Eric Fullerton Explained

Honorific Prefix:Admiral
Sir Eric Fullerton
Birth Name:Eric John Arthur Fullerton
Birth Date:28 November 1878
Birth Place:Hamble-le-Rice, Hampshire, England[1]
Death Place:Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Office:Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
Term Start:1932
Term End:1935
Office1:Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
Term Start1:December 1929
Term End1:1932
Office2:Naval Secretary
Term Start2:April 1927
Term End2:December 1929
Office3:Commodore, Chatham Naval Barracks
Term Start3:1923
Term End3:1926
Office4:Captain of the Fleet, Atlantic Fleet
Term Start4:August 1921
Term End4:1923
Office5:Commanding Officer, HMS Orion
Term Start5:1916
Term End5:1918
Office6:Commanding Officer, HMS Mersey
Term Start6:1914
Term End6:1916
Allegiance: United Kingdom
Serviceyears:1892–1936
Rank:Admiral
Commands:HMS Orion
East Indies Station
Plymouth Command
Branch: Royal Navy
Battles:World War I
World War II
Awards:Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order

Admiral Sir Eric John Arthur Fullerton (28 November 1878[2] – 9 November 1962) was a Royal Navy officer.

Naval career

Fullerton was the second son of Admiral Sir John Fullerton and entered the Royal Navy himself in 1892 as a cadet in HMS Britannia. He was promoted sub-lieutenant in 1899 and lieutenant in 1900. He specialised as a physical training instructor in early 1903,[3] then joined the new Royal Naval College, Osborne as Inspector of Gymnasia. In 1905 he joined the battleship HMS Renown and in January 1907 transferred to HMS Queen, flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. In October 1908 he joined the royal yacht, HMY Victoria and Albert, and was promoted commander in 1910. In 1911 he was appointed executive officer of the battleship in the Mediterranean, and the following year rejoined Osborne.[4]

When the First World War broke out he was given command of the monitor HMS Mersey, which was used for operations off the Belgian coast, and also commanded the squadron consisting of Mersey and its two sister ships, HMS Humber and HMS Severn.[5] He later transferred his command to HMS Severn. In 1915, after he had been promoted captain, his ships completed the destruction of the German cruiser SMS Königsberg in the Rufiji River in German East Africa.[5] For this action he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[4]

In 1916 he took command of the battleship HMS Orion in the Grand Fleet, remaining in command for the remainder of the war.[5] In 1918 he was appointed officer-in-charge of the naval officers taking courses at the University of Cambridge.[5] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1920 New Year Honours.

In August 1921 he returned to sea as Captain of the Fleet of the Atlantic Fleet to Admiral Sir Charles Madden[5] and in 1923 he was appointed commodore of the Naval Barracks at Chatham.[5] In May 1926 he was promoted rear-admiral at the relatively early age of 48. In April 1927 he was appointed Naval Secretary[5] and in December 1929 he became Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station.[5] He was promoted vice-admiral in 1930. In 1932 he became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.[5] He held the post until 1935, in which year he was promoted Admiral, and retired in 1936,[5] although he served with the Royal Naval Reserve during the Second World War.[5] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1934.[4]

Family

Fullerton married Dorothy Sybil Fisher, daughter of John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, in 1908.[4]

External links

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Notes and References

  1. 1881 England Census
  2. Web site: Fullerton, Eric John Arthur. The National Archives' catalogue . . 14 May 2019 . 15 July 1892.
  3. Naval & Military intelligence . 21 November 1902 . 5 . 36931.
  4. Obituary, The Times, 12 November 1962
  5. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/FULLERTON.shtml Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives