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 ...

Wilmot Stuart Nicholson CB (18 May 1872 – 9 June 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 became Chief of the Submarine Service.

Naval career

Nicholson joined the

in 1891. He was serving as 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 ...

in the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

HMS ''Calliope'' when, in "one of the most famous episodes of seamanship in the 19th century", the vessel was the only ship present to avoid being sunk or stranded in the

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

that struck

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

in 1889 during the

Samoan crisis The Samoan crisis was a standoff between the United States, the German Empire, and the British Empire from 1887 to 1889 over control of the Samoan Islands during the First Samoan Civil War. Background In 1878, the United States acquired a fuel ...

. In July 1902 he was posted as first lieutenant and gunnery officer on the

pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built from the mid- to late- 1880s to the early 1900s. Their designs were conceived before the appearance of in 1906 and their classification as "pre-dreadnought" is retrospectively appli ...

HMS ''Prince George'', serving in the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

. 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 ...

on 30 June 1909, he became commanding officer of the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

HMS ''Exmouth'' in July 1912 and of the battleship HMS ''Dreadnought'' in December 1912. Nicholson 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 ...

becoming commanding officer of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

HMS ''Hogue'' in August 1914: in the

action of 22 September 1914 The Action of 22 September 1914 was an attack by the German U-boat that took place during the First World War. Three obsolete Royal Navy cruisers of the 7th Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom), 7th Cruiser Squadron manned mainly by Royal Naval Res ...

two torpedoes struck ''Hogue'' while sailing in the

Broad Fourteens The Broad Fourteens on a map by Delisle (1743) The Broad Fourteens is an area of the southern North Sea that is fairly consistently deep. Thus, on a nautical chart with depths given in fathoms, a broad area with many "14" notations can be seen. ...

; within five minutes, Nicholson gave the order to abandon ship, and after 10 minutes she capsized before sinking at 07:15, result in significant loss of life. After commanding the

Harwich Force The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, it ...

from 1915 to 1916, he became commanding officer of the battleship HMS ''Collingwood'' in December 1916 and of the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...

HMS ''Furious'' in March 1917. After the war Nicholson commanded the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

HMS ''Eagle'' during her trials. He went on to be commander of the

2nd Cruiser Squadron The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1904 to 1919 and from 1921 to 1941 and again from 1946 to 1952. History First formation The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was first formed in December, 1904 then placed ...

in May 1921 and Chief of the Submarine Service in September 1923.

Family

Nicholson's wife, Christabel Sybil Caroline Nicholson, was arrested for possession of a paper obtained illegally from the American Embassy in 1940 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 ...

but was found not guilty of offences under the

Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of Classified information, state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security. However, in its unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secret ...

in May 1941.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Wilmot 1872 births 1947 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy admirals of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath