Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir Alexander Robert Maule Ramsay, GCVO, KCB, DSO (29 May 1881 – 8 October 1972) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the husband of Princess Patricia of Connaught, the youngest child of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, third son of Queen Victoria. He served with distinction during the First World War. During the 1920s and 1930s, he held several important naval aviation commands.

Sir Alexander Ramsay
Ramsay in 1918
Born(1881-05-29)29 May 1881
London, England
Died8 October 1972(1972-10-08) (aged 91)
Windlesham, Surrey, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1894–1942
RankAdmiral
Commands heldEast Indies Station
HMS Furious
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Spouse(s)
RelationsAlexander Ramsay of Mar (son)

Early life and career

Alexander was born in London as the third son of John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie, and his wife, Lady Ida Louisa Bennet, daughter of Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville. He entered the Royal Navy as a cadet on HMS Britannia in 1894.[1] He first went to sea on HMS Majestic, the flagship of Admiral Sir Walter Kerr in the Channel Squadron,[1] and was confirmed as a sub-lieutenant on 29 May 1900.[2] In early December 1901 he was posted to the cruiser HMS Diadem,[3] but the order was cancelled as he was instead ordered to the cruiser HMS Grafton as she left to become flagship of the Pacific Station in January 1902.[4] He was promoted to lieutenant on 29 May 1902,[5] and later the same year was posted to the cruiser HMS Flora as she was commissioned for the Pacific Station.[6]

In October 1911, he became a naval aide-de-camp to the Duke of Connaught, then Governor General of Canada.[1] He returned to active naval duty in 1913 as the gunnery officer of the battlecruiser Indefatigable in the Mediterranean.[1]

Ramsay took part in several important naval operations of the First World War. He took part in the first phase of the bombardment of the Dardanelles forts in November 1914,[1] and later at Gallipoli. He received the Distinguished Service Order for his conduct there. Ramsay rose to the rank of commander in late 1914 and became flag commander of the Second Squadron in 1916.[1] He gained promotion to captain in 1919 and served as the naval attaché in Paris for the next three years.[1]

Marriage into the Royal Family

On 27 February 1919, the then-Captain Ramsay married Princess Patricia of Connaught at Westminster Abbey, in the presence of the entire British Royal Family.[7] He had proposed to her while staying with J. K. L. Ross at his fishing lodge on the bay of St. Anns, Nova Scotia.

On the day of the wedding, Princess Patricia voluntarily relinquished the title of "Princess of Great Britain and Ireland" and the style "Royal Highness", and assumed by Royal Warrant the style "Lady Patricia Ramsay" with precedence before the Marchionesses of England. Despite his wife's relinquishment of her royal title, the couple remained members of the British Royal Family. They attended major royal events for the next forty years, including the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[8]

They had one son, Alexander Ramsay of Mar.

Aviation commands and flag rank

In 1928, Ramsay assumed command of the aircraft carrier HMS Furious in the Atlantic Fleet.[1] He gained promotion to rear admiral in 1933 and for the next five years commanded the aircraft carriers in the fleet.[1] He was advanced to vice-admiral in January 1936.[9]

Ramsay served as commander-in-chief, East Indies Station, from 1936 to 1938,[1] and then became Fifth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Air Services.[1] Ramsay held this post until the outbreak of the Second World War. He was promoted to admiral in December 1939 and retired at his own request in 1942.[1][10]

Honours

Ramsay was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in March 1916. The citation reads, "Flag Commander to Vice-Admiral de Robeck, and has done exceptionally good service throughout the operations."[11]

He was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the King's Birthday Honours of 1932,[12] and, in the New Year Honours of 1934, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB),[13] which was advanced to Knight Commander of the same Order (KCB) on 11 May 1937, "on the occasion of His Majesty's Coronation".[14]

On 6 July 1938 he was received by King George VI on relinquishing his appointment as commander-in-chief of the East Indies Station and being appointed as Fifth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Air Service, the King taking the opportunity to invest him with the insignia of a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).[15]

Death and burial

Ramsay died at his home, Ribsden Holt, Windlesham, Surrey, on 8 October 1972.[16] He is buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore.

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References
  1. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  2. "No. 27389". The London Gazette. 20 December 1901. p. 8981.
  3. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36628). London. 3 December 1901. p. 6.
  4. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36642). London. 19 December 1901. p. 7.
  5. "No. 27452". The London Gazette. 8 July 1902. p. 4375.
  6. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36902). London. 18 October 1902. p. 9.
  7. "Princess Patricia To Wed Earl's Son. King George's Cousin Betrothed to Com. A.R.M. Ramsay, R.N., Dalhousie Heir. Sponsor Of A Regiment. Honorary Colonel in Chief of "Princess Pats" Is a Great Favorite in Canada and England". The New York Times. 28 December 1918.
  8. Royal Collection: Seating plan for the Ball Supper Room
  9. "No. 34240". The London Gazette. 7 January 1936. p. 133.
  10. "Sir Alexander Ramsay" in The Times (Tuesday, 10 October 1972), p. 17.
  11. Supplement to The London Gazette, 14 March, 1916, p. 2870
  12. Supplement to The London Gazette, 3 June, 1932, p. 3573
  13. Supplement to The London Gazette, 1 January, 1934, p. 3
  14. Supplement to The London Gazette, 11 May, 1937, p. 3078
  15. "Court Circular" in The Times (Thursday, 7 July 1938), p. 19. The London Gazette, 29 July, 1938, p. 4877
  16. "Sir Alexander Ramsay" in The Times (Tuesday, 10 October 1972), p. 17; "Deaths" in The Times (Tuesday, 10 October 1972), p. 28
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Frank Rose		 Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
1936–1938		 Succeeded by
Sir James Somerville
Vacant
Title last held by
Sir Godfrey Paine		 Fifth Sea Lord
1938–1939		 Succeeded by
Sir Guy Royle
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