Reginald Bacon
Encyclopedia
Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 Sir Reginald Hugh Spencer Bacon, KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

, KCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...

, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

 (1863–1947) was an officer in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 noted for his technical abilities who was described by the First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...

, Admiral Sir Jacky Fisher, as the man "acknowledged to be the cleverest officer in the Navy".

Family

Reginald was born at Wiggonholt
Wiggonholt
Wiggonholt is a village in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is southeast of Pulborough on the A283 road. The village consists of a farm, a few houses and a small Church of England parish church....

 in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

, the son of the parish rector, Rev. Thomas Bacon, and his wife, Lavinia Emma, the daughter of George Shaw of Teignmouth
Teignmouth
Teignmouth is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign about 14 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of 14,413. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...

 in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

. Rev. Thomas was the nephew of the industrialist, Anthony Bushby Bacon of Elcot Park
Elcot Park Hotel
The Ramada Jarvis Hotel Newbury Elcot Park is a four star country hotel belonging to the Ramada Jarvis hotel chain, situated within of land in the locality of Elcot near Kintbury in the English county of Berkshire.- History :...

 in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

 and the grand-uncle of the historian, Emma Elizabeth Thoyts
Emma Elizabeth Thoyts
Emma Elizabeth Thoyts , aka Mrs. John Hauntenville Cope, was an English palaeographer, historian and genealogist.Emma was born in Bryanston Square, Marylebone in Middlesex on 8 July 1860, the eldest daughter Maj. William Richard Mortimer Thoyts of Sulhamstead House in Berkshire and his wife, Anne...

, of Sulhamstead House, also in Berkshire.

Early career

Reginald 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. In 1897 he served as a member of the British punitive expedition to Benin, and on his return from active service wrote the book Benin, the City of Blood (1897), describing the campaign.

In 1899, while serving as a commander in the Mediterranean Fleet, Bacon met Admiral Fisher and was swiftly drawn into the circle of young officers employed by Fisher as an informal staff. Promoted to Captain in 1900, he left the Mediterranean Station and, thanks largely to Fisher's influence, was appointed first Inspecting Captain of Submarines and given the task of introducing and developing the Royal Navy's earliest submarine boats
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

. The appointment singled Bacon out as a most promising officer. He was the acknowledged possessor of a fine technical brain, and Fisher's enthusiasm for his hardly hindered his career. That the Admiralty shared Fisher's impression of Bacon is evident not only in its decision to appoint so junior a captain to a comparatively senior position, but also in the laudatory minutes that attached themselves to Bacon's official reports.

Technical ability and character

Bacon was well-qualified for his new posting, having served in the torpedo branch of the navy throughout the 1890s. He had spent several years on the staff of HMS Vernon
HMS Vernon (shore establishment)
HMS Vernon was a shore establishment or 'stone frigate' of the Royal Navy. Vernon was established on 26 April 1876 as the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch and operated until 1 April 1996, when the various elements comprising the establishment were split up and moved to different commands.-Foundation...

, Britain's main torpedo school, and his character was dominated by a pronounced flair for things mechanical. He developed one of the first practical modern periscopes and produced an efficient submarine compass. Later in his career Bacon made a significant contribution to the design of the revolutionary all-big-gun battleship Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (1906)
HMS Dreadnought was a battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "dreadnoughts", as well as the class of...

, 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. After his retirement, he settled down to write books with titles such as A Simple Guide to Wireless for All Whose Knowledge of Electricity is Childlike.

Few of Bacon's contemporaries denied his brilliance, but many felt that he was also blinkered, arrogant, slow to acknowledge his mistakes, and a poor leader of men. Historian Mike Dash
Mike Dash
Mike Dash is a Welsh writer, historian and researcher. He is best known for his books and articles looking at unusual historical events, anomalous phenomena, and strange beliefs.-Biography:...

 observes that while "there is no doubt that [his] mastery of the technology with which he dealt reinforced the independence of the submarine branch, he was a remote and stubborn centraliser who rarely admitted he needed help from anybody".

Another trait which became increasingly significant in Bacon's naval career was "the unfortunate knack which [he] developed of polarising the opinions others held of him." He was not, like his nemesis Roger Keyes, who succeeded him as both ICS and commander of the Dover Patrol, a friend to all men. To Maurice Hankey, during the war, Bacon was "the one officer with offensive spirit"; to the notoriously offensive-minded Reginald Tyrwhitt
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, GCB, DSO was a senior officer of the Royal Navy in World War I who commanded light forces stationed at Harwich on the east coast of England during the first part of the war.-Naval career:Tyrwhitt entered the Navy as a cadet in July, 1885...

