Vernon Haggard

Sir Vernon Harry Stuart Haggard
Vice-Admiral Haggard (left) at Vancouver in 1930 with Mayor Malkin (right)
Born 28 October 1874
Bengal, India
Died 30 January 1960 (aged 85)
Southend, Essex, England
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service 1888–1932
Rank Admiral
Commands held HMS Boadicea
HMS Blenheim
HMS Good Hope
HMS Vulcan
HMS Hibernia
HMS Highflyer
HMS Ajax
America and West Indies Station
Battles/wars Benin Expedition
World War I
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Croix de Guerre

Admiral Sir Vernon Harry Stuart Haggard, KCB, CMG (28 October 1874 – 30 January 1960) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station. His career in the Royal Navy spanned forty-four years, from his entry as a youth in 1888 to his promotion to admiral in 1932.

Background

Haggard, the eldest child of Alfred Hinuber Haggard and his wife Alice Geraldine Schalch Haggard, was born on 28 October 1874 in Bengal, India.[1][2] His father was a Bengal Civil Service official.[1] Vernon Haggard was the nephew of prolific author Sir Henry Rider Haggard, who achieved literary fame with his romances King Solomon's Mines and She: A History of Adventure.[1][3] He was also the brother of diplomat Sir Godfrey Digby Napier Haggard, who served as British Consul General at New York City during World War II.[1][4][5] In addition, he was the uncle of actor and writer Stephen Hubert Avenel Haggard, whose life was the subject of Christopher Hassall's The Timeless Quest.[6][7][8]

Naval career

Haggard joined the Royal Navy as a youth in 1888.[9] On 14 May 1894, Acting Sub-Lieutenant Haggard was promoted to sub-lieutenant.[10] He took part in the Benin Expedition to Nigeria in 1897.[9] In late December 1905, the lieutenant was promoted to commander.[11] He commanded HMS Boadicea in 1911.[9] Commander Haggard received the Insignia of Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1912.[12] He commanded HMS Blenheim that year, and both HMS Good Hope and HMS Vulcan in 1913.[9] Captain Haggard was also put in command of the Seventh Submarine Flotilla in 1913.[13][14] He served throughout World War I, commanding HMS Hibernia in 1915 and later the cadet training vessel HMS Highflyer.[9]

In 1919, the captain received the Croix de Guerre from the Republic of France, and became a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.[15][16] After the war, he was in charge of the Naval Brigade on the Danube and then commanded the battleship HMS Ajax from 1920 to 1921.[9] He was appointed Director of Training and Staff Duties at the Admiralty in 1921 and was promoted to rear admiral two years later.[9][17] On 1 January 1925, Haggard became a Companion of the Order of the Bath and that year was appointed Chief of the Submarine Service.[9][18] He was promoted from rear admiral to vice admiral and became Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport in 1928.[9][19] He went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the America and West Indies Station in 1930.[4][9] Haggard became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 3 June 1931.[20] He was promoted from vice admiral to admiral the following year, effective 20 October 1932.[21] Admiral Haggard retired from the Royal Navy that year.[4][9]

Family

In 1905, Haggard married Dorothy Booker Ellis, the daughter of Richard Adam Ellis and his wife Emma Eliza Booker Ellis, of Stock in Essex.[22][23][24] They had three daughters: Avice Dorothy Haggard Lyster,[25][26] Rosamond A Haggard Hunt,[27][28] and Elizabeth G E Haggard Gibbon.[29][30] The couple had one son, Hugh Alfred Vernon Haggard, DSO, DSC, also of the Royal Navy, who was the commanding officer of the submarine HMS Truant during World War II.[31][32] Lieutenant Commander H A V Haggard's exploits in that submarine led to "Haggard of the Truant" being referred to as "Britain's Submarine Ace No. 1," with his vessel nicknamed "the adventure ship."[32][33]

Later life

Following his retirement in 1932, Haggard resided with his family at Little Court in Stock.[34] He wrote the forward to Hudson Strode's The Story of Bermuda, the first of the author's travel books.[35][36] In addition, he was one of several military officers involved in the running of the Stock United Football Club.[37] Haggard died on 30 Jan 1960 at 90 Crowstone Road in Southend, Essex.[38] His funerary box was borne on a gun carriage, accompanied by an escort of fifty representatives of the Royal Navy.[22] After three volleys were fired at his graveside, the Royal Marines played the Last Post and Reveille.[22] He was interred at All Saints Churchyard in Stock.[22][39] His estate went to probate on 21 March 1960.[38] Lady Haggard died the following year, on 2 January 1961, at Chelmsford and Essex Hospital in Essex.[40]

