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 ...

Richard Greville Arthur Wellington Stapleton-Cotton (7 November 1873 – 5 January 1953) was a British officer of 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 ...

Early life and family

Richard Greville Arthur Wellington Stapleton-Cotton was born at

Wellington Barracks Wellington Barracks is a military barracks in Westminster, central London, for the Foot Guards units on public duties in that area. The building is located about from Buckingham Palace, allowing the guard to be able to reach the palace very q ...

, London, on 7 November 1873, the second son of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

the Honourable Richard Southwell George Stapleton-Cotton (1849–1925), of Plas Llwynon,

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, and his wife, the Honourable Jane Charlotte Methuen, daughter of Frederick Henry Paul Methuen, second Baron Methuen. His father was the younger son of the second Viscount Combermere and had been the Inspector-General of Police in Guiana from 1889 to 1891, was an officer in the

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. T ...

, having served in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

of 1879 and in Bechuanaland in 1885, and served as a Justice of the Peace for

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. In 1910, he married Olive Harriet Cotton-Jodrell, a daughter of Sir Edward Thomas Davenant Cotton-Jodrell, of Reaseheath and Yeardsley, Cheshire, Member of Parliament for Wirral, and his wife Mary Rennell Coleridge. Stapleton-Cotton and his dog Tinker are the only two males ever to be accepted as fully paid-up members of the

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

: he played a major part in setting up the first WI meeting in the UK, held in Anglesey in 1915.

Ancestry

Naval career

Stapleton-Cotton entered the

as a cadet in 1887. He was promoted to

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 ...

two years later and then became a Sub-Lieutenant in 1893, lieutenant two years later, commander in 1905 and captain in 1913. He was the Commander at the Royal Naval College at Osborne from 1906 to 1910. Promoted to rear-admiral in 1923 and then to vice-admiral in 1928, he was placed on the retired list by 1931. In 1932, he was promoted to the rank of admiral in the retired list. In 1905, he was appointed a Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(MVO). He was also 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 ...

(CBE) and a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB). From 1928 to 1932, Stapleton-Cotton served as Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod, and then as Registrar and Secretary of the Order of the Bath from 1932 to 1948; in the latter capacity, he attended the

Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realm, ...

in 1937 and took part in the procession into the Abbey.

Later life

Admiral Stapleton-Cotton died on 5 January 1953, aged 79, in

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

. He left an estate worth over £24,000.''England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes'', General Register Office, Death Records, Q1 1953, vol. 8c, p. 1; ''National Probate Calendar'', 1953

References

Citations

Bibliography

* G.E. Cokayne (1895)
''The Complete Peerage''
1st edition, volume 5. * F.A. Crisp (1914)
''Visitation of England and Wales''
volume 18. * A.C. Fox-Davies (1929)
''Armorial Families''
seventh edition. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stapleton-Cotton, Richard 1873 births 1953 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy officers of World War I Members of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from Westminster Gentlemen Ushers