Beatty (original) (raw)
Beatty, Admiral David, 1st Earl. (1871-1936). Born, Ireland. Served in Egypt and the Sudan (1896-98), and during the Boxer Rebellion. Promoted Admiral in 1910, he became private secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill in 1911. Commanded the battle cruiser squadron of the Home Fleet in 1913 and led the successful raid into Heligoland Bight, sinking three German cruisers and a destroyer (28 August 1914). Beatty interecepted German Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers after their third bombardment of coastal English towns, and sank SMS Blucher near Dogger Bank. Commanded the battle cruisers and the 5th Battle Squadron of battleships at Jutland, and successfully lured Adm. Scheer's main fleet into Jellicoe's guns. After Jellicoe was made First Sea Lord in December, 1916, Beatty was made Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet. He was an advocate after the war of the independence of the Fleet Air Army, and of a strongly fortified Singapore base. He served as a delegate to the 1921 Washington naval conference.
AJP