35 Facts About Kenneth Dewar

Vice-Admiral Kenneth Gilbert Balmain Dewar, CBE was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Kenneth Dewar served in the Dardanelles Campaign and commanded a monitor in home waters before serving at the Admiralty for more than four years of staff duty.

Kenneth Dewar, though found partially guilty, survived with a severe reprimand.

Kenneth Dewar's memoirs, published as The Navy from Within in 1939, were a vitriolic indictment of the Navy's practices.

Kenneth Dewar was born in Queensferry on 21 September 1879, the son of Dr James and Mrs Flora Kenneth Dewar.

Kenneth Dewar performed so well in Britannia, that upon graduation, he was appointed Midshipman straight away, which normally required a year's service at sea and passing an examination.

Kenneth Dewar joined the protected cruiser Hawke on 20 August 1895.

From 21 July 1903, Kenneth Dewar was Lieutenant and Commander of the Chatham-based destroyer Mermaid.

Kenneth Dewar became the gunnery officer of the armoured cruiser Kent on 24 August 1905, where he remained until 1908.

Kenneth Dewar was reassigned to Excellent on 19 January 1908 for instruction duties.

On 1 January 1910, Kenneth Dewar was once more given sea duty as first lieutenant and gunnery officer of Dreadnought.

However, Kenneth Dewar befriended the captain, Herbert Richmond, who acted both as a friend and a mentor to him in the following years.

Kenneth Dewar was reappointed to Dreadnought on 28 March 1911, was promoted Commander on 22 June and on 14 December he was appointed for duty at the Royal Naval War College, Portsmouth as an instructor.

Kenneth Dewar was consequently reappointed for duty at the War College on 2 April 1912.

Kenneth Dewar was then and remained unsympathetic to the removal of his concluding chapter;.

In 1914, Kenneth Dewar was appointed commander of the battleship Prince of Wales, then flagship of the 5th Battle Squadron in the 2nd Fleet.

Kenneth Dewar heard nothing of his proposals, and it was not until November 1915 that indirect fire was used with good effect by the bulged cruiser Edgar.

Once again, Kenneth Dewar was rotated back to shore, and was appointed to the Operations Division of the Naval Staff under first the Jellicoe, and then the Wemyss Boards of Admiralty.

Kenneth Dewar was promoted to the rank of captain on 30 June 1918 in the Half-Yearly lists and then became Assistant Director of Plans in the Plans Division.

Kenneth Dewar followed the Beatty school of thought espoused by his former captain, Herbert Richmond, that the battle had been lost by the staid admirals of the battleship squadrons.

In November 1920 he and his brother Captain Alfred Kenneth Dewar were entrusted with compiling the Naval Staff Appreciation of the battle, which was completed in January 1922.

Kenneth Dewar was fortunate after the "Geddes Axe" and his controversial tenure at the Admiralty that he was still considered worthy of sea duty, the qualification for promotion to flag rank.

In 1923, Kenneth Dewar was given command of Calcutta's sister-ship on the same station, HMS Cape Town.

Kenneth Dewar consequently faced the charge of having forwarded said subversive letter.

Kenneth Dewar pleaded "not guilty to two charges of accepting and forwarding a letter subversive of discipline and contrary to King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions".

Kenneth Dewar had the opportunity of cross-examining Rear-Admiral Collard over the incident of the dance and the disembarkation.

The first charge was found proven, the second unproven, and Kenneth Dewar was therefore acquitted of acting against regulations.

Much to the surprise of many, on 25 September 1928 it was announced that from 5 November Kenneth Dewar would be given command of the battle cruiser Tiger, the oldest of her type still in service and engaged primarily in training.

Kenneth Dewar commanded Tiger until he was given command of HMS Iron Duke the following year.

Once more Kenneth Dewar was unable to escape controversy, having put up posters around the naval city which raised indignation among many sailors and officers.

Kenneth Dewar was accused of comparing Jutland to the Invergordon Mutiny, which rankled many servicemen who had fought at Jutland, but had taken no part in the 1931 mutiny in Northern Scotland.

Kenneth Dewar took the opportunity to praise the Washington Naval Conference and the London Naval Conference 1930, and to criticise the size of the Treaty battleship.

Kenneth Dewar denied this and the High Court of Justice agreed with him, finding in his favour.

Kenneth Dewar was given the last rites on 8 September 1964 and died at his home in Worthing, Sussex.

Kenneth Dewar was consequently relieved of his command by the Admiralty and ordered home on the 16th.