fleet at Portland in 1919 and Vice-Admiral commanding the Reserve Fleet in 1922 before retiring in 1926.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Nicholson, Douglas". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36340. London. 1 January 1901. p. 12.
  3. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36691. London. 14 February 1902. p. 9.
  4. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36774. London. 22 May 1902. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36777. London. 26 May 1902. p. 7.
  6. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36790. London. 10 June 1902. p. 12.
  7. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36791. London. 11 June 1902. p. 13.
  8. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36951. London. 15 December 1902. p. 6.
  9. ^ a b Captains Commanding Royal Navy Warships Archived 14 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Senior Royal Navy Appointments Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Reserve Fleet
1922–1923 		Succeeded by