Admiral Sir Richard Webb KCMG

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 CB

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...

 (20 July 1870 – 20 January 1950) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 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...

 officer.

Webb was born in Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He joined the Royal Navy as a Naval Cadet in July 1883. As a Midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

, he served in the battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 HMS Alexandra, alongside Midshipman David Beatty

David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty

Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...

 and several other future admirals, and then the corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

 HMS Carysfort, both in the Mediterranean. He was commissioned Sub-Lieutenant

Sub-Lieutenant

Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...

 in December 1889 and promoted Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in December 1891.

In September 1893 he qualified as a gunnery officer and then served as a gunnery officer in the battleships HMS Magnificent

HMS Magnificent (1894)

HMS Magnificent was one of the nine Majestic-class battleships of the Royal Navy .-Technical characteristics:HMS Magnificent was laid down on 18 December 1893 at Chatham Dockyard...

 with the Channel Fleet

Channel Fleet

The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...

 and HMS Ramillies

HMS Ramillies (1892)

HMS Ramillies was a pre-dreadnought battleship of Royal Navy and part of the seven ship Royal Sovereign' class.-Technical Characteristics:...

 in the Mediterranean. In December 1901 he was promoted Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 and joined the cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 HMS Ariadne

HMS Ariadne (1898)

HMS Ariadne was a Diadem-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by J&G Thompson of Clydebank and launched on 22 April 1898. In March 1913, she was converted to a stokers' training ship and in 1917 was converted to a minelayer and assigned to the Nore Command...

, flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of the North America and West Indies Station. In July 1905 he transferred to her successor, HMS Royal Arthur

HMS Royal Arthur (1891)

HMS Royal Arthur was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class, previously named Centaur, but renamed in 1890 prior to launching. Royal Arthur, and her sister ship Crescent, were built to a slightly modified design and are sometimes considered a separate class...

 and in May 1906 to her successor, HMS Euryalus

HMS Euryalus (1901)

HMS Euryalus was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser in the Royal Navy. Though the class was already obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, the Euryalus and her sisters Aboukir, Bacchante, Hogue and Cressy were assigned to patrol the Broad Fourteens of the North Sea, in support of a force of...

.

In January 1907, Webb was promoted Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 and joined the staff of the Royal Navy War College in Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

. In January 1909 he was given command of the light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 HMS Amethyst

HMS Amethyst (1903)

HMS Amethyst was a third-class protected cruiser of the Topaze class of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1904, served during World War I at the Dardanelles and Gallipoli, in the Mediterranean and the South Atlantic...

 on the North America station. In 1911 he returned to the War College as flag captain

Flag captain

In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...

 to Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Jackson. In 1913 he briefly commanded the battleship HMS Illustrious

HMS Illustrious (1896)

The third HMS Illustrious of the British Royal Navy was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1896. She was in front-line service during the final years of the 19th century and early 20th century...

, flagship of the 7th Battle Squadron. In August 1913 he was posted to the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and on the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 he was appointed Director of the Trade Division of the Naval Staff. In this capacity he was responsible for liaison with the Merchant Marine, the naval blockade of Germany, and the control of neutral shipping. For his services he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1915 New Year Honours.

In October 1917, Webb took command of the battlecruiser

Battlecruiser

Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...

 HMS New Zealand

HMS New Zealand (1911)

HMS New Zealand was one of three s built for the defence of the British Empire. Launched in 1911, the ship's construction was funded by the government of New Zealand as a gift to Britain, and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1912...

 with the Grand Fleet. In September 1918 he was promoted Rear-Admiral and was appointed Assistant High Commissioner at Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

. For his services in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours. Later that year he was posted to the Mediterranean Fleet as Rear-Admiral 4th Battle Squadron and Second-in-Command

Second-in-command

The Second-in-Command is the deputy commander of any British Army or Royal Marines unit, from battalion or regiment downwards. He or she is thus the equivalent of an Executive Officer in the United States Army...

 of the Fleet. He served in the Mediterranean until 1922.

In June 1924 he was promoted Vice-Admiral. He headed the Naval Mission to Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 from November 1924 to May 1925, and in February 1926 he was appointed President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and Flag Officer Commanding the War College. He was promoted 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"...

 in January 1928 and retired the following year.

Webb was also appointed Order of the Rising Sun 3rd Class

Order of the Rising Sun

The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...

 in 1917, Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy

Order of the Crown of Italy

The Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861...

 in 1918 and Grand Commander of the Greek Order of the Redeemer

Order of the Redeemer

The Order of the Redeemer , also known as the Order of the Savior, is an order of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state.- History :...

 and Commandeur of the French Légion d'honneur

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

 in 1919. He was a Naval Aide-de-camp

Aide-de-camp

An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...

to the King from May 1917 to September 1918.