Norman Wodehouse

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Norman Wodehouse
Born(1887-05-18)18 May 1887
Vice Admiral
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
United Services Rugby Football Club
Royal Navy Rugby Union
()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1910-1913 England 14 Tries-(2)

CB (18 May 1887 – 4 July 1941) was a Royal Navy officer killed in the Second World War.[1] He had gained 14 caps for England at rugby union, including six as captain between 1910 and 1913. Wodehouse was acting as a convoy commodore when his ship was sunk by a German U-boat
.

Naval career

Wodehouse joined the

from 1931 to 1934.

Just before the outbreak of the

Convoy Commodore in the Royal Naval Reserve. He was killed onboard the merchant vessel Robert L. Holt when it was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean, southwest of the Canary Islands by U-69 on 4 July 1941, after he had ordered the South Africa bound convoy OB-337 he was commanding to scatter due to the attacks by German submarines.[2] U-69 sunk the Robert L. Holt in a gun duel. The U-boat fired 102 high explosive rounds and 34 incendiary rounds from the deck gun, 220 rounds from the 20mm gun and 400 rounds with the MG34. Robert L. Holt was sunk with the loss of all 56 crew including Wodehouse.[3]

Family

He married Mrs Theodosia Frances Swire, née Boyle (1890–1966), daughter of Commander Edward Boyle and Theodosia Ogilvie, and widow of Captain Douglas William Swire (d. 1920), on 22 October 1923.

By his wife Theodosia, he had two sons:

  • Rev. Armine Boyle Wodehouse (1924-2017[4]), who has been twice married (once widowed), and has had issue, one son and two daughters.
  • Charles Norman Boyle Wodehouse, (1927-2011), who has married, and has issue, one son and two daughters.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Commonwealth War Graves Commission".
  2. ^ "Casualty Details: Norman Wodehouse". Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
  3. ^ "Robert L. Holt (British Steam merchant) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Wodehouse - Death Announcement". Retrieved 10 September 2017.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
New Post
Rear Admiral Gibraltar

May 1939–November 1939
Succeeded by
Commander in Chief, North Atlantic