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 ...

Vivian Henry Gerald Bernard (30 August 1868 – 18 February 1934) was a senior British

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.

Early life

Bernard was born 30 August 1868,

Simon's Town Simon's Town (), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of Simon's Bay in False Bay, on the eastern s ...

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

British Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three other colonies ...

, to Inspector-General John Bernard of the Royal Navy. He was educated at

Stubbington House School Stubbington House School was founded in 1841 as a boys' preparatory school, originally located in the Hampshire village of Stubbington, around from the Solent. Stubbington House School was known by the sobriquet "the cradle of the Navy". The s ...

, boys' preparatory school.

Military career

Bernard joined the

on 15 July 1882 as a

naval cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

. He became 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 ...

on 15 January 1884. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 25 February 1888, and 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 25 February 1889. He qualified as a gunnery lieutenant in 1893, having attended training at . 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 30 June 1901. He then served in the Department of Naval Intelligence,

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

. On 26 June 1906, he was promoted to

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 ...

, and given command of , a ''Topaze''-class cruiser. In August 1907, he took command of , a ''Diadem''-class cruiser. A year later, in August 1908, took command of ,(later renamed HMS ''Redoutable''), a ''Royal Sovereign''-class battleship - He commanded the Gunnery School at

HMNB Devonport His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roya ...

between 1910 and 1912. He commanded the ''Devonshire''-class cruiser from May 1912 to June 1914. Bernard saw active service in World War I. In August 1914, he took command of , a ''Formidable''-class battleship. He commanded HMS ''Venerable'' in operations off the Belgian coast between 1914 and 1915. He and HMS ''Venerable'' then took part in the naval operations of the unsuccessful Dardanelles Campaign. He then joined the operations of the Italian Adriatic Squadron, commanding HMS ''Venerable'' for the rest of 1915. In February 1916, he took command of the

dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...

. He fought 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 ...

. He received a number of decorations for his role as commander of one of the dreadnought battleships. He was promoted to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 26 September 1917. He was relieved of his command of HMS ''Neptune'' in October 1917. He became Captain of

Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains ...

in November 1917. From March 1920 to March 1921, he held the appointment Rear-Admiral Reserve Fleet,

The Nore The Nore is a long 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 into the cha ...

. On 15 November 1922, he was promoted to

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 ...

and placed on the retired list the following day. On 1 August 1927, he was promoted to

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 ...

Later life

Having lived in Australia for two years, Bernard died on 18 February 1934 in

Rose Bay, New South Wales Rose Bay is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rose Bay is located seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, lo ...

. His funeral took place on 19 February at St Mark's Anglican Church in

Darling Point, New South Wales Darling Point is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local government area of Municipali ...

. Following the service, he was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

at the

Rookwood Crematorium Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...

Personal life

Bernard was married twice. In 1900, he married Ida Marie Gilles in

Woollahra, New South Wales Woollahra ( ) is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. Woollahr ...

. Together they had one child, a son. She died in 1925. In 1926, he married Eileen Mary Churchill (née Power), widow of Major W. M. Churchill, Indian Army. They had a daughter in 1918,

Joan Bernard Joan Constance Churchill Bernard, FRSA (6 April 1918 – 1 August 2012) was Principal of Trevelyan College, University of Durham from its foundation in 1966 to 1978. During World War II, she was an officer of the Auxiliary Territorial Service and w ...

, while he was married to his previous wife. He was a devout

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and regular church goer.

Honours and decorations

In March 1916, it was gazetted that he had been

mentioned in dispatches 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 'operations between the time of the landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula in April 1915 and the evacuation in December 1915—January 1916'. He was further mentioned in dispatches for 'service in the Battle of Jutland'. It was gazetted in August 1916, that he had been appointed Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

by the King of Italy 'in recognition of valuable services rendered'. It was gazetted in September 1916, that he had been appointed Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

by the President of the Republic of France 'in recognition of isservices during the war'. In the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Janu ...

, 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 ...

(CB). It was gazetted in August 1919, that he had been appointed to the second class of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

by the Emperor of Japan 'for distinguished services rendered during the war'. He was appointed Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the King on 3 July 1917.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Vivian 1868 births 1934 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy admirals of World War I People educated at Stubbington House School Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd class British Anglicans People from Simon's Town Cape Colony military personnel