Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Sir Ernest Augustus Taylor,

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

, CVO (17 April 1876 – 11 March 1971) was a British

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 and politician. In 1898 he married Rose Campbell.

Naval career

Taylor entered HMS ''Britannia'' in 1890 and went to sea two years later. In early May 1902, he was appointed gunnery lieutenant on the

pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built from the mid- to late- 1880s to the early 1900s. Their designs were conceived before the appearance of in 1906 and their classification as "pre-dreadnought" is retrospectively appli ...

, serving in the Mediterranean Squadron, and late the same year he was transferred to the

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

on her first commission in the same squadron. He was assistant to the

Director of Naval Ordnance The Naval Ordnance Department, also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Ordnance, was a former department of the Admiralty responsible for the procurement of naval ordnance of the Royal Navy. The department was managed by a Director, ...

from October 1911 to June 1912. In

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 ...

, he commanded the pre-dreadnought and the light cruiser , and served as a flag Captain. He became Captain of the battlecruiser in 1919. With her, he was in 1920 in the entourage for the Prince of Wales's tours of Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Political career

He was a member of London County Council from 1925 to 1928. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Paddington South from 1930 to 1950. He won the Paddington South byelection in 1930 as a candidate for the

Empire Free Trade Crusade The Empire Free Trade Crusade was a political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Lord Beaverbrook in July 1929 to press for the British Empire to become a free trade bloc. The group was founded to oppose both the Labour minority g ...

, retaining it in the 1931 General Election. He joined the Conservative Party after that general election.

References

1876 births 1971 deaths UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Stubbington House School Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Bachelor Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Members of London County Council {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1870s-stub