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

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

admiral during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

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 Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and Universit ...

in 1877. Promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

on 31 December 1900, he was appointed in command of HMS ''Panther'' in early December 1901, but moved to the destroyer 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 of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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 in July 1912 and

Fourth Sea Lord The Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Supplies originally known as the Fourth Naval Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty which controlled the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom the post is currently known ...

and a

Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requ ...

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 England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. 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 United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

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 until the merger of the Air Ministry with the other armed forces ministries to form the Ministry of Defence in 1964. It was succeeded by the Air Force Board. Me ...

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, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fish ...

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 George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

– 5 June 1920 *

Order of the Rising Sun The is a 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 features rays of sunlight ...

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

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), 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 ...

(Greece) – 1918 * Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(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 Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Lords of the Admiralty