Claude Congreve Dobson
Rear-Admiral Claude Congreve Dobson VC, DSO[1] (1 January 1885 – 26 June 1940) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Claude Congreve Dobson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1 January 1885 Clifton, Bristol |
| Died | 26 June 1940 Chatham, Kent |
| Buried | Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1899 - 1935 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held | CMB 31BD |
| Battles/wars | World War I Russian Civil War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Distinguished Service Order |
Dobson was born in Clifton, Bristol and was educated at Clifton College.[2] He was an experienced submariner and small motor boat captain who served in World War I. He was 34 years old, and a commander in the Royal Navy serving with the North Russia Relief Force when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC:
On 18 August 1919 at Kronstadt, Russia, Commander Dobson was in command of the Coastal Motor Boat Flotilla which he led through the chain of forts to the entrance to Kronstadt harbour. CMB 31BD, a 55 ft boat, from which he directed the general operations then passed in under heavy machine-gun fire and hit the battleship Andrei Pervozvanny with both torpedoes, subsequently returning through heavy fire to the open sea.[3] CMB 31BD was commanded and helmed by Lieutenant Russell Hamilton McBean.[4]
His VC is currently displayed at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.[5]
See also
- Gordon Charles Steele - awarded VC in same action
- Augustus Agar - took part in the operation, awarded VC for an early action in a CMB and precluded from the main operation because of his special work for the secret services.
- Russell Hamilton McBean - awarded DSO in same action
References
- "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. ref no 94698: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948
- Bristol Post Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- "No. 31638". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 November 1919. p. 13743.
- Supplement to the London Gazette, citation, 11 November 1919
- Victoria Cross (MED2102) Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Valiant Hearts, Atlantic Canada and the Victoria Cross, by John Boileau, 2005, publishers Nimbus Publishing ltd.