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 Arthur Lumley St George Lyster, (27 April 1888 – 4 August 1957)Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945
/ref> 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 ...

officer during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Naval career

After leaving Berkhamsted School, in 1902 Lyster joined HMS ''Britannia'' to train for a naval career. In July 1909 he was posted to and later to ''Grafton''. From 1912 he specialized in gunnery, training at , the gunnery school at Portsmouth, and saw active service 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 ...

, his ship fighting at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

in 1915.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> Lyster was appointed a Naval Member of the Ordnance Committee in 1929 and given command of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

in 1932. He went on to command the 5th Destroyer Flotilla in 1933 and the Royal Navy Gunnery School at Chatham in 1935 before becoming director of training and staff duties at the Admiralty in 1936. He was given command of the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

in 1937 and was made Aide-de-camp to the King in 1939. In the

Lyster was initially rear-admiral in charge of HM Dockyard

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

and then from 1940 saw further active service as rear-admiral in charge of the Aircraft Carriers in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

. He is notable for drawing up the attack plan for the Battle of Taranto, beginning in 1935 on the instructions of Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, and for putting it into execution in November 1940.Stephen, Martin. ''Sea Battles in Close-up: World War 2'' (Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan, 1988), p. 34. In 1941 he was appointed as Fifth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Air Services and Commander of the Aircraft Carriers in the Home Fleet, with his flag in , and in 1942 he commanded air operations during Operation Pedestal, for which he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. His last appointment was as Flag Officer, Carrier Training, in 1943 before he retired in 1945.

Notes

External links

HMS ''Speaker'' page which lists Lumley at Page 6

Navy page on Battle of Taranto which lists him
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyster, Lumley Royal Navy admirals Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy admirals of World War II Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order 1888 births 1957 deaths Admiralty personnel of World War II People educated at Berkhamsted School Military personnel from Warwickshire