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 ...

Richard Been Stannard, (21 August 1902 – 22 July 1977) was a British sailor, officer 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 ...

(RNR), and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

(VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. Stannard was awarded the first VC to the RNR in the Second World War.

Early life

In February 1912, when Stannard was ten, his father was lost at sea along with the steamer ''Mount Oswald'', of which he was captain. For the next five years Stannard studied at the Royal Naval Merchant School in

Wokingham, Berkshire Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...

. He then entered the Merchant Service aged 15.

Victoria Cross

Stannard was 37 years old, and a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

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 ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the

(VC). From 28 April to 2 May 1940 at

Namsos Namsos may refer to: Places *Namsos Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Namsos (town) Namsos is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative center of Namsos Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. ...

, Norway, HMT ''Arab'' survived 31 bombing attacks in five days. On one occasion during this period Lieutenant Stannard and two of his crew tackled for two hours a fire on the jetty caused by a bomb igniting ammunition. Part of the jetty was saved, which proved invaluable at the subsequent evacuation. Later feats included the destruction of an enemy bomber whose pilot, thinking that he had HMT ''Arab'' at his mercy, ordered that she be steered into captivity. In the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' of 5 December 1944, Stannard was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

for distinguished service while commanding HMS ''Peacock'' in the protection of convoys to North Russia in the face of attacks by U-boats.

Later life

Before and after the war Stannard settled in Essex before later emigrating to Australia. He died in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 22 July 1977. The local council erected a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

to him on his former house in The Avenue,

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

, Essex. In his birth town of

Blyth, Northumberland Blyth () is a port town, port and seaside town as well as a civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth, Northumberland, River Blyth. It has a population of 39,731 as of the 2021 cens ...

a multi-use building on Bridge Street has been given the name Richard Stannard House (1999), and there is a blue plaque displayed there.

References

External links

Trawlers lost in the Namsen Fjord
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stannard, Richard Been 1902 births 1977 deaths British Merchant Navy officers British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British emigrants to Australia People from Blyth, Northumberland People from Loughton Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Royal Naval Reserve personnel Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Northumberland