Robert Nelson Ommanney

Admiral Sir Robert Nelson Ommanney (January 31, 1854 – January 12, 1938) was a British admiral who served in the Royal Navy. His service included commanding a cruiser on the China station during the Russo-Japanese War, Admiral Superintendent of the Chatham Dockyard and on special assignment in the Admiralty during World War I.

Early life

Ommanney was born into a naval family. Several of his relatives were also admirals of the Royal Navy.

Naval career

Ommanney joined the Royal Navy two days short of his fourteenth birthday, on January 29, 1868. He was appointed lieutenant in 1878, commander in 1893, and captain in 1899. Ommanney was appointed rear-admiral in 1908 and vice-admiral in 1913. In 1915, he was placed on the retired list at his own request. He was appointed admiral on the retired list in 1917.

He had a varied career with the Royal Navy. In the 1870s, he was involved in the suppression of the slave trade in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and off the east coast of Africa. In 1904, he was appointed captain of HMS Andromeda, another Diadem class cruiser, and sailed for the China Station. He served in that capacity during the Russo-Japanese War.

Ommanney was knighted in the New Years Honours of 1919 for his war service with the Admiralty. For example, he acted as one of two nautical assessors in the hearing by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council into the collision in the Halifax harbour which led to the Halifax Explosion in 1917.

Death Ommanney died on January 12, 1938, at Parkstone, Dorset, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Works R.N. Ommanney, Notes on the Management of Ships in a Fleet