Sir Robert Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet
Encyclopedia
Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet, KCB
, MVO
(23 March 1864 – 31 May 1916) was a British
Royal Navy
officer during World War I
. He met his death at the Battle of Jutland
, when the cruiser squadron he commanded came under heavy fire after a bold but ill-judged attack on the German battle fleet.
to Major
Sir William Arbuthnot, 3rd Baronet and Alice Margaret Thompson, he succeeded to his father's baronetcy on 5 June 1889. On 9 November 1901, he was severely wounded when a 6-inch gun, which was being prepared to celebrate the King's birthday, exploded on board HMS Royal Sovereign
, killing six men. In 1904, he became a Member of the Royal Victorian Order
(MVO).
Arbuthnot had been a rugby three-quarter back who captained the United Service team and played for Hampshire
. He was a boxing champion, who after dinner might bring out boxing gloves and spar with his guests. On one occasion when two sailors were found to be seeking revenge for a punishment, he issued them with boxing gloves and proceeded to take on and knock down the pair. On another occasion when three of his men launched a surprise attack against him while ashore, two had to be taken away to hospital. He was 'almost certainly the only [admiral] who could be seen on the quarterdeck of the flagship doing three grand circles in succession on the horizontal bar'. An interfleet crosscountry race was called "The Arbuthnot Trophy".
He had a Sunbeam Tonneau and competed with it in the 1904 Bexhill Speed Trials. An enthusiastic member of the Motor Cycling Club
, he kept his motorbike in his day cabin and engaged in long distance endurance races. In 1908
, he came third in the single-cylinder class of the Isle of Man TT
, and an annual rally in the Isle of Man
and a TT trophy for service members are named after him. He had been a member of the M.C.C.
since 1898, and had played for the Club, United Services, and the Navy. There is also a hamlet
and post office named after him in Saskatchewan
.
He was married on 11 December 1897, to Lina MacLeay (1868–1935), daughter of Colonel Alexander Caldcleugh MacLeay. They had one daughter.
.
In 1900 as executive officer of Royal Sovereign
, Arbuthnot published A Battleship Commander's Order Book, containing some 300 pages of detailed standing orders for the crew. A ship's Commander at this time would typically produce just a couple of pages of special instructions for his crew, to stand alongside King's Regulations. The book remains a source of information on details of life aboard a battleship at this time, but contemporaries supposedly made so many jokes about it that Arbuthnot allegedly requested it not be mentioned in his biographical entry in Who's Who in the Navy.
In January 1910, while commanding officer of the battleship , Arbuthnot made a speech at the Auto-Cycle Union, which was at the time considered very inflammatory. He spoke boldly of the German menace and insisted that urgent preparations against it were essential. He said that ever since the German Emperor came to the throne, he had been preparing for the invasion of the country. A General election
was in progress and he urged that "to prevent that, the first thing to do was to keep the Liberals
out of power". The German
government made a formal protest and the Admiralty demanded an explanation from Arbuthnot. He was quickly relieved of his command and placed on half-pay. However, shortly thereafter he was appointed to the submarine committee (March to December), and then appointed Commodore
commanding the First Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich
, where he remained 1910-1912. He was also aide-de-camp
to King George V
from 1911 to 1912, and was promoted to Rear-Admiral in July 1912. In 1913 he was appointed second-in-command of the Second Battle Squadron
commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender
, flying his own flag from the dreadnought
Orion
.
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While a respected officer, he was generally recalled as a martinet who insisted on strict adherence to regulations, sometimes counter-productively, as in missing a rare opportunity in 1914 during a German raid on Scarborough
to sink a group of German light cruisers and destroyers, because he had not received orders to open fire. Orions captain, Frederic Charles Dreyer
, had guns trained on the enemy ships, but Arbuthnot refused to open fire before Warrender. By the time any decision was made the ships had turned away and escaped.
