Vice Admiral Sir Cecil Ponsonby Talbot KCB KBE DSO & Bar (31 August 1884 – 17 March 1970) was a senior

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 ...

officer.

Naval career

Born on 31 August 1884 and educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English i ...

, Talbot served in the

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

becoming commanding officer of the submarine HMS ''J5'' in May 1916 and of the former

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

HMS ''Ambrose'' in September 1918. He was in command of HMS ''Ambrose'' at the time of her journey to Hong Kong in 1920. He was appointed 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. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...

and became commanding officer of the cruiser HMS ''Inconstant'' in July 1921, of the aircraft carrier HMS ''Hermes'' in July 1925 and of the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of at ...

HMS ''Renown'' in April 1929. He went on to be Director of Naval Equipment at the Admiralty in 1932 and Rear Admiral, Submarines in 1934. Talbot became Director of Dockyards at the Admiralty in 1937 and continued in that role throughout

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

until he retired in 1946. He was invested Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(KBE) in the

1939 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1939 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the o ...

and 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 ...

(KCB) in the 1947 Birthday Honours. There is a memorial window given by him and his wife in the Submariners' chapel,

Fort Blockhouse Fort Blockhouse is a military establishment in Gosport, Hampshire, England, and the final version of a complicated site. At its greatest extent in the 19th century, the structure was part of a set of fortifications which encircled much of Gospo ...

in memory of two of his sons who died in submarines in world war 2 .url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/doverpast/6811089888/in/photostream/ He died in

Penberth Penberth ( kw, Benbryhi) is a valley, coastal village and cove on the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, England. It is approximately southwest of Penzance. Most of the village is within the parish of St Buryan and the boundary with St Levan ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

on 17 March 1970. An account of his life can be seen on the www.maritimequest.com website

Family

In 1912 Talbot married Bridget Bradshaw; they had three sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Cecil Ponsonby 1884 births 1970 deaths People educated at Bedford School Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order