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 ...

Thomas Erskine Wardle, (9 January 1877 – 9 May 1944) was a senior officer in 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 ...

. He was the Rear-Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Australian Fleet from 30 April 1924 to 30 April 1926.The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) – Tuesday 22 April 1924. p10.

Early life

Wardle was born on 9 January 1877 in the village of Winshill near

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

. the son of Henry Wardle then a Member of Parliament for Burton on Trent.

Naval career

Wardle joined the Royal Navy on 15 July 1890 when he entered the training ship HMS ''Britannia'', and during his career served at every Royal Navy station. He was appointed

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 ...

on 15 July 1892 and sub-lieutenant on 15 January 1896 before being promoted to

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 ...

on 15 January 1897. He was posted to HMS ''Excellent'' in January 1903, for duties as gunnery lieutenant on the submarine depot ship HMS ''Hazard''. He was awarded the Japanese

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

for services in the Far East. He 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 1907. 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 ...

he served with the

10th Cruiser Squadron The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946. First formation The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the ...

under Vice Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair. Promoted to captain in June 1915 and later given command of the armed merchantman HMS ''Alcantara'', he was in command during the action with the German raider SMS ''Greif'' in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. On 29 February 1916, ''Alcantara'' with HMS ''Andes'', came upon the ''Greif'', which appeared to be an unarmed merchant vessel flying a Norwegian flag. While a boarding party was leaving the ''Alcantara'' to board ''Greif'' the German vessel dropped her flag, opened her bulwarks and opened fire on the ''Alcantara''. The ''Alcantara'' caused sufficient damage to the Greif that the vessel was clearly sinking. Firing had ceased and the ''Alcantara'' manoeuvred to rescue German sailors finally turning broadside on to the Greif which at this point reopened fire. Despite this the ''Alcantara'' saved around 120 German seamen while losing 68 of her own crew. Both ''Alcantara'' and ''Greif'' were sunk. Captain Wardle spent 20 minutes in the water before being rescued. For his gallantry in this fight he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

. He later was in command of HMS ''Danae'' and after the end of the First World War he served as chief of the British mission in Greece and later as part of 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 ...

at the

Nore The Nore is a long sandbank, bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades int ...

, in command of HMS ''Calliope''. He became Rear-Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Australian Fleet from 30 April 1924 until 30 April 1926. He was appointed

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 ...

on 5 June 1926. He retired at his own request on 9 July 1926, and was advanced to vice admiral. Captain Wardle's son followed him into the Royal Navy and was a midshipman serving in the Mediterranean fleet when his father left Greece.

Family life

Wardle married Gwendolyne Gladys Marguerite Baird in 1902 in Glasgow, they had two children. They were divorced in 1910 Wardle died on 9 May 1944 at Coniston, Caledon Road, Beaconsfield.

Notes

References

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) – Tuesday 22 April 1924. p10.The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) – Friday 4 January 1924. p7.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardle, Thomas Erskine 1877 births 1944 deaths Military personnel from Staffordshire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath People from Burton upon Trent Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy officers of World War I 19th-century Royal Navy personnel