Arbuthnot was appointed commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron
in January 1915, with the obsolete armoured cruiser HMS Defence
as his flagship. Admiral John Jellicoe
, commanding the Grand Fleet, noted that all was not entirely well with the squadron under Arbuthnot: "Arbuthnot is one of the finest fellows in the world, but somehow can't run a squadron. His ideals are too high and he can't leave people alone. He would be invaluable when there is fighting. I have the highest opinion of him."
Defence with the admiral on board was sunk at the Battle of Jutland
on 31 May 1916, in circumstances described by Admiral of the Fleet
Lord Fisher as "a glorious but not a justifiable death". Rear-Admiral Horace Hood
commanding the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron
had briefly engaged light cruisers of the German 2nd Scouting Group. Arbuthnot had seen the engagement and deciding to attack the cruisers before they could escape, turned his squadron in pursuit, crossing the path of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron
commanded by David Beatty
. In the course of this turn first Defence and then HMS Warrior
steamed in front of HMS Lion
, forcing it to turn sharply, missing collision with it by less than 200 yards. The battlecruisers were at that time exchanging shells with German ships: Arbuthnot had turned into an area full of falling shells which other ships had been striving to avoid and was disrupting Lion's return fire. The third cruiser of his squadron, HMS Duke of Edinburgh
, was unable to cross the battlecruiser line, so stayed behind, while the final cruiser, HMS Black Prince
, was also too far away to join the mad dash.
Arbuthnot's goal was apparently to close at high speed with the drifting, crippled German light cruiser Wiesbaden
. In the process, his ships presented themselves as an easy target for the combined firepower of German Admiral Franz von Hipper
's battlecruiser squadron and the approaching High Seas Fleet
. Defence was destroyed in a massive magazine
explosion and went down with all 903 hands aboard. Captain Gunther Paschen of Lützow
recorded, "From left to right there appears in the field of the periscope a ship, improbably large and close. At the first glance I recognise an old English armoured cruiser and give the necessary orders...Range 76 hm....Five salvoes rapidly follow, of which three straddle: then there was repeated the now familiar sight of a ship blowing up." Captain Georg von Hase of the battlecruiser Derfflinger
also trained his secondary armament on Defence, but before he could open fire the ship had exploded.
Warrior fought on, but was crippled by hits from fifteen heavy shells. She was saved from destruction by the battleship Warspite
, which was forced to turn in circles around Warrior because of a stuck rudder, and in the process drew the enemy fire to herself. Warrior withdrew and was taken in tow, but had to be abandoned and sunk the following day. Arbuthnot's unwise 'berserk rush' towards the enemy may have been a result of his impetuous nature and determination to seek the enemy, but it accorded with Grand Fleet standing orders, for cruisers to seek out and report on enemy ships. However, the main body of the German fleet was obscured by poor visibility, so that the cruisers came dangerously close before the main enemy force could be seen. Walter Cowan
, captain of the battlecruiser HMS Princess Royal
saw the cruisers approaching the German fleet and commented he would "bet anything" it was Arbuthnot.
One beneficiary of this mishap was the destroyer , which was engaged in a torpedo attack on the German fleet at this time. The more interesting targets Defence, Warrior and then Warspite drew fire away from her, allowing her to escape. Her commander, John Tovey
, went on to play a part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck
in the Second World War.
A memorial plaque was erected to Arbuthnot in St. Giles' Cathedral
, Edinburgh
. and he was posthumously made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
, having been made a Companion already in 1916.
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...
, MVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(23 March 1864 – 31 May 1916) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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 during 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...
. He met his death at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
, when the cruiser squadron he commanded came under heavy fire after a bold but ill-judged attack on the German battle fleet.
