17 Facts About Reginald Bacon

Reginald Bacon entered the Navy in 1877, qualified as a torpedo lieutenant, and first came to wider notice as commander of a flotilla of torpedo boats in the British naval manoeuvres of 1896.

Reginald Bacon was the acknowledged possessor of a fine technical brain, and Fisher's enthusiasm for Bacon's intelligence hardly hindered his career.

That the Admiralty shared Fisher's impression of Reginald Bacon is evident not only in its decision to appoint so junior a captain to a comparatively senior position, but in the laudatory minutes that attached themselves to Reginald Bacon's official reports.

Reginald Bacon was well-qualified for his new work with submarines, having served in the torpedo branch of the navy throughout the 1890s.

Reginald Bacon had spent several years on the staff of HMS Vernon, Britain's main torpedo school, and his character was dominated by a pronounced flair for things mechanical.

Later in his career Reginald Bacon made a significant contribution to the design of the revolutionary all-big-gun battleship Dreadnought, developed siege guns for the British Expeditionary Force in 1914 and mastered the technical complexities required to implement his proposal for a North Sea Mine Barrage.

Reginald Bacon's philosophy was that "success belongs to the man who pays attention to infinite details".

Reginald Bacon played an important role in the design of the remainder of Britain's A-class submarines and worked out the first tactics for British boats.

Reginald Bacon had been offered the appointment of managing director of the Coventry Ordnance Works.

The first howitzer was shipped to France in February 1915 and Reginald Bacon was given a temporary commission in the Royal Marine Artillery as an extra Colonel 2nd Commandant.

Reginald Bacon became commander of the Dover Patrol in April 1915.

Reginald Bacon was later involved in the development of the North Sea Mine Barrage.

Reginald Bacon spent some time considering and planning the Zeebrugge and Ostend raids, but he felt that crucial details of his plan were altered or omitted due to inexperience.

The discovery and destruction of a U-boat transiting the barrage took place the next night, and Reginald Bacon was sacked by Eric Campbell Geddes from command of the Dover Patrol, replaced by Roger Keyes, shortly thereafter.

Reginald Bacon wrote numerous books, including biographies of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe and his old mentor Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher.

Reginald Bacon married Cicely Surtees of Darlington, County Durham in 1897.

Reginald Bacon died on 9 June 1947 at home in Romsey, Hampshire.