Admiral of the FleetSir Roger Roland Charles Backhouse, GCB,GCVO,CMG (24 November 1878 – 15 July 1939) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as a cruiser commander and after the war became a battle squadron commander and later Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. Becoming First Sea Lord in November 1938, his major contribution in that role was to abandon the official British policy of sending a major fleet to Singapore to deter Japanese aggression (the Singapore strategy), realising the immediate threat was closer to home (from Germany and Italy) and that such a policy was no longer viable. He died from a brain tumour in July 1939 just before the outbreak of the Second World War.
The light cruiser HMS Conquest, which Backhouse commanded during the First World War
Backhouse transferred to the corvetteHMS Comus on the Pacific Station in October 1895 and, having been promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 March 1898[3] and to lieutenant on 15 March 1899,[3] he joined the battleship HMS Victorious in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1899.[2] After attending the gunnery school HMS Excellent, he was posted as gunnery officer to the battleship HMS Russell in the Mediterranean Fleet in February 1903 and then to the battleship HMS Queen in Mediterranean Fleet in April 1904, before returning to HMS Excellent to join the directing staff in July 1905.[2] He became gunnery officer in the battleship HMS Dreadnought in the Channel Fleet in August 1907 and, having been promoted to commander on 31 December 1909,[4] he rejoined the directing staff at HMS Excellent in February 1910.[2] He became Flag Commander to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, first in HMS Neptune from March 1911 and then in HMS Iron Duke from March 1914.[2]
Backhouse served in the First World War, earning promotion to captain on 1 September 1914,[5] and being appointed commanding officer of the light cruiser HMS Conquest in the Harwich Force in November 1915 before being given command of the battle cruiser HMS Lion, flagship of the Battle Cruiser force, in November 1916.[2] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 4 June 1917.[6]
The battleship HMS Nelson, Backhouse's flagship as Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet
In 1907 Backhouse married Dora Louise Findlay, daughter of John Ritchie Findlay proprietor of the British newspaper, The Scotsman; they had two sons and four daughters.[2]
References
^"Admiral O. Backhouse". The Times. 27 March 1943. p. 6.