24 November 1878 – 15 July 1939.
He served in the First World War as captain of the light cruiser HMS Conquest and then the battle cruiser HMS Lion.
After the war he commanded the battleship HMS Malaya and then, as a Rear Admiral, became a battle squadron commander and later C-in-C Home Fleet, flying his flag in HMS Nelson.
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.
With failing health, he resigned as First Sea Lord in May 1939 and died from a brain tumour in July 1939 just before the outbreak of WWII