Lancelot Ernest Holland CB (1887 - 1941)

Born 13 Sep 1887 in Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Phillis M W (Smith) Holland — married 1913 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England

Died 24 May 1941 at age 53 in At Sea

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Biography

Lancelot Holland CB is Notable.

Lancelot Ernest Holland, son of Tom Wilkinson Holland and his wife, Helen Elizabeth Chipperfield Pritchard, was baptised at Middleton Cheney in Northamptonshire on the 16th of October 1887. ^[1].^[2]

He entered the Royal Navy on the 15th of May 1902. On leaving HMS Britannia in September 1903, he was drafted to the China Station to join HMS Eclipse and served in the Far East until August 1905, the latter part of his time there being spent aboard HMS Hampshire.

Returning home, Holland saw brief service during the summer of 1908 in the Admiralty surveying ship HMS Research and three years later on the 14th of September 1911 he joined HMS Excellent, the Royal Navy's gunnery school at Whale Island in Portsmouth.

At Portsmouth in 1913 he married Phyllis Margaret Wales Smith. ^[3] Their only child, their son, John Douglas, was born at Portsmouth in 1917. ^[4] He took the advanced gunnery course at Greenwich and spent the Great War teaching at HMS Excellent. He was promoted to commander on the 31st of December 1919 and captain on the 30th of June 1926.

During the period May 1929 to February 1931, Holland was flag captain to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, aboard HMS Hawkins. From May 1931 to September 1932, Holland headed the British Naval Mission to Greece. He was subsequently flag captain aboard the battleship HMS Revenge from July 1934 to July 1935.

His son, John, who had been suffering from poliomyelitis died at the Sanatorium at Split in Yugoslavia on the 30th of July 1936. ^[5]

Senior officer

After a stint as naval aide-de-camp to King George VI in 1937, Holland became Assistant Chief of Naval Staff and then, following promotion to rear admiral, commander of the 2nd Battle Squadron in January 1939. In September, following the outbreak of the Second World War, he was appointed Rear Admiral Commanding, Channel Force. He then became Admiralty representative at the Air Ministry. He was promoted to vice admiral, backdated to August 1940, after commanding Cruiser Force H during the Battle of Cape Spartivento on 27 November.

Second World War

From November 1940, Holland commanded the 18th Cruiser Squadron, serving in the Mediterranean. During the course of this command he led his cruisers in the Battle of Cape Spartivento on 27 November 1940. By this time, Holland had established himself as a gunnery specialist.

Holland's next assignment was in command of the Battlecruiser Squadron. In May 1941, the new German battleship Bismarck attempted to break out into the North Atlantic, accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Their mission was to attack Allied convoys. Holland flew his flag aboard HMS Hood, which was accompanied by the new battleship HMS Prince of Wales. On 22 May, just after midnight, Electra, Achates, Antelope, Anthony, Echo, and Icarus, escorting the Hood and Prince of Wales, sailed to cover the northern approaches. The intention was that the force would refuel in Hvalfjord, Iceland, and then sail again to watch the Denmark Strait. On the evening of 23 May, the weather deteriorated. At 20:55, Admiral Holland aboard the Hood signalled the destroyers "If you are unable to maintain this speed I will have to go on without you. You should follow at your best speed." At 02:15 on the morning of 24 May, the destroyers were ordered to spread out at 15 mile intervals to search to the north.

At about 05:35, the German forces were sighted by the Hood and, shortly afterwards, the Germans sighted the British ships. In the ensuing Battle of the Denmark Strait the Hood suffered a catastrophic magazine explosion at 06:01 that broke the ship in half; the admiral and all but three of the crew of 1,418 were lost. One of the survivors, Ted Briggs, later stated he last saw Holland sitting in his admiral's chair, in utter dejection, making no attempt to escape from the sinking wreck.

Holland was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches.

Family

Holland and his family attended the Anglican parish Church of St John the Baptist at Boldre in the New Forest, Hampshire. They had a memorial to their son installed there and later a Hood Memorial Chapel was dedicated. An annual memorial service is held to remember Admiral Holland and the crew of the Hood. A public house in Banbury, The Admiral Holland, was named after him. This pub was demolished in May 2017.

He passed away on 24 May 1941.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1912 (Middleton Cheney 16 October 1887 Lancelot Ernest Holland son of Tom Wilkinson Holland, brewer of The Holt, Middleton Cheney, and Helena Elizabeth Chipperfield
2. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQ1G-9LD : 22 March 2020), Lancelot Ernest Holland, 1887.
3. ↑ England and Wales marriage index (Registered Portsmouth 1913 4th qu Lancelot E Holland married Phillis M W Smith)
4. ↑ England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005 (Registered Portsmouth 1917 3rd qu Vol 2b Page 722 John D Holland)
5. ↑ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) (5 December 1936 John Douglas Holland of Anchor Gate House HM Dockyard, Portsmouth died 30 July 1936 Sanatorium, Split, Yugoslavia Effects £444 6s Administration granted to Lancelot Ernest Holland commodore RN)
6. ↑ Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Vice Admiral HOLLAND, LANCELOT ERNEST

• Wikipedia, Lancelot Holland

• H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour: LANCELOT ERNEST HOLLAND, CB

• 1891 Census of England

The Holt, Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire, England