Admiral Sir Sidney Julius Meyrick KCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (28 March 1879 – 18 December 1973) was a 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...

 officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station.

Naval career

Meyrick 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...

 in 1893. He served in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in HMS Erin and then in HMS Resolution in the Grand Fleet.

After the War he became Flag Captain commanding HMS Courageous

HMS Courageous (50)

HMS Courageous was the lead ship of the cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, John Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Courageous was completed in late...

 and Chief Staff Officer to the Commander-in-Chief of the Reserve Fleet in 1920 and then moved on to be Commander of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in 1921. He was made Flag Captain commanding HMS Revenge

HMS Revenge (06)

HMS Revenge was the lead ship of the Revenge class of battleships of the Royal Navy, the ninth to bear the name. She was launched during World War I in 1915. Though the class is often referred to as the Royal Sovereign class, official documents of 1914–1918 refer to the class as the Revenge class...

 and Chief Staff Officer to the Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet in 1922.

He joined the Staff of Royal Naval College at Greenwich

Old Royal Naval College

The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as being of “outstanding universal value” and reckoned to be the “finest and most...

 in 1923 and became Director of Training and Staff Duties at the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 in 1926. He was appointed Flag Captain commanding HMS Nelson and Captain of the Fleet to the Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet in 1927 before becoming Captain of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth

Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...

 in 1929 and Naval Secretary

Naval Secretary

The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy appointment of which the incumbent is responsible for policy direction on personnel management for members of the RN. It is a senior RN appointment, held by an officer holding the rank of Rear-Admiral. The Naval Secretary's counterpart in the British Army is...

 in 1932. He was then made Commander of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1934 and Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station in 1937.

At the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, fomations under his command, as Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station, included the 8th Cruiser Squadron and two escort ships. In 1940 he was credited with forcing the Captain of the German liner Columbus

SS Columbus (1924)

The Columbus, laid down before the start of World War I, was originally to be named Hindenburg. However, her then-sister, originally named Columbus, was handed over to the White Star Line after the war as part of reparations in 1920. The Allies allowed the Norddeutscher Lloyd , her owners, to keep...

 to scuttle his ship. He retired in 1940.

He died at Norton House, near Chichester

Chichester

Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...

 in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

.