Background
Born in AlderminsterAlderminster
Alderminster is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. It is on the River Stour and the A3400, between Stratford-upon-Avon and Shipston-on-Stour. Nearby places are Wimpstone, Atherstone-on-Stour and Newbold-on-Stour...
to Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Sir William Arbuthnot, 3rd Baronet and Alice Margaret Thompson, he succeeded to his father's baronetcy on 5 June 1889. On 9 November 1901, he was severely wounded when a 6-inch gun, which was being prepared to celebrate the King's birthday, exploded on board HMS Royal Sovereign
HMS Royal Sovereign (1891)
HMS Royal Sovereign was a Royal Sovereign class battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of the class, and the largest warship in the world at the time of her construction. The ships were designed by Sir William White and were the most potent battleships in the world until HMS Dreadnought...
, killing six men. In 1904, he became a Member of the Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(MVO).
Arbuthnot had been a rugby three-quarter back who captained the United Service team and played for Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. He was a boxing champion, who after dinner might bring out boxing gloves and spar with his guests. On one occasion when two sailors were found to be seeking revenge for a punishment, he issued them with boxing gloves and proceeded to take on and knock down the pair. On another occasion when three of his men launched a surprise attack against him while ashore, two had to be taken away to hospital. He was 'almost certainly the only [admiral] who could be seen on the quarterdeck of the flagship doing three grand circles in succession on the horizontal bar'. An interfleet crosscountry race was called "The Arbuthnot Trophy".
He had a Sunbeam Tonneau and competed with it in the 1904 Bexhill Speed Trials. An enthusiastic member of the Motor Cycling Club
Motor Cycling Club
The Motor Cycling Club is a British motorsports and Motorcycle sport club formed in 1901. It is a member of both the Motor Sports Association and Auto-Cycle Union...
, he kept his motorbike in his day cabin and engaged in long distance endurance races. In 1908
1908 Isle of Man TT
The 1908 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races took place on the Short Course .-Single Cylinder race:22 September 1908 – 10 laps St John's Short Course.-Twin Cylinder race:...
, he came third in the single-cylinder class of the Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT
The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...
, and an annual rally in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
and a TT trophy for service members are named after him. He had been a member of the M.C.C.
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
since 1898, and had played for the Club, United Services, and the Navy. There is also a hamlet
Arbuthnot, Saskatchewan
Arbuthnot is a hamlet located in Glen Bain Rural Municipality No. 105, Saskatchewan, Canada east of Route 19. It was located in census Division No. 2...
and post office named after him in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
He was married on 11 December 1897, to Lina MacLeay (1868–1935), daughter of Colonel Alexander Caldcleugh MacLeay. They had one daughter.
Naval career
Arbuthnot entered the navy in 1877 as a cadet in the training ship BritanniaHMS Prince of Wales (1860)
HMS Prince of Wales was one of six 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate three-decker line-of-battle ships of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 25 January 1860...
.
In 1900 as executive officer of Royal Sovereign
HMS Royal Sovereign (1891)
HMS Royal Sovereign was a Royal Sovereign class battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of the class, and the largest warship in the world at the time of her construction. The ships were designed by Sir William White and were the most potent battleships in the world until HMS Dreadnought...
, Arbuthnot published A Battleship Commander's Order Book, containing some 300 pages of detailed standing orders for the crew. A ship's Commander at this time would typically produce just a couple of pages of special instructions for his crew, to stand alongside King's Regulations. The book remains a source of information on details of life aboard a battleship at this time, but contemporaries supposedly made so many jokes about it that Arbuthnot allegedly requested it not be mentioned in his biographical entry in Who's Who in the Navy.
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
was in progress and he urged that "to prevent that, the first thing to do was to keep the Liberals
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
out of power". The German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
government made a formal protest and the Admiralty demanded an explanation from Arbuthnot. He was quickly relieved of his command and placed on half-pay. However, shortly thereafter he was appointed to the submarine committee (March to December), and then appointed Commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
commanding the First Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
, where he remained 1910-1912. He was also aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
from 1911 to 1912, and was promoted to Rear-Admiral in July 1912. In 1913 he was appointed second-in-command of the Second Battle Squadron
2nd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British Royal Navy 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted back to its original name, the Atlantic Fleet...
commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender
Sir George Warrender, 7th Baronet
Vice-Admiral Sir George John Scott Warrender of Lochend, 7th Baronet KCB KCVO was a senior officer in the Royal Navy during World War I.-Early career:...
