George Devereux Belben

George Devereux Belben (14 May 1897 – 18 February 1944) was a decorated officer in the British Royal Navy.

Early life and education George Devereux Belben was born on 14 May 1897 in Poole, Dorset. He was one of three children of George Belben, a merchant, and Lucy Dickinson. He attended Royal Naval College, Osborne.

Career Belben was commissioned into the Royal Navy in January 1910. He was appointed a midshipman on 31 July 1914. In August 1914, he was appointed to the Monmouth-class armoured cruiser HMS Cumberland. He was mentioned in a report by a senior officer in the Royal Navy for his successful landings. In 1915, he was appointed to the super-dreadnought battleship HMS Canada and then to HMS Penelope in August 1916. He was promoted to the rank of sub-lieutenant in 1917, and lieutenant on 15 July 1918. On 16 September 1918, Belben and three other seamen aided the evacuation of the Glatton, which had experienced an explosion while lying in the Dover harbor. The rescuers boarded the burning ship in order to evacuate survivors who had been trapped in the mess deck and the superstructure. Belben was later awarded the Albert Medal for Lifesaving (AM) for his efforts in the Glatton.

Promoted to lieutenant commander on 15 February 1926, Belben served on HMS Renown from 1930 to 1931. A memorial plaque commemorating those lost is in St Ann's Church, HM Dockyard, Portsmouth. 206 of the 623 crew total survived.

Personal life Belben married his cousin, Joyce Pamela May Belben, granddaughter of William Henry Foster, in 1928 in Wimborne, Dorset.