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 ...

Norman Atherton Wodehouse (18 May 1887 – 4 July 1941) 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 killed in the Second World War. He had gained 14 caps for England at rugby union, including six as captain between 1910 and 1913. Wodehouse was acting as a

convoy commodore Convoy commodore also known as commodore, convoys was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a se ...

when his ship was sunk by a German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

Naval career

Wodehouse joined the

in 1902, serving as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in the Atlantic Fleet in 1904. During 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 ...

Wodehouse served in the battleship 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 ...

as a gunnery officer. After the war he was appointed aide-de-camp to

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

. He commanded

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

from 1931 to 1934. Just before the outbreak of 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 ...

Wodehouse became Rear Admiral, Gibraltar, a post he held until November 1939. He was placed on the Retired List in 1940 and in 1941 became a

Convoy Commodore Convoy commodore also known as commodore, convoys was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a se ...

in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

. He was killed onboard the merchant vessel ''Robert L. Holt'' when it was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean, southwest of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

by on 4 July 1941, after he had ordered the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

bound convoy OB 337 he was commanding to scatter due to the attacks by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s. ''U-69'' sunk the ''Robert L. Holt'' in a gun duel. The U-boat fired 102 high explosive rounds and 34 incendiary rounds from the deck gun, 220 rounds from the 20mm gun and 400 rounds with the MG34. ''Robert L. Holt'' was sunk with the loss of all 56 crew including Wodehouse.

Family

He married Mrs Theodosia Frances Swire, née Boyle (1890–1966), daughter of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Edward Boyle and Theodosia Ogilvie, and widow of Captain Douglas William Swire (d. 1920), on 22 October 1923. By his wife Theodosia, he had two sons: * Rev. Armine Boyle Wodehouse (1924-2017), who has been twice married (once widowed), and has had issue, one son and two daughters. * Charles Norman Boyle Wodehouse, (1927-2011), who has married, and has issue, one son and two daughters.

References

External links

Commemoration of Rugby players who died in the two World Wars

Photographs of Wodehouse at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wodehouse, Norman Atherton 1887 births 1941 deaths Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath England international rugby union players English rugby union players People from Basford, Nottinghamshire Rugby union players from Nottinghamshire Royal Navy admirals of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy rugby union players Norman Wodehouse Military personnel from Nottingham Rugby union forwards Convoy commodores United Services players 20th-century English sportsmen

Naval career

Family

See also

References

External links