Henry Boyle Townshend Somerville
Encyclopedia
Henry Boyle Townshend Somerville (September 7, 1863 – March 24, 1936)
Somerville joined the Royal Navy
as a cadet in 1877. He trained as a Hydrographic Surveyor
, was promoted to Captain in 1912 and Vice Admiral on August 1, 1919. He retired on August 2, 1919.
While on surveying duties in the Western Pacific, Somerville built a significant collection of ethnographic artifacts in Solomon Islands
- now in Pitt Rivers Museum
, Oxford.
In 1908, while surveying in British waters, he read a book suggesting stone circles
and standing stones
might have astronomical significance. He thereafter devoted much of his time to surveying such monuments in Britain, Ireland and elsewhere, and became a recognised expert in the field of archaeoastronomy
. He contributed papers to the Antiquarian magazine.
As part of the late summer 1917 reorganisation of the burgeoning British Secret Intelligence Service
, led by Mansfield Smith-Cumming
and his de facto deputy, Colonel Freddie Browning, Somerville was appointed as 'officer in charge of the Naval Section within the Secret Service Bureau.' This was the first career naval officer posting to the Secret Service. In February 1919, Somerville wrote a review setting out a number of basic principles for service and encouraging the development of specialist intelligence technical skills within the navy for intelligence gathering and analysis.
After his retirement he returned to the family home at Castletownshend
, near Cork in Ireland. On March 24, 1936 he was murdered by the Irish Republican Army
for recruiting local men to join the Royal Navy.
See also:
Somerville joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as a cadet in 1877. He trained as a Hydrographic Surveyor
Hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
, was promoted to Captain in 1912 and Vice Admiral on August 1, 1919. He retired on August 2, 1919.
While on surveying duties in the Western Pacific, Somerville built a significant collection of ethnographic artifacts in Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
- now in Pitt Rivers Museum
Pitt Rivers Museum
The Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed through that building.The museum was...
, Oxford.
In 1908, while surveying in British waters, he read a book suggesting stone circles
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
and standing stones
Standing stone
Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....
might have astronomical significance. He thereafter devoted much of his time to surveying such monuments in Britain, Ireland and elsewhere, and became a recognised expert in the field of archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
. He contributed papers to the Antiquarian magazine.
As part of the late summer 1917 reorganisation of the burgeoning British Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
, led by Mansfield Smith-Cumming
Mansfield Smith-Cumming
Captain Sir George Mansfield Smith-Cumming, KCMG, CB was the first director of what would become the Secret Intelligence Service , also known as MI6...
and his de facto deputy, Colonel Freddie Browning, Somerville was appointed as 'officer in charge of the Naval Section within the Secret Service Bureau.' This was the first career naval officer posting to the Secret Service. In February 1919, Somerville wrote a review setting out a number of basic principles for service and encouraging the development of specialist intelligence technical skills within the navy for intelligence gathering and analysis.
After his retirement he returned to the family home at Castletownshend
Castletownshend
Castletownshend on Ireland's southwest coast, is a village about eight km from Skibbereen, in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland. The village developed around a small 17th century castle built by Richard Townsend, whose descendents still reside there...
, near Cork in Ireland. On March 24, 1936 he was murdered by the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
for recruiting local men to join the Royal Navy.
Published works
- Ocean Passages for the World. Published for Hydrographic Dept., Admiralty, by HMSO (1923)
- The Chart-Makers. Blackwell & Sons. (1928)
- Commodore Anson's Voyage into the South Seas and Around the World. Heinemann. (1934)
- Will Mariner. Faber & Faber. (1936)
- Records of the Somerville Family of Castlehaven & Drishane from 1174 to 1940 (with Edith Anna SomervilleEdith Anna SomervilleEdith Anna Œnone Somerville was an Irish novelist who habitually signed herself as "E. Œ. Somerville". She wrote in collaboration with her cousin "Martin Ross" under the pseudonym "Somerville and Ross"...
). Published by Guy & Co, Cork, 1940
See also:
- The Selected letters of Somerville and Ross edited by Gifford Lewis, Faber (1989)
- Blood-Dark Track: A Family History, by Joseph O'Neill, Granta (2001) for a detailed account of Boyle Somerville's killing.
- MI6 The History of the Secret Intelligence Service 1909-1949, by Keith JefferyKeith JefferyKeith Jeffery, MRIA is a Northern Irish historian specializing in modern British, British Imperial, and Irish history. Having obtained his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from St. John's College, Cambridge, the latter under the supervision of John Andrew Gallagher, he is currently the Professor of...
, Bloomsbury (2010).