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 ...

Sir Arthur Cavenagh Leveson GCB (27 January 1868 – 26 June 1929) was a senior officer in the

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 ...

. He was the Rear Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Australian Fleet from 9 January 1917 to 3 September 1918 and later Commander in Chief, China Station from 10 September 1922 to 22 April 1925.Dodd, Chapt. 8 (Part 2)

Naval career

Born on 27 January 1868 at

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, he attended a private school, and began his naval cadetship aboard the training ship HMS ''Britannia'' on 13 January 1881. He was rated

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on 15 January 1883 and sub-lieutenant on 17 January 1887 and promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 27 July 1887. He was awarded the Beaufort Testimonial and Goodenough Medal in 1888 and qualified in gunnery in 1891. Serving as a Gunnery Lieutenant upon HMS ''Victoria'' in 1893, he survived the sinking of HMS ''Victoria'' on 22 June 1893 after she collided with HMS ''Camperdown'' near Tripoli,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

during manoeuvres and quickly sank, taking 358 crew with her, including the commander of the

British Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

, Vice Admiral Sir George Tryon. He was transferred to Whale Island at the shore establishment HMS ''Excellent'' as a 1st Gunnery Office. He was promoted to

on 27 July 1887. While as a Brigade Major to the Naval Brigade in London, he participated in the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, for which he received the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal. Promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 1 January 1899 he became a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. Serving as commander under his first commission aboard HMS ''Canopus'' he was promoted to

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

on 1 July 1903. From August 1903 until February 1905, he served as the Naval Assistant to the Controller of the Navy. While serving as Flag Captain to Admiral Sir William May, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, he took part in 1904 in the

Entente Cordiale The Entente Cordiale (; ) comprised a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and the French Third Republic, French Republic which saw a significant improvement in Fr ...

at Brest and in Paris, for which he received the Croix d'Officier of the Legion of Honour. He later commanded HMS ''Africa'' and HMS ''Indefatigable'' and received the Coronation Medal of

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 1911. On 27 September 1912, he was made 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 Civil Division in the first batch of naval officers awarded this honour, and was made naval aide-de-camp to King George V in 1913. He was also a commodore (first class) on the staff of Admiral of the Fleet Sir William May, Umpire-in-Chief during the Naval Manoeuvres which took place during July and August 1913. Promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 1 December 1913, and Director of Operations Divisions of the Admiralty War Staff on 1 May 1914. After 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, he was second in command of the

2nd Battle Squadron The 2nd Battle Squadron was a Squadron (naval), naval squadron of the British Royal Navy 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 to i ...

, and was present at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

on 31 May 1916, where he was

Mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) 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 of t ...

, received a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the Military Division, the Order of St. Stanislaus (First Class) with swords and the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

(Second Class). He was appointed the Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet in January 1917, commander of the 5th Battle Squadron in October 1918 and commander of the

in April 1919. He was appointed Commander in Chief, China Station in September 1922. He became the First and Principal Naval aide-de-camp and was awarded the

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

on 3 June 1927.

Family

Leveson married, at St. Paul's, Valletta, Malta, on 3 March 1902, Jemima Adeline Beatrice Blackwood, widow of Edward Henry Stuart Bligh, 7th Earl of Darnley, and daughter of Francis James Lindesay Blackwood. They had one son, Arthur Edmund Leveson (1908–1981), and their eldest granddaughter, Anne Pamela Leveson (born 1946), became Countess of Hopetoun by her marriage in 1968 to the 4th Marquess of Linlithgow, and in 1988 became Countess De La Warr by her second marriage to William Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr. Cited in Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson died on 26 June 1929 at Contrexéville, France. Cited in

Notes

References

*Dodd, Francis (1917). ''Admirals of the British Navy (1917–1918) – Part 2'', London, Country Life Ltd
online libraryThe Argus (Melbourne, Vic) – Friday 25 May 1917. p6.
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leveson 1868 births 1929 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People from Kensington Royal Navy admirals of World War I Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun