Dudley Pound

Dudley Pound
29 August 1877 – 21 October 1943
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound
Place of birth	Isle of Wight
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1891 - 1943
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands	Mediterranean Fleet
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	GCB, GCVO

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound GCB GCVO RN (29 August 1877 - 21 October 1943) was a British naval officer who served as First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy from June 1939 to September 1943.

Early life

Pound was born on the Isle of Wight. His father was a barrister. His mother was an American, a difficult woman with whom he had a strained relationship.

Naval career

In 1891, Pound entered the navy as a cadet. He advanced rapidly, and by 1916 was a captain in command of the battleship HMS Colossus. He led her at the Battle of Jutland with notable success, sinking two German cruisers, beating off two destroyers and eluding five torpedoes.

Admiral Pound (standing, far right) at the Atlantic Conference in 1941

Interwar career

Pound was posted to naval planning after the war, becoming director of the planning division in 1922. During Roger Keyes' tenure as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in the late 1920s, Pound was his chief of staff. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1936, serving until 1939.

First Sea Lord

On July 31 1939, Sir Dudley Pound was appointed First Sea Lord. His health was doubtful even at this time, but other experienced admirals were in even poorer health. A naval medical officer was aware of an incipient brain tumour, but did not inform the Admiralty about it. He also suffered from hip degeneration, which kept him from sleeping, causing him to doze off at meetings. There are sharply divided opinions of Pound from this time. His staff at the Admiralty found him easy to work with. However admirals and captains at sea accused him of "back seat driving" and other errors, and he had some serious clashes with Admiral John Tovey, the commander of the Home Fleet. Churchill, with whom he worked from September, 1939 found him fairly easy to dominate. Perhaps his greatest achievement was the winning of the Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945). His most criticized decision was ordering the dispersal of Arctic Convoy PQ-17. By 1943, it was clear that Pound's health was declining, and he resigned in September 1943, dying on October 21 1943.

References

• Ludovic Kennedy: Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck
• Stephen Roskill: Churchill and the Admirals
• Stephen Roskill: The War at Sea (UK Official History)
• Stephen Roskill Naval Policy Between the Wars
• Corelli Barnett: Engage the Enemy More Closely
• Malcolm H. Murfett: The First Sea Lords from Fisher to Mountbatten
• Heathcote, T. A. (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 - 1995. Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0 85052 835 6
• Career history

•  • e First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy

The Earl Howe • Sir Peter Parker • Prince William, Duke of Clarence • Sir George Cockburn • Sir Thomas Hardy • The Hon. George Heneage Dundas • Charles Adam • Sir George Cockburn • Sir Charles Adam • Sir George Cockburn • Sir William Parker • Sir Charles Adam • James Whitley Deans Dundas • The Hon. Maurice FitzHardinge Berkeley • Hyde Parker • The Hon. Maurice FitzHardinge Berkeley • The Hon. Sir Richard Saunders Dundas • William Fanshawe Martin • The Hon. Sir Richard Saunders Dundas • The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey • Sir Alexander Milne • Sir Sydney Dacres • Sir Alexander Milne • Sir Hastings Yelverton • George Wellesley • Sir Astley Cooper Key • Sir Arthur Acland Hood • Lord John Hay • Sir Arthur Acland Hood • Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton • Sir Anthony Hoskins • Sir Frederick Richards • Lord Walter Kerr • Sir John A. Fisher • Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson • Sir Francis Bridgeman • Prince Louis of Battenberg • The Baron Fisher of Kilverstone • Sir Henry Jackson • Sir John Jellicoe • Sir Rosslyn Wemyss • The Earl Beatty • Sir Charles Madden, Bt • Sir Frederick Field • The Lord Chatfield • Sir Roger Backhouse • Sir Dudley Pound • The Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope • Sir John Cunningham • The Lord Fraser of North Cape • Sir Rhoderick McGrigor • The Earl Mountbatten of Burma • Sir Charles Lambe • Sir Caspar John • Sir David Luce • Sir Varyl Begg • Sir Michael Le Fanu • Sir Peter Hill-Norton • Sir Michael Pollock • Sir Edward Ashmore • Sir Terence Lewin • Sir Henry Leach • Sir John Fieldhouse • Sir William Staveley • Sir Julian Oswald • Sir Benjamin Bathurst • Sir Jock Slater • Sir Michael Boyce • Sir Nigel Essenhigh • Sir Alan West • Sir Jonathon Band •