Vice-Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland, (13 September 1887 – 24 May 1941) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer who commanded the British force in the

Battle of the Denmark Strait The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a naval engagement in the Second World War, which took place on 24 May 1941 between ships of the Royal Navy and the ''Kriegsmarine''. The British battleship and the battlecruiser fought the German battleshi ...

in May 1941 against the German battleship ''Bismarck''. Holland was lost when he stayed at his post during the sinking of .

Early life

Lancelot Holland was one of six sons and a daughter of a doctor who was also a brewer for the firm

Hunt Edmunds Hunt Edmunds was a brewery in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. History The brewery was founded by John Hunt in 1840, but it was Thomas Hunt who went into partnership with William Edmunds (1826–1908) in 1850. Edmunds' son, Charles Fletcher Edmund ...

. He was born in

Middleton Cheney Middleton Cheney is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is about east of Banbury in Oxfordshire and about west-northwest of Brackley. The A422 road between Banbury and Brackley used to pass through Middle ...

and was raised in the

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

area. He entered the

on 15 May 1902. On leaving HMS ''Britannia'' in September 1903, he was drafted to the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

to join . He served in the Far East until August 1905. The latter part of his time there was spent in . Returning home, Holland saw brief service during the summer of 1908 in the Admiralty surveying ship HMS ''Research''. However, the surveying service proved not to be Holland's forte and three years later on 14 September 1911 the young Lieutenant Holland joined , the Royal Navy's gunnery school at

Whale Island, Portsmouth Whale Island is a small island in Portsmouth Harbour, close by Portsea Island. It is home to HMS ''Excellent'', the oldest shore training establishment within the Royal Navy, and the location of the Navy Command Headquarters. The island is lin ...

to start the 'Long Course' which would qualify him as a lieutenant (G). Having qualified as a gunnery lieutenant and gone on to take the advanced gunnery course at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, Holland spent the First World War in a teaching role aboard HMS ''Excellent''. After the war he was promoted to commander on 31 December 1919 and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 30 June 1926. During the period May 1929 to February 1931, Holland was

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, aboard . From May 1931 to September 1932, Holland headed the British Naval Mission to Greece. He was subsequently flag captain aboard the battleship from July 1934 to July 1935.

Senior officer

After a stint as naval aide-de-camp to

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

in 1937, Holland became Assistant Chief of Naval Staff and then, following promotion to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

, commander of the 2nd Battle Squadron in January 1939. In September, following the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was appointed Rear Admiral Commanding,

Channel Force The Channel Force was a temporary squadron of the British Royal Navy during the Second World War that was based at Portland, England from September to October 1939. It was under the command of Rear-Admiral Lancelot Holland throughout the per ...

. He then became

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

representative at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

. He was promoted to vice admiral, backdated to August 1940, after commanding Cruiser Force H during the

Battle of Cape Spartivento The Battle of Cape Spartivento, known as the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War, fought between naval forces of the Royal Navy and the Italian ''Regia Marina'' on 27 ...

on 27 November.

Second World War

From November 1940, Holland commanded the 18th Cruiser Squadron, serving in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. During the course of this command he led his cruisers in the

on 27 November 1940. By this time, Holland had established himself as a gunnery specialist.

North Atlantic and nemesis

Holland's next assignment was in command of the Battlecruiser Squadron. In May 1941, the new German battleship ''Bismarck'' attempted to break out into the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, accompanied by the

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

''Prinz Eugen''. Their mission was to attack

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

convoys A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

. Holland flew his flag aboard ''Hood'', which was accompanied by the new battleship HMS ''Prince of Wales''. On 22 May, just after midnight, ''Electra'', ''Achates'', ''Antelope'', ''Anthony'', ''Echo'', and ''Icarus'', escorting the ''Hood'' and ''Prince Of Wales'', sailed to cover the northern approaches. The intention was that the force would refuel in Hvalfjord,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, and then sail again to watch the Denmark Strait. On the evening of 23 May, the weather deteriorated. At 20:55, Admiral Holland aboard the ''Hood'' signalled the destroyers "If you are unable to maintain this speed I will have to go on without you. You should follow at your best speed." At 02:15 on the morning of 24 May, the destroyers were ordered to spread out at 15 mile intervals to search to the north. At about 05:35, the German forces were sighted by the ''Hood'' and, shortly afterwards, the Germans sighted the British ships. In the ensuing

the ''Hood'' suffered a catastrophic magazine explosion at 06:01 that broke the ship in half; the admiral and all but three of the crew of 1,418 were lost. One of the survivors, Ted Briggs, later stated he last saw Holland sitting in his admiral's chair, in utter dejection, making no attempt to escape from the sinking wreck. ''Prince of Wales'' made her escape with some damage, including a hit on her bridge which killed many of her officers. One of the salvos from ''Prince of Wales'' damaged ''Bismarck''s fuel tanks, and prompted her to make for

occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. Holland was posthumously

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

Family

Admiral Holland, Banbury - geograph-4211652-by-Jaggery

Holland was married to Phyllis and had one son, John, who died of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

at the age of 18 in 1936. Holland and his family attended the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish Church of

St John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

at Boldre in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. They had a memorial to their son installed there and later a Hood Memorial Chapel was dedicated. An annual memorial service is held to remember Admiral Holland and the crew of the ''Hood''. A public house in

, The Admiral Holland, was named after him. This pub was demolished in May 2017.

References

Bibliography

* ''Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck'',

Ludovic Kennedy Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy (3 November 191918 October 2009) was a Scottish journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans an ...

. Collins/Fontana, Glasgow, 1975 * ''The Mighty Hood'',

Ernle Bradford Ernle Dusgate Selby Bradford (11 January 1922 – 8 May 1986) was a noted 20th-century British historian specializing in the Mediterranean world and naval topics.Obituary in ''The Daily Telegraph'', Friday, May 9, 1986, p. 16 He was also an auth ...

. Coronet Books (Hodder and Stoughton), Sevenoaks, Kent, England, 1961

External links

Career history on www.admirals.org.uk

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Lancelot 1887 births 1941 deaths English Anglicans Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Royal Navy admirals of World War II People from Banbury Royal Navy officers of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath People lost at sea Captains who went down with the ship Military personnel from Northamptonshire