, flying his own flag from the dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
Orion
HMS Orion (1910)
HMS Orion was a dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1910, she was the lead ship of her class; she was the first so-called "super-dreadnought", being the first British dreadnought to mount guns of calibre greater than twelve inches, and the first British dreadnought to have...
.
Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
The raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, which took place on 16 December 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British seaport towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, and Whitby. The attack resulted in 137 fatalities and 592 casualties, many of which were civilians...
to sink a group of German light cruisers and destroyers, because he had not received orders to open fire. Orions captain, Frederic Charles Dreyer
Frederic Charles Dreyer
Admiral Sir Frederic Charles Dreyer, GBE, KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy who developed a fire control system for British warships...
, had guns trained on the enemy ships, but Arbuthnot refused to open fire before Warrender. By the time any decision was made the ships had turned away and escaped.
Arbuthnot was appointed commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron
1st Cruiser Squadron
The First Cruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of armored cruisers that saw service as part of the Mediterranean and Grand Fleets during the First World War. It was originally formed in 1909, but was renamed on 1 January 1913 to First Battle Cruiser Squadron...
in January 1915, with the obsolete armoured cruiser HMS Defence
HMS Defence (1907)
HMS Defence was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was the last armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser and light cruiser...
as his flagship. Admiral John Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
, commanding the Grand Fleet, noted that all was not entirely well with the squadron under Arbuthnot: "Arbuthnot is one of the finest fellows in the world, but somehow can't run a squadron. His ideals are too high and he can't leave people alone. He would be invaluable when there is fighting. I have the highest opinion of him."
Defence with the admiral on board was sunk at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
on 31 May 1916, in circumstances described by Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
Lord Fisher as "a glorious but not a justifiable death". Rear-Admiral Horace Hood
Horace Hood
Rear Admiral the Honourable Sir Horace Lambert Alexander Hood KCB, DSO, MVO was a British Royal Navy admiral of the First World War, whose lengthy and distinguished service saw him engaged in operations around the world, frequently participating in land campaigns as part of a shore brigade...
commanding the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron
3rd Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was a short-lived Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War.-Creation:...
had briefly engaged light cruisers of the German 2nd Scouting Group. Arbuthnot had seen the engagement and deciding to attack the cruisers before they could escape, turned his squadron in pursuit, crossing the path of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron
1st Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The First Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War. It was created in 1909 as the First Cruiser Squadron and was renamed in 1913 to First Battle Cruiser Squadron. It participated in the battles of...
commanded by David Beatty
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
. In the course of this turn first Defence and then HMS Warrior
HMS Warrior (1905)
HMS Warrior was a Duke of Edinburgh-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser and light cruiser . Warrior was transferred to the Grand Fleet in...
steamed in front of HMS Lion
HMS Lion (1910)
HMS Lion was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, which were nicknamed the "Splendid Cats". They were significant improvements over their predecessors of the in terms of speed, armament and armour...
, forcing it to turn sharply, missing collision with it by less than 200 yards. The battlecruisers were at that time exchanging shells with German ships: Arbuthnot had turned into an area full of falling shells which other ships had been striving to avoid and was disrupting Lion's return fire. The third cruiser of his squadron, HMS Duke of Edinburgh
HMS Duke of Edinburgh (1904)
HMS Duke of Edinburgh was the lead ship of the armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser and light cruiser...
, was unable to cross the battlecruiser line, so stayed behind, while the final cruiser, HMS Black Prince
HMS Black Prince (1904)
HMS Black Prince was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. During the First World War she served in the Mediterranean before joining the Grand Fleet...
, was also too far away to join the mad dash.
