Reginald Tyrwhitt

Royal Navy officer (1870–1951)
other people of this surname

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, ('/t//ɪ//r//ᵻ//t/; 10 May 1870 – 30 May 1951) was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the Harwich Force. He led a supporting naval force of 31 destroyers and two cruisers at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914, in which action the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under Sir David Beatty sank three German cruisers and one German destroyer with minimal loss of allied warships. Tyrwhitt also led the British naval forces during the Cuxhaven Raid in December 1914, when British seaplanes destroyed German Zeppelin airships and at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, in which action Tyrwhitt again supported Beatty's powerful battlecruiser squadron. After the war, Tyrwhitt went on to be Senior Naval Officer, Gibraltar, commander of the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean Fleet and then Commander in Chief, Coast of Scotland. He also served as Commander in Chief, China during a period of disturbances and tension with the Nationalist Government. His last appointment was as Commander in Chief, The Nore.

Born the son of the Rev. Richard St John Tyrwhitt and Caroline Tyrwhitt (née Yorke), Tyrwhitt joined the training ship HMS Britannia as a cadet on 15 July 1883. He was assigned to the battleship in the Mediterranean Fleet in August 1885 and, following his promotion to midshipman on 15 December 1885, he was appointed to the cruiser in the Training Squadron in November 1888. he transferred to the battleship later that year. he became executive officer in the cruiser early in 1903. he became captain of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla in the cruiser in August 1909. For this action Tyrwhitt was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 21 October 1914. Tyrwhitt also led the British naval forces during the Cuxhaven Raid in December 1914, when British seaplanes destroyed German Zeppelin airships, and at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, in which action Tyrwhitt again supported Beatty's powerful battlecruiser squadron. During the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, the Admiralty held back Tyrwhitt's forces in case of a German attack on the coast. appointed a Commander of the French Legion of Honour on 15 September, and made a naval aide de camp to the King on 21 May 1917. He was also advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 15 July 1917, and appointed an Officer of the Military Order of Savoy on 11 August. Tyrwhitt took part in the Zeebrugge Raid and the Ostend Raid on the night of 23 April 1918, for which he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre on 23 July. At the end of the war he accepted the surrender of the German U boats at Harwich. and created a baronet of Terschelling and of Oxford on 13 December.

Tyrwhitt became Senior Naval Officer, Gibraltar in July 1919, commander of the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean Fleet with his flag in the light cruiser in 1921 and then Commander in Chief, Coast of Scotland in June 1923. he went on to be Commander in Chief, China with his flag in Hawkins in November 1926 during a period of disturbances and tension with the Nationalist Government. Promoted to full admiral on 27 February 1929 and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 30 July 1929, he went on to be Commander in Chief, The Nore in May 1930. Tyrwhitt was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide de Camp on 10 October 1932. When he hauled down his flag for the last time in May 1933, Tyrwhitt was the last British flag officer who had served in the First World War to do so. Promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 31 July 1934, he briefly served in the Home Guard during the Second World War.