Rudolph Bentinck

Sir Rudolph Bentinck
Born	(1869-03-20)20 March 1869 Littlegreenhouse, Sussex
Died	31 March 1947(1947-03-31) (aged 78) Basingstoke, Hampshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1882–1929
Rank	Admiral
Commands	Plymouth Command (1926–29) Reserve Fleet (1926) Africa Station (1922–24) 4th Light Cruiser Squadron (1917–18) HMS Calliope (1917–18) HMS Tiger (1916–17) HMS Superb (1914–15) Royal Naval College, Osborne (1913–14) HMS Bristol (1910–13) HMS Prometheus (1906–08)
Battles / wars	Mahdist War First World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Mentioned in Despatches

Admiral Sir Rudolph Walter Bentinck, KCB, KCMG (20 March 1869 – 31 March 1947) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth from 1926 to 1929.

Early life

Rudolph was the second son of Walter Theodore Edward Bentinck, 13th Baron Bentinck (1840–1901), of a distinguished Dutch family, by his wife Henrietta Jane Christina (d. 1924), daughter of William Hinton, of The Til, Madeira, Portugal.[1]

Naval career

Educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Bentinck joined the Royal Navy in 1882.[2] He took part in the Mahdist War in 1891, and was promoted to commander on 31 December 1901.[3] He was appointed Commander of the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in 1913.[2]

Bentinck served in the First World War, taking part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, as Chief of Staff to Admiral Sir David Beatty,[4] and being mentioned in despatches.[2] After the war he became Naval Secretary.[2] He was appointed second-in-command of the 1st Battle Squadron in the Atlantic Fleet in 1921 and went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the Africa Station in 1922.[2] In that capacity he was briefly acting Governor-General of South Africa from December 1923 to January 1924.[5]

Bentinck became Admiral Commanding the Reserve Fleet in March 1926 and then Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth later that year: he retired in 1929.[6]

Family

In 1898 Bentinck married Mabel Fetherstonhaugh;[7] they had one son and one daughter.[2] A descendant is the entrepreneur Alice Bentinck.[1]

References

1. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage 2003, vol. 3, p. 3183
2. The Peerage.com
3. "No. 27393". The London Gazette. 3 January 1902. p. 3.
4. Battle of Jutland – Royal Navy Ships and Commanding Officers
5. Botswana World Statesmen
6. Moseley, Brian (18 March 2006). "Royal Navy Training Ships". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
7. World Roots

Military offices
Preceded by Allan Everett	Naval Secretary 1918–1921	Succeeded by Hugh Watson
Preceded by Sir William Goodenough	Commander-in-Chief, Africa Station 1922–1924	Succeeded by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice
Preceded by Sir Victor Stanley	Commander-in-Chief, Reserve Fleet March–October 1926	Succeeded by Sir Hugh Watson
Preceded by Sir Richard Phillimore	Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth 1926–1929	Succeeded by Sir Hubert Brand