Legacy

A collection of photographs of Vernon Haggard is held by the Imperial War Museum.[41] In addition, the National Register of Archives and the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King's College London indicate that the Imperial War Museum serves as the repository for Haggard's five volumes of journals, covering the period from 1888 to 1932, and other papers, dated from 1885 to 1932.[9][42] The National Portrait Gallery in London also has a portrait of Admiral Haggard that was obtained by photographer Walter Stoneman in 1930.[43]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sir Bernard Burke; Ashworth Peter Burke (1894). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, Volume 1 (8 ed.). Harrison. p. 851. ISBN 9780394487267. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Haggard, Vernon H. "1881 England Census". Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  3. ↑ Roger Luckhurst. "H. Rider Haggard". Oxford Bibliographies. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "G. D. N. Haggard Named, Appointed British Consul-General at New York". The Montreal Gazette. 10 June 1938. p. 12. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Sir Winston Churchill; Martin Gilbert (2001). The Churchill War Papers: The Ever-Widening War, 1941. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 692. ISBN 9780393019599. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Haggard, Stephen Hubert Avenel". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Christopher Hassall (1946). The Timeless Quest: Stephen Haggard. Arthur Barker. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Haggard is Dead on Active Service; British Actor and Novelist, Son of Consul General Here, Was Army Captain in Near East, Had Big Roles in London, Made Debut in Munich Under Reinhardt in 1930 – Played Here in 1934 and 1938". The New York Times. 3 March 1943. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Haggard, Sir Vernon (Harry Stuart) (1874–1960), Admiral. "Survey of the Papers of Senior UK Defence Personnel, 1900–1975". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "The London Gazette". 15 November 1895. p. 6182. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "The London Gazette". 2 January 1906. p. 25. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "The London Gazette". 16 April 1912. p. 2702. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Naval Notes". Royal United Services Institution. Journal 57 (428). 1913. doi:10.1080/03071841309427200. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  14. ↑ "Collections listing for part of Haggard Vernon (Admiral Sir)". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Supplement to the London Gazette". 24 May 1919. p. 6449. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  16. ↑ "Supplement to the London Gazette". 3 June 1919. p. 7047. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  17. ↑ "The London Gazette". 3 April 1923. p. 2511. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  18. ↑ "Supplement to the London Gazette". 1 January 1925. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "The London Gazette". 2 March 1928. p. 1493. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  20. ↑ "Supplement to the London Gazette". 3 June 1931. p. 3625. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  21. ↑ "The London Gazette" (PDF). 21 October 1932. p. 6626. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Charles Phillips. "Stock History – The Twentieth Century". The Village of Stock in Essex. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  23. ↑ Haggard, Vernon Harry S. "England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837–1915". General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  24. ↑ Booker, Emma Eliza. "London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754–1921". Church of England Parish Registers, 1754–1921. London Metropolitan Archives (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  25. ↑ Haggard, Avice. "1911 England Census". Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  26. ↑ Haggard, Avice D. "England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916–2005". General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  27. ↑ Haggard, Rosamond. "1911 England Census". Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  28. ↑ Haggard, Rosamond A. "England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916–2005". General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  29. ↑ Haggard, Elizabeth. "UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960". Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  30. ↑ Haggard, Elizabeth G E. "England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916–2005". General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  31. ↑ Keith Archibald Forbes. "Bermuda's Royal Navy base at Ireland Island from 1815 to the 1960s". Bermuda Online. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  32. 1 2 The War Illustrated, Volume 6, No. 146. 22 January 1943. p. 509. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  33. ↑ "Thrilling Stories of Under-Sea Warfare; Britain's Submarine Ace No. 1". The Sunday Times. 1 March 1942. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  34. ↑ Charles Phillips. "Memories of Stock" (PDF). The Village of Stock in Essex. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  35. ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series: 1946. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 1947. p. 637. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  36. ↑ James P. Kaetz. "Hudson Strode". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  37. ↑ "Stock United F.C.". The Village of Stock in Essex. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  38. 1 2 Haggard, Sir Vernon Harry Stuart. "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966". Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  39. ↑ "Vernon Harry Stuart Haggard". Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  40. ↑ Haggard, Dorothy Booker. "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966". Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England (as reprinted on Ancestry.com).
  41. ↑ "Haggard Vernon (Admiral Sir)". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  42. ↑ "Haggard, Sir Vernon Harry Stuart (1874–1960) Knight Admiral". The National Archives. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  43. ↑ "Sir Vernon Harry Stuart Haggard (1874–1960), Admiral". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
Military offices
Preceded by
Wilmot Nicholson		 Chief of the Submarine Service
1925–1927 		Succeeded by
Henry Grace
Preceded by
Sir William Fisher		 Fourth Sea Lord
1928–1930 		Succeeded by
Sir Lionel Preston
Preceded by
Sir Cyril Fuller		 Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station
1930–1932 		Succeeded by
Sir Reginald Plunkett
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