Alexander Bethell

Sir Alexander Bethell
Born	28 August 1855 London, England
Died	1932
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1869 - 1918
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Arethusa HMS Naiad HMS Hindostan East Indies Station Plymouth Command Coastguards and Reserves
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Admiral The Hon. Sir Alexander Edward Bethell GCMG KCB (28 August 1855 – 1932) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.

Naval career

Born the second son of Richard Augustus Bethell, 2nd Baron Westbury,^[1] Bethell joined the Royal Navy in 1869.^[2] In July-August 1899 he commanded the Arethusa, which was commissioned for the annual manoeuvres.^[3] He was given command of HMS Naiad in 1903 and landed the Somaliland Field Force in East Africa^[1] before returning to the United Kingdom to become Assistant Director of Torpedoes.^[2] He was given command of the battleship HMS Hindostan in 1908.^[1] He was appointed Director of Naval Intelligence in 1909 and Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station in 1912.^[2] He was appointed Officer Commanding the Royal Navy War College at Portsmouth in 1913.^[2]

He served in World War I as Commander, Battleships for the 3rd Fleet.^[2] He was made Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in 1916 and Admiral commanding the Coastguards and Reserves in 1918.^[2] He retired later that year.^[2]

He lived at Wadeford House in Combe St Nicholas in Somerset.^[1]

Family

In 1890 he married Hilda Huntsman; they had two sons and a daughter.^[1] Both his sons were killed in World War I.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f The Bethell Family and Wadeford House
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
^ Navy List, August 1899, corrected to 18 July 1899 - Supplement: Ships and Officers Engaged in the Naval Manoeuvres, page 28.

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Edmond Slade	Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station 1912	Succeeded by Sir Richard Peirse
Preceded by Sir George Warrender	Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth 1916–1918	Succeeded by Sir Cecil Thursby

Directors of Naval Intelligence

W.H. Hall (1887–1889) · Bridge (1889–1894) · Beaumont (1895–1899) · Custance (1899–1902) · Battenberg (1902–1905) · Ottley (1905–1907) · Slade (1907–1909) · Bethell (1909–1912) · Jackson (1912–1913) · Oliver (1913–1914) · W.R. Hall (1914–1919) · Sinclair (1919–1921) · Fitzmaurice (1921–1924) · Hotham (1924–1927) · Fisher (1926–1927) · Domvile (1927–1930) · Usborne (1930–1932) · Dickens (1932–1935) · Troup (1935–1939) · Godfrey (1939–1943) · Rushbrooke (1943–1946) · Parry (1946–1948) · Longley-Cook (1948–1951) · Buzzard (1951–1954) · Inglis (1954–1960) · Denning (1960–1964) · Graham (1964–1965)

Persondata
Name	Bethell, Alexander
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	28 August 1855
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death	1932
Place of death