For other people named James Somerville, see James Somerville (disambiguation).
Royal Navy Admiral of the Fleet (1882-1949)
Admiral of the Fleet
Sir James Somerville
Admiral Sir James Somerville c. 1943
Born
(1882-07-17)17 July 1882 Weybridge, Surrey
Died
19 March 1949(1949-03-19) (aged 66) Dinder House, Somerset
Buried
St Michael and All Angels Church, Dinder
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch
Royal Navy
Years of service
1897–1946
Rank
Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held
Eastern Fleet (1942–44) Force H (1940–42) Battlecruiser Squadron (1940) East Indies Station (1938–39) Destroyer Flotillas, Mediterranean Fleet (1936–38) HMS Norfolk (1931–32) HMS Barham (1927–29) HMS Warspite (1927) HMS Benbow (1922–23)
Battles/wars
First World War
Gallipoli Campaign
Second World War
Attack on Mers-el-Kébir
Battle of Cape Spartivento
Operation Grog
Hunt for Bismarck
Indian Ocean raid
Operation Cockpit
Operation Transom
Awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (2) Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville, GCB, GBE, DSO, DL (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as fleet wireless officer for the Mediterranean Fleet where he was involved in providing naval support for the Gallipoli Campaign. He also served in the Second World War as commander of the newly formed Force H: after the French armistice with Germany, Winston Churchill gave Somerville and Force H the task of neutralizing the main element of the French battle fleet, then at Mers El Kébir in Algeria. After he had destroyed the French Battle fleet, Somerville played an important role in the pursuit and sinking of the German battleship Bismarck.
Somerville later became Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet. In April 1942 Admiral Chūichi Nagumo's powerful Indian Ocean raid inflicted heavy losses on his fleet. However, in spring 1944, with reinforcements, Somerville was able to go on the offensive in a series of aggressive air strikes in the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies. He spent the remainder of the war in charge of the British naval delegation in Washington, D.C.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville, GCB, GBE, DSO, DL (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World...
James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a British pop singer and songwriter from Glasgow, Scotland. He sang in the 1980s with the synth-pop groups...
Archbishop Malcolm Hamilton of Monea Castle granted land for the castle to JamesSomerville, and his wife Elizabeth, believed to be the daughter of Thomas Hamilton...
Bonnie Somerville (born February 24, 1974) is an American actress and singer. She has had roles in a number of movies and television series, most notably...
JamesSomerville, 13th Lord Somerville (1698–1765) JamesSomerville, 14th Lord Somerville (1727–1796) John Southey Somerville, 15th Lord Somerville (1765–1819)...
British Eastern Fleet. The Eastern Fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir JamesSomerville, was forewarned by intelligence and sailed from its bases prior to...
Somerville was killed, along with Harris Boyle, when the bomb they had loaded onto the band's minibus exploded prematurely. His brother, John James Somerville...
Mary Somerville (/ˈsʌmərvɪl/; née Fairfax, formerly Greig; 26 December 1780 – 29 November 1872) was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied...
peerage in 1863. Sir JamesSomerville, 1st Baronet (died 1748) Sir Quaile Somerville, 2nd Baronet (1714–1772) Sir James Quaile Somerville, 3rd Baronet (c. 1742–c...
Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville (born 19 May 1967) is an Irish-British actress. She is known for her roles in the film Gosford Park (2001) and the...
assigned to a tour of the Burma front, and after meeting Admiral Sir JamesSomerville, commander-in-chief of the British Eastern Fleet, he was given a front...
Richard Chapin JamesSomerville (born 30 May 1941) is an American climate scientist who is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Scripps Institution of...
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville (1882–1949) of Dinder House in Somerset. Her father, John Arthur Fownes Somerville, was a naval officer who...
(31 km; 20 mi) north of Chetaïbi. Shortly after, at 9:56, Admiral JamesSomerville received the report of his own aircraft from the carrier HMS Ark Royal...