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 Herbert Leopold Heath, (27 December 1861 – 22 October 1954) 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 ...

who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1917 to 1919.

Military career

Born the son of Vice Admiral Sir Leopold Heath and educated at

Brighton College Brighton College is a fee-charging, co-educational, boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton and Hove, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton Co ...

, Heath was commissioned into the

in 1874.Obituary: Admiral Sir Herbert Heath
/ref> In 1877 he took part in an engagement with the

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian rebel ship ''Huáscar''. He was on board the battleship, , when it was involved in a collision with the battleship, , and sank in 1893 with the loss of 372 lives. He led a party that tried to patch the hole in ''Victoria'', but the ship was sinking too quickly for repairs. Heath was promoted

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 January 1902, and later that year was appointed Assistant-Director of Naval Intelligence at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

. In 1904 he was made

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the torpedo boat depot ship, , in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. Later he commanded the battleship, , and the cruiser, . In 1908 he became naval attaché in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 1910 he took command of the battleship, and around this time he was appointed the Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King. In 1912 he was appointed Admiral-Superintendent of

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

remaining in that post until 1914. Heath served in 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 ...

and in 1916 took command of the

2nd Cruiser Squadron The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1904 to 1919 and from 1921 to 1941 and again from 1946 to 1952. History First formation The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was first formed in December, 1904 then placed ...

of the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from th ...

and as such he was the senior admiral of the cruiser line 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 ...

in May 1916. In November 1916 he was appointed to the command of the

3rd Battle Squadron The 3rd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships and other vessels, active from at least 1914 to 1945. The 3rd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. During the First ...

. In 1917 he became Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel. After the war he was made Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland. He retired in 1922.

Family

In 1891 Heath married Elizabeth Catherine Simson and they went on to have two daughters.

References

External links

*
Biography of Adm Sir Herbert Leopold Heath in the JJ Heath-Caldwell family history website
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Herbert 1861 births 1954 deaths 19th-century Royal Navy personnel People educated at Brighton College Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Members of the Royal Victorian Order Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States) Commanders of the Legion of Honour Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy admirals of World War I British naval attachés Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal