Roger Backhouse served in the First World War as a cruiser commander and after the war became a battle squadron commander and later Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet.
12 Facts About Roger Backhouse
2.
Roger Backhouse died from a brain tumour in July 1939 just before the outbreak of the Second World War.
3.
Roger Backhouse joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS Britannia in 1892 and went to sea as a midshipman in the battleship HMS Repulse in the Channel Squadron in 1894.
4.
Roger Backhouse transferred to the corvette HMS Comus on the Pacific Station in October 1895 and, having been promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 March 1898 and to lieutenant on 15 March 1899, he joined the battleship HMS Victorious in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1899.
5.
Roger Backhouse became gunnery officer in the battleship HMS Dreadnought in the Channel Fleet in August 1907 and, having been promoted to commander on 31 December 1909, he rejoined the directing staff at HMS Excellent in February 1910.
6.
Roger Backhouse became Flag Commander to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet first in HMS Neptune from March 1911 and then in HMS Iron Duke from March 1914.
7.
Roger Backhouse was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 4 June 1917.
8.
Roger Backhouse became Director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty in September 1920 and then commanding officer of the battleship HMS Malaya in January 1923, before receiving promotion to rear admiral on 24 February 1925 and being given command of the 3rd Battle Squadron in May 1926.
9.
Roger Backhouse became Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy in November 1928, and having been promoted to vice admiral on 9 October 1929, he became Commander of the 1st Battle Squadron and Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in April 1932.
10.
Roger Backhouse was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 20 May 1937.
11.
Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1938 New Year Honours and appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King on 1 July, Roger Backhouse became First Sea Lord on 7 September 1938.
12.
In 1907 Roger Backhouse married Dora Louise Findlay, daughter of John Ritchie Findlay proprietor of the British newspaper, The Scotsman; they had two sons and four daughters.