Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Algernon Walker-Heneage-Vivian, (4 February 1871 – 26 February 1952) was a senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer of the early 20th century. His name was Algernon Walker Heneage during his service in the navy. He added his mother’s surname to his own in 1921.

Early life

Walker-Heneage was born the third son of Major

Clement Walker Heneage Clement Walker Heneage, VC (6 March 1831 – 9 December 1901) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. In ...

of Compton Bassett, Wiltshire and Henrietta Letitia Victoria on 4 February 1871. He was educated in part at

Stubbington House School Stubbington House School was founded in 1841 as a boys' preparatory school, originally located in the Hampshire village of Stubbington, around from the Solent. Stubbington House School was known by the sobriquet "the cradle of the Navy". The s ...

in Hampshire, known as the "cradle of the Navy". He assumed the surname of Walker-Heneage-Vivian by Royal Licence in 1921.

Naval career

Walker-Heneage joined the

in 1886, as a midshipman on the battleship commanded by Algernon Heneage, a distant relative. He afterwards served on in the Pacific and was promoted to commander in 1900. He thereafter served in many parts of the world, including Ladysmith, South Africa, when he was part of the contingent sent to defend the town during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. In 1907 he was promoted captain in command of the minelayer , and in 1908 was given command of the First Squadron of Minelayers. Following the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, Walker-Heneage assumed command of the battleship . He took the ship on a secret mission to collect gold bullion from South Africa and was afterwards part of the naval support at the Gallipoli landings. In 1915–16 he was commodore commanding small vessels in the eastern Mediterranean, including 160 minesweepers and in 1916–17 was in charge of the allied barrage across the

Strait of Otranto The Strait of Otranto (; ) connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. Its width between Punta Palascìa, eastern Salento, and Karaburun Peninsula, western Albania, is less than . The strait is named after ...

. Walker-Heneage became Senior British Naval Officer in Italy and was promoted to rear admiral in 1918 and appointed an Aide-de-Camp to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

in 1917–18. He retired from active service in 1920 and was promoted in retirement to vice admiral on 8 October 1923, and to admiral on 1 August 1927. Walker-Heneage was invested as a

Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in 1904 and a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in the

1916 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1916 were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were announced on 1 Januar ...

. On 25 April 1922 he was made a Grand Officer of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

by the King of Italy.

Later life

In retirement Walker-Heneage moved into

Parc le Breos ''Parc le Breos'' was a great medieval deer park in the south of the Gower Peninsula, about west of Swansea, Wales, and about north of the Bristol Channel. The park was an enclosed, oval area of in circumference, covering about and measuri ...

on the Gower peninsula near Bishopton, Swansea, which he inherited from the Vivian family. He afterwards moved to Clyne Castle, Blackpill, Swansea, which was also inherited from the Vivians. At that time (in 1921) he added the Vivian surname to his own. He served as a Justice of the Peace and a Deputy Lieutenant of Glamorganshire and was pricked

High Sheriff of Glamorgan This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires w ...

for 1926–27.

Private life

Walker-Heneage-Vivian died at Clyne Castle in 1952. He had married twice. Firstly, in 1912 to Helen Mary, daughter of Captain Ernest de Vismes du Boulay, with whom he had three daughters. They were divorced in 1931 and he then married Beryl Stanley in Paddington later that year.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker-Heneage-Vivian, Algernon 1871 births 1952 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Deputy lieutenants of Glamorgan High sheriffs of Glamorgan Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Royal Navy admirals of World War I Royal Navy personnel of the Second Boer War Military personnel from Wiltshire