Lancelot Holland
Lancelot Holland | |
---|---|
Vice-Admiral | |
Commands held | Battlecruiser Squadron (1941) 18th Cruiser Squadron (1940–41) 3rd Battle Squadron (1939–40) Channel Force (1939) 2nd Battle Squadron (1939) Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth (1936–37) HMS Revenge (1934–35) HMS Hawkins (1929–31) HMS Vindictive (1929) HMS Kite (1916–18) |
Battles/wars |
|
Awards | Mentioned in Despatches (Greece)Commander of the Order of the Redeemer |
Early life
Lancelot Holland was one of six sons and a daughter of a doctor who was also a brewer for the firm
Returning home, Holland saw brief service during the summer of 1908 in the Admiralty surveying ship HMS Research. However, the surveying service proved not to be Holland's forte and three years later on 14 September 1911 the young Lieutenant Holland joined
Having qualified as a gunnery lieutenant and gone on to take the advanced gunnery course at Greenwich, Holland spent the First World War in a teaching role aboard HMS Excellent. After the war he was promoted to commander on 31 December 1919 and captain on 30 June 1926.
During the period May 1929 to February 1931, Holland was flag captain to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, aboard HMS Hawkins. From May 1931 to September 1932, Holland headed the British Naval Mission to Greece. He was subsequently flag captain aboard the battleship HMS Revenge from July 1934 to July 1935.
Senior officer
After a stint as naval
Second World War
From November 1940, Holland commanded the
North Atlantic and nemesis
Holland's next assignment was in command of the
At about 05:35, the German forces were sighted by the Hood and, shortly afterwards, the Germans sighted the British ships. In the ensuing Battle of the Denmark Strait the Hood suffered a catastrophic magazine explosion at 06:01 that broke the ship in half; the admiral and all but three of the crew of 1,418 were lost.[2] One of the survivors, Ted Briggs, later stated he last saw Holland sitting in his admiral's chair, in utter dejection, making no attempt to escape from the sinking wreck.[3][page needed]
Prince of Wales made her escape with some damage, including a hit on her bridge which killed many of her officers. One of the salvos from Prince of Wales damaged Bismarck's fuel tanks, and prompted her to make for
Holland was posthumously
Family
Holland was married to Phyllis and had one son, John, who died of polio at the age of 18 in 1936.
Holland and his family attended the Anglican parish Church of St John the Baptist at Boldre in the New Forest, Hampshire. They had a memorial to their son installed there and later a Hood Memorial Chapel was dedicated. An annual memorial service is held to remember Admiral Holland and the crew of Hood. A public house in Banbury, the Admiral Holland, was named after him. This pub was demolished in May 2017.[5]
References
- ^ "Lancelot Ernest Holland – the Dreadnought Project".
- ^ "HMS Hood Association: Frequently Asked Questions". HMS Hood Association. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- ^ Hood and Bismarck by David Mearns and Rob White
- ^ "No. 35307". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 1941. p. 5947.
- ^ "In Pictures: Banbury's Admiral Holland meets its maker". Banbury Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
Bibliography
- Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck, Ludovic Kennedy. Collins/Fontana, Glasgow, 1975
- The Mighty Hood, Ernle Bradford. Coronet Books (Hodder and Stoughton), Sevenoaks, Kent, England, 1961