Cecil Vivian Usborne

Cecil Vivian Usborne
Born	17 May 1880
Died	31 January 1951 (1951-02-01) (aged 70)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Vice admiral
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George

Vice-Admiral Cecil Vivian Usborne, CB, CMG (17 May 1880 – 31 January 1951) was a high-ranking officer in the British Royal Navy. He served as the Director of Naval Intelligence between 1930 and 1932. His son Henry Usborne was a Member of Parliament 1945–59. ^[1]

Naval career

Usborne entered the navy as an acting sub-lieutenant. He was confirmed in this rank in July 1899, ^[2] and promoted to lieutenant in January 1900. ^[3] He was further promoted to commander in July 1912, ^[4] and a captain before 1918. He became deputy director of Naval Ordnance in January 1919 and deputy director of Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Warfare in August 1922. ^[5]

In April 1928 he was appointed a Naval aide-de-camp to the King ^[6] and promoted to rear admiral. ^[7] He served as the Director of Naval Intelligence between 1930 and 1932. ^[5] Promotion to vice-admiral came in January 1933. ^[8]

He was brought back into the Navy during the Second World War as Naval Adviser to the First Sea Lord to develop anti-U-boat weapons. As his assistant he employed Edward Terrell who had developed plastic armour.

Usborne was also Captain of the Tactical School, Portsmouth. ^[1]

Honours

After service during the First World War, he was appointed a Commander of the Greek Order of the Redeemer by Alexander, King of the Hellenes in April 1918, ^[9] a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) by King George V in June 1918, ^[10] and an Officer of the French Légion d′honneur in May 1919. ^[11] In June 1930 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) ^[12]

References

1. "Vice-Admiral Cecil Vivian Usborne". The Usborne Family. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
2. "No. 27236". The London Gazette . 9 October 1900. p. 6180.
3. "No. 27308". The London Gazette . 26 April 1901. p. 2858.
4. "No. 28623". The London Gazette . 2 July 1912. p. 4748.
5. "Senior Royal Navy appointments" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
6. "No. 33376". The London Gazette . 17 April 1928. p. 2741.
7. "No. 33378". The London Gazette . 24 April 1928. p. 2900.
8. "No. 33900". The London Gazette . 6 January 1933. p. 127.
9. "No. 30616". The London Gazette . 6 April 1918. p. 4265.
10. "No. 30723". The London Gazette . 3 June 1918. p. 6530.
11. "No. 31360". The London Gazette . 27 May 1919. p. 6505.
12. "No. 3475". The London Gazette . 3 June 1930. p. 2858.

Bibliography

• Terrell, Edward (1958). Admiralty brief: the story of inventions that contributed to victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. Harrap.

Military offices
Preceded by Barry Domvile	Director of Naval Intelligence 1930–1932	Succeeded by Gerald Dickens