Norman Wodehouse

Norman Wodehouse
Born (1887-05-18)18 May 1887
Basford, Nottinghamshire, England
Died 4 July 1941(1941-07-04) (aged 54)
At sea
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service 1904 – 1941
Rank Vice Admiral
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Forward
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
United Services Rugby Football Club
Royal Navy Rugby Union
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1910-1913 England 14 Tries-(2)

Vice Admiral Norman Atherton Wodehouse CB (18 May 1887 – 4 July 1941) was a Royal Navy officer killed in the second World War. He had gained 14 caps for England at rugby union, including six as captain between 1910 and 1913.

Naval history

Wodehouse joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in the Atlantic Fleet in 1904.[1] During World War I, Wodehouse served on the battleship HMS Revenge at the Battle of Jutland, as a gunnery officer. Although several other members of his team were killed in the battle, Wodehouse survived, and went on to secure the position of aide-de-camp to King George VI and as a result was presented with the Companion of the Order of the Bath. He commanded Royal Naval College, Dartmouth from 1931 to 1934.[1]

Wodehouse was recalled to active service in May 1939 and became Rear Admiral, Gibraltar,[2] a post he held until November 1939, shortly after the beginning of the Second World War, when he became a Convoy Commodore. He was killed when the merchant vessel Robert L. Holt was sunk by U-69 on 4 July 1941, after he had ordered the South Africa bound convoy he was commanding to scatter due to the attacks by German submarines.[3]

Family

He married Mrs Theodosia Frances Swire, née Boyle (1890–1966), daughter of Commander Edward Boyle and Theodosia Ogilvie, and widow of Captain Douglas William Swire (d. 1920), on 22 October 1923.

By his wife Theodosia, he had two sons:[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Wodehouse, Norman Atherton (1887-1941), Vice Admiral". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. Brown, David (2005). The Road to Oran: Anglo-French Naval Relations, September 1939-July 1940. Routledge. ISBN 978-0714654614.
  3. "Casualty Details: Norman Wodehouse". Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
  4. Theroff, Paul (2014). "Descendants of King Henry VII". Royal Genealogy Site. Retrieved 24 September 2014.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
New Post
Rear Admiral Gibraltar
May 1939November 1939
Succeeded by
Commander in Chief, North Atlantic
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