Arbuthnot's goal was apparently to close at high speed with the drifting, crippled German light cruiser Wiesbaden
SMS Wiesbaden
SMS Wiesbaden was the lead ship of the Wiesbaden-class of light cruisers of the German Imperial Navy in World War I, the other being the Frankfurt-Specifications:...
. In the process, his ships presented themselves as an easy target for the combined firepower of German Admiral Franz von Hipper
Franz von Hipper
Franz Ritter von Hipper was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy . Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units and served as watch officer aboard several warships, as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht Hohenzollern...
's battlecruiser squadron and the approaching High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
. Defence was destroyed in a massive magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
explosion and went down with all 903 hands aboard. Captain Gunther Paschen of Lützow
SMS Lützow
SMS Lützow"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the second built by the German Kaiserliche Marine before World War I. Ordered as a replacement for the old protected cruiser , Lützow was launched on 29 November 1913, but not completed until 1916...
recorded, "From left to right there appears in the field of the periscope a ship, improbably large and close. At the first glance I recognise an old English armoured cruiser and give the necessary orders...Range 76 hm....Five salvoes rapidly follow, of which three straddle: then there was repeated the now familiar sight of a ship blowing up." Captain Georg von Hase of the battlecruiser Derfflinger
SMS Derfflinger
SMS Derfflinger"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine built just before the outbreak of World War I. She was the lead vessel of her class of three ships; her sister ships were and...
also trained his secondary armament on Defence, but before he could open fire the ship had exploded.
Warrior fought on, but was crippled by hits from fifteen heavy shells. She was saved from destruction by the battleship Warspite
HMS Warspite (1913)
HMS Warspite was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the British Royal Navy. During World War II Warspite gained the nickname "The Grand Old Lady" after a comment made by Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in 1943....
, which was forced to turn in circles around Warrior because of a stuck rudder, and in the process drew the enemy fire to herself. Warrior withdrew and was taken in tow, but had to be abandoned and sunk the following day. Arbuthnot's unwise 'berserk rush' towards the enemy may have been a result of his impetuous nature and determination to seek the enemy, but it accorded with Grand Fleet standing orders, for cruisers to seek out and report on enemy ships. However, the main body of the German fleet was obscured by poor visibility, so that the cruisers came dangerously close before the main enemy force could be seen. Walter Cowan
Walter Cowan
Admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan, 1st Baronet, KCB, MVO, DSO & & Bar , known as Tich Cowan, was a British Royal Navy admiral who saw service in both World War I and World War II; in the latter he was one of the oldest British servicemen on active duty.-Early days:Cowan was born in Crickhowell,...
, captain of the battlecruiser HMS Princess Royal
HMS Princess Royal (1911)
HMS Princess Royal was the second of two s built for the Royal Navy before World War I. Designed in response to the s of the German Navy, the ships significantly improved on the speed, armament, and armour of the preceding...
saw the cruisers approaching the German fleet and commented he would "bet anything" it was Arbuthnot.
One beneficiary of this mishap was the destroyer , which was engaged in a torpedo attack on the German fleet at this time. The more interesting targets Defence, Warrior and then Warspite drew fire away from her, allowing her to escape. Her commander, John Tovey
John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey
Admiral of the Fleet John Cronyn "Jack" Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey GCB, KBE, DSO, DCL was a Royal Navy admiral who served in both World Wars. He signed himself as "Jack", not "John". Tovey joined the Royal Navy before World War I, and commanded destroyers in that war. He rose, with several senior...
, went on to play a part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
in the Second World War.
A memorial plaque was erected to Arbuthnot in St. Giles' Cathedral
St. Giles' Cathedral
St Giles' Cathedral, more properly termed the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. Its distinctive crown steeple is a prominent feature of the city skyline, at about a third of the way down the Royal Mile which runs from the Castle to...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. and he was posthumously made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
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...
, having been made a Companion already in 1916.