, commander of the Harwich Force
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...

, he was a worse enemy than the Germans, unwilling to take risks and "our bugbear... the Streaky One has obsessed everyone at the Admiralty and does exactly what he pleases with them... You will understand me when I say he is not a white man."

As Inspecting Captain of Submarines

According to biographer Michael Dash, "None of these controversies... should be allowed to obscure Bacon's early achievements as ICS, which were very considerable. To Bacon goes the credit of developing the semi-autonomous submarine branch that consistently performed well in peace and war. Equally important, his determined caution ensured that the branch was developed along sensible lines". Bacon was acutely aware of the early shortcomings of underwater craft and "particularly emphasised" that he did not "commend rashness, in fact my life is spent in preaching caution... The only fear regarding the safety of the Boats is that familiarity may breed over-confidence". His philosophy was that "success belongs to the man who pays attention to infinite details".

Bacon's chief contribution to the early development of the submarine was the design for HMS
A1, the first British-designed boat and a significant advance over the earlier Holland Class boats. A1, developed by Bacon in conjunction with the naval architects of Messrs Vickers, Sons & Maxim
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...

, added a conning tower and a periscope to the pioneering design of the Irish-born American inventor John P. Holland, making her significantly more seaworthy and a more potent attacking threat. "While RN submarines retained Holland's ideas in outline... the specifics of the design from the A class onwards were essentially British", Dash writes. Bacon also 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.

First Captain of HMS Dreadnought

Bacon was the first captain of the battleship Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (1906)
HMS Dreadnought was a battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "dreadnoughts", as well as the class of...

 and was closely associated with Fisher, and public revelation of exchanges between the two led to what was tantamount to Bacon's dismissal from the service in 1909.

He retired from the Navy in 1909 as director of Naval Ordnance. From 1910 to 1914 he was managing director of the Coventry Ordnance Works
Coventry Ordnance Works
Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns, particularly naval artillery. The firm was based in the English city of Coventry.-History:...

. He returned to active service on the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Commander of the Dover Patrol

In 1915 Bacon was appointed to command the Dover Patrol
Dover Patrol
The Dover Patrol was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dover and Dunkirk for the duration of the First World War...

 and was involved in the development of the North Sea Mine Barrage.

In retirement

Bacon retired again shortly after leaving the Dover Patrol. He wrote numerous books, including biographies of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...

 and his old mentor Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher.

Published works

  • Bacon, R.H.S. Benin: City of Blood. London: Edward Arnold, 1897.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. The Dover Patrol. London, 2 volumes: Hutchinson, 1919.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. The Jutland Scandal. Birmingham, n.p. 1925.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. A Naval Scrap-Book. First part, 1877-1900. London: Hutchinson, 1925.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. The Stolen Submarine. London: E. Nash & Greyson, 1926.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. A Social Sinner. London: E. Nash & Greyson, 1926.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. The Motor-Car And How It Works. London: Mills & Boon
    Mills & Boon
    Mills & Boon is a British publisher of romance novels. It was founded in 1908, and was independent until its purchase in 1971 by Harlequin Enterprises with whom the company had had a long informal partnership...

    , 1927.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. A Simple Guide To Wireless, For All Whose Knowledge of Electricity is Childlike. London: Mills & Boon, 1930.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. The Concise Story of the Dover Patrol. London: Hutchinson, 1932.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. The Life of John Rusworth, Lord Jellicoe. London: Cassell & Co., 1936.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. From 1900 Onward. London: Hutchinson, 1940.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. Modern Naval Strategy. London: Frederick Muller, 1941.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. Britain's Glorious Navy. London: Odhams, 1942.
  • Bacon, R.H.S. with J.F.C. Fuller
    J.F.C. Fuller
    Major-General John Frederick Charles Fuller, CB, CBE, DSO was a British Army officer, military historian and strategist, notable as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising principles of warfare...

     and Patrick Playfair
    Patrick Playfair
    Air Marshal Sir Patrick Henry Lyon Playfair KBE CB CVO MC RAF was a commander in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force until his retirement during World War II....

    . Warfare Today. How Modern Battles are Planned and Fought on Land, at Sea, and in the Air. London: Odhams Press, 1944.
  • Bacon, R H. The Life of Lord Fisher of Kilverstone VOL 1 New York (1929): Doubleday. Facsimile edition (2007): ISBN 1432593625
  • Bacon, R H. The Life of Lord Fisher of Kilverstone VOL 2 New York (1929): Doubleday. Facsimile edition (2007): ISBN 143259351X

External links

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