Ion Tower

Rear Admiral Ion Beauchamp Butler Tower, DSC, SGM (14 March 1889 – 14 October 1940)[1][2] was a British naval officer.

Ion Tower
Born(1889-03-14)14 March 1889
Kensington, London, England
Died14 October 1940(1940-10-14) (aged 51)
Regent Street, London, England
Buried
Kensal Green Cemetery
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1904–1940
RankRear Admiral
Commands heldHMS Malaya (1938–40)
HMS Kent (1934–36)
HMS Blanche (1931)
HMS Ambuscade (1930, 1931)
HMS Wolsey (1930–31)
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsDistinguished Service Cross
Sea Gallantry Medal
Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd Class with Swords (Russia)
RelationsVice Admiral Sir Thomas Tower (brother)
Major General Philip Tower (nephew)

Early life and naval career

Tower was the third son of Royal Navy Commander Francis Fitzpatrick Tower[3] (1859–1944) and his wife Laura, daughter of Thomas Butler. He was educated at Harrow School and entered the Royal Navy through training on HMS Britannia.[4]

He fought in the First World War, being decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross and the Russian Order of St Stanislas, 3rd Class with Swords. He was awarded the Sea Gallantry Medal for his part, as lieutenant commander aboard HMS Carlisle, in the rescue of survivors of the sinking of the Hong Moh in March 1921.

He married in 1923 Sophia Maud, daughter of Robert Donner of Bowden, Lacock, Wiltshire and had two children: one son, John Christopher, who was killed by enemy action in 1944 while serving as Supply Assistant in the Royal Navy,[4][5] and a daughter Lavinia.[4]

Tower remained in the navy in the interwar period, and was promoted to rear admiral in June 1940.[6] While serving as Chief Naval Liaison Officer to General Sir Alan Brooke, the Commander-in-Chief of Home Forces, Tower was killed during an air raid on London on 14 October 1940 at age 51. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.[7]

References
  1. National Archives
  2. Rear Admiral A.B.B. Tower The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Oct 22, 1940; pg. 7; Issue 48753
  3. Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945
  4. Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952. Burke's Peerage Ltd. p. 2532.Article, Tower of Weald Hall (Essex).
  5. CWGC Casualty Record. His rank is given as midshipman in the family's Burke's Landed Gentry article.
  6. Career progression
  7. CWGC Casualty Record.


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