Charles_Dare

Charles Dare

Charles Dare

British Royal Navy Rear-Admiral (1854–1924)

Admiral Sir Charles Holcombe Dare KCMG CB MVO (9 November 1854 – 6 August 1924) was an English Royal Navy officer. He commanded several ships and shore establishments before and during World War I, and was knighted by King George V.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Family

Dare was born on 9 November 1854[1] to Charles William Dare, a lawyer with a practice in London, and Anne Agnes (née Mew, from Newport, Isle of Wight) in North Curry, Somerset, one of four brothers and a sister.[2][3] Dare's grandfather, also Charles Holcombe Dare, was a Land Tax Commissioner for North Curry.[4] The family had connections in London and the Isle of Wight.[5] Dare married Emily Agnes Harper, a railway guard's daughter who, unusually for the time, brought an illegitimate daughter, Maud, to the marriage.[2]

Early career

Dare enlisted in the Royal Navy as an officer cadet, first serving as a midshipman on HMS Monarch,[2] and was commissioned in 1868.[1] He was a sub-lieutenant until 1879, when he was promoted to lieutenant.[6] In 1893, he was promoted to commander.[7]

Command

HMS Archer in 1888

On his promotion to commander, Dare was given command of HMS Lapwing, a Redbreast-class gunboat, one of the last built of composite materials.[8] In 1898, he was in command of HMS Archer, serving for a time in the Far East.[9] In 1900, he was promoted to full captain,[10] temporary on promotion, in command of the third class cruiser, HMS Bellona.[11]

In 1903, he was given command of HMS Assistance to carry out sea trials off Sheerness; the first of her type, she was a "floating dockyard" designed to go to sea with the fleet, and cost £213,000.[12] In December 1903 he was put in command of the new armoured cruiser HMS Berwick, seeing service with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron; in March 1904 she returned to Chatham from the West Indies for a refit.[13] In September the same year Dare was appointed to the Royal Victorian Order.[14] In 1906, he was in command of HMS Ramillies for six months, following which, in September, he was put in command of the Eastern Coastguard District until April 1909.[15]

In 1908 Dare was awarded a Good Service Pension of £150 per annum.[16]

Flag

In March 1909, Dare was promoted to Rear Admiral on the retirement of Rear Admiral Fegan, conforming to the Navy's regulations on the permitted number of serving senior officers.[17] Four months later, he placed himself on the retired list.[18][15] At this time he was living near Ipswich and a vice-president of Erwarton Quoit Club,[19] and made a speech on the occasion of the rector of Harkstead's 70th birthday.[20]

World War I

Milford Dock in 1921

A few months after the outbreak of the war, Dare was made a captain in the Royal Naval Reserve and in 1915 took command of HMS Idaho, the shore establishment at Milford Haven, to counter the threat from German U-boats to shipping, including convoys, in the area. At the end of the war, Dare paid tribute to all who had served at the Milford base.[21]

Post-war

Dare was knighted by King George V in May 1919, the citation reading: For valuable services in command of the important Auxiliary Patrol Base of Milford Haven since February 1915.[22]

Death

Admiral Dare died on 6 August 1924 in Shotley, near Ipswich, aged 69;[1] his death was reported in The Times.[23] His wife survived him and his estate was valued at £2,593.[1] His daughter, Maud G. Dare, left a 1915 family photograph album to The National Maritime Museum.[24]

References

  1. [1]
    "National Archives: ADM196/19: Dare, Charles Holcombe". Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  2. [2]
    Eickelmann, Christine. The Mountravers Plantation Community, 1734 to 1834 (PDF). University of Bristol. pp. 1143–1144. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  3. [3]
    "Death of a nonagenarian". Taunton Courier. British Newspaper Archive. 9 January 1918. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  4. [4]
    A collection of the public general statutes. Great Britain. 1838. p. 284. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  5. [5]
    The Court Magazine and Monthly Critic. 1847. p. 75. Retrieved 3 December 2018. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. [6]
    "Admiralty, 31 December 1879". London Gazette. 2 January 1880. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Admiralty, 29 December 1893". London Gazette. 29 December 1893. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  8. [8]
    "Today's Naval Intelligence". The Globe. British Newspaper Archive. 14 December 1893. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  9. [9]
    "Navy Appointments". The Globe. British Newspaper Archive. 23 August 1898. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  10. [10]
    "Admiralty". London Gazette. 17 July 1900. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  11. [11]
    "Naval Appointments". London Evening Standard. British Newspaper Archive. 18 July 1900. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  12. [12]
    "Floating workshop". Daily Telegraph & Courier. British Newspaper Archive. 17 August 1903. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  13. [13]
    "Naval and Military Intelligence". London Evening Standard. British Newspaper Archive. 29 March 1904. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  14. [14]
    "Royal Victorian Order: Member of the Fourth Class" (PDF). London Gazette. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  15. [15]
    "News". Dover Express. British Newspaper Archive. 23 July 1909. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  16. [16]
    "Royal Navy". Daily Telegraph & Courier. British Newspaper Archive. 8 May 1908. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  17. [17]
    "Admiralty, 12 March 1909". London Gazette. 16 March 1909. p. 2037. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  18. [18]
    "Admiralty, 15 July 1909". London Gazette. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  19. [19]
    "Quoits". Evening Star. British Newspaper Archive. 30 March 1909. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  20. [20]
    "Birthday celebration at Harkstead". East Anglian Daily Times. British Newspaper Archive. 28 April 1909. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  21. [21]
    "Pembrokeshire's front line role in the U-boat war". Western Telegraph. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  22. [22]
    "Admiralty". Edinburgh Gazette. 30 May 1919. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  23. [23]
    "Death of Admiral Sir Charles Dare". Western Daily Press. British Newspaper Archive. 11 August 1924. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  24. [24]
    "Personal album of Maud G. Dare". Retrieved 3 December 2018.
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