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 Rudolph Walter Bentinck, (20 March 1869 – 31 March 1947) 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 who served as

Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this offi ...

from 1926 to 1929.

Early life

Rudolph was the second son of Walter Theodore Edward Bentinck, 13th Baron Bentinck (1840–1901), of a distinguished Dutch

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, by his wife Henrietta Jane Christina (d. 1924), daughter of William Hinton, of The Til, Madeira, Portugal.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage 2003, vol. 3, p. 3183

Naval career

Educated at the

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, ...

, Bentinck joined the

in 1882.The Peerage.com
/ref> He took part in the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War (; 1881–1899) was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided One"), and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later th ...

in 1891, and was promoted to

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 ...

on 31 December 1901. He was appointed Commander of the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

, in 1913. Bentinck 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 ...

, taking part in 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 1916, as Chief of Staff to Admiral

Sir David Beatty Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, (17 January 1871 – 12 March 1936) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Mahdist War and then the response to the Boxer Rebellion, he commanded the Battle Cruiser Fleet at t ...

, and being

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 ...

. After the war he became

Naval Secretary The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers). Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equi ...

. He was appointed second-in-command of the

1st Battle Squadron The 1st Battle Squadron was a Squadron (naval), naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 1st Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to i ...

in the Atlantic Fleet in 1921 and went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the Africa Station in 1922. In that capacity he was briefly acting Governor-General of South Africa from December 1923 to January 1924. Bentinck became Admiral Commanding the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully Ship decommissioning, decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothba ...

in March 1926 and then

later that year: he retired in 1929.

Family

In 1898 Bentinck married Mabel Fetherstonhaugh;World Roots
/ref> they had one son and one daughter. A descendant is the entrepreneur Alice Bentinck.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bentinck, Rudolph 1869 births 1947 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War I Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Rudolph Captains and Commandants of the Royal Naval College, Osborne Royal Navy admirals Military personnel from West Sussex Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Navy personnel of the Mahdist War