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 Cecil Foley Lambert KCB (28 May 1864 – 29 February 1928) was a

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 ...

admiral during

World War I 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 ...

Naval career

Born the son of Sir Henry Edward Francis Lambert, 6th Baronet, and his wife, Eliza Catherine Hervey, Cecil Lambert joined the

as a Naval Cadet in 1877. 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 31 December 1900, he was appointed in command of HMS ''Panther'' in early December 1901, but moved to the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

HMS ''Myrmidon'' the following month. After promotion 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 ...

in June 1905, he went on to command HMS ''Lapwing'' and HMS ''Hibernia''.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Admiral Sir Cecil Lambert
He became commander of the destroyer flotillas in the

First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

in July 1912 and Fourth Sea Lord and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty in 1913 and continued to serve in that role into

. In 1917 he was appointed commodore, first class, in command of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron in the Grand Fleet,Navy Lists
/ref> with his flag in HMS ''Birmingham'', being promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in April 1917.''The Times'' (Thursday, 1 March 1928), p. 16. In the same year he was awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star (the second highest of eight classes associated with the Order), notice of the King's permission to accept and wear this honour being duly published in the

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

. From February – September 1918 he served as Rear-Admiral Commanding the Aegean Squadron. In 1919 Lambert was seconded to the recently established

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

where he served as Director of Personnel. The following year he was appointed to the

Air Council Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed ...

as an additional member. He relinquished his appointment on 5 December 1921 and was placed on the Retired List. He was promoted to full Admiral on the Retired List on 1 March 1926.

Family

In 1896 Cecil Lambert married Rosina Drake, the daughter of Francis Drake of

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with ...

in Devon.

Honours and awards

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

– 5 June 1920 *

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 ...

, 2nd Class (Japan) – 2 November 1917 * Grand Commander of the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

(Greece) – 1918 * Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France) – 1918

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Cecil Foley Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy admirals of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War I 1864 births 1928 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Knights of the Legion of Honour Lords of the Admiralty 19th-century Royal Navy personnel