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Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Francis Oliver, (22 January 1865 – 15 October 1965) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Second Boer War as a navigating officer in a cruiser on the Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, he became the first commanding officer of the new navigation school in the early years of the 20th century. He went to be commanding officer first of the Armored cruiser and then of the new battleship before becoming Director of the Intelligence Division at the Admiralty.
During the First World War, Oliver was sent to Antwerp where, with Belgian support, he blew up the engine rooms of 38 stranded German merchant vessels. He became Naval Secretary to Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, and then chief of the Admiralty War Staff before serving as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. In that capacity, he was closely involved in directing the Allied forces at the Battle of Jutland. He served as commander of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron in the Grand Fleet in the last year of the war.
After the war, Oliver commanded, in rapid succession, the 2nd Battle Squadron, the Home Fleet and the Reserve Fleet. After that he became Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel and implemented the extensive expenditure cuts recommended by the Committee on National Expenditure chaired by Sir Eric Geddes and the large reductions in numbers of ships agreed under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. His last appointment was as commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet.
Promoted to captain on 30 June 1903, Oliver became the first commanding officer of his proposed new navigation school Mercury that year.
Appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order on 11 August 1905, he went on to be commanding officer of the Armored cruiser Achilles in the Home Fleet in February 1907 and then became Naval Assistant to Admiral Fisher, now the First Sea Lord, in November 1908. After that he became commanding officer of the new battleship Thunderer in 1912 and was appointed a naval aide-de-camp to George V on 2 March 1913. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 3 June 1913, he was promoted to rear-admiral on 7 December 1913 and became Director of the Intelligence Division at the Admiralty later that month. He gained the somewhat unflattering nickname of 'Dummy' from his unsmiling countenance and reluctance to speak unless he had to.
In retirement Oliver became deputy chairman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. When he reached the age of 100 in January 1965, it was estimated that during his thirty-year period of retirement he had received £76,000 in retired pay. He died at his home in London on 15 October 1965. He was reputed, throughout his naval service, to be the worst-dressed officer in the Navy but was also renowned for his work ethic; he rarely took any leave and often worked fourteen hours a day, including at weekends. It has been claimed he was not highly regarded as an inspiring leader of those who served under him.
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First World War
In August 1914, just after the outbreak of the First World War, Oliver was sent to Antwerp, where, with Belgian support, he blew up the engine rooms of 38 stranded German merchant vessels. He became Naval Secretary to Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, in October 1914 and chief of the Admiralty War Staff in November 1914. He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 1 January 1916. When Admiral Sir John Jellicoe was appointed First Sea Lord in December 1916, Oliver became Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and in that capacity was closely involved in directing the allied forces at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.Heathcote, p. 203 Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 12 January 1918, he became commander of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron in the Grand Fleet with his flag in the battlecruiser Repulse in March 1918.
After the war
Oliver was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral on 1 January 1919, and in February 1919 he was given temporary command of the Battle Cruiser Force. He became commander of the 2nd Battle Squadron in March 1919. When the Grand Fleet was disbanded in April 1919, the older ships were reformed as the Home Fleet and placed under Oliver's command with his flag in the battleship King George V. Then in Autumn 1919 the Home Fleet was re-designated the Reserve Fleet and remained under Oliver's command. He became Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel in September 1920 and in that capacity implemented the extensive expenditure cuts recommended by the Committee on National Expenditure chaired by Sir Eric Geddes in January 1922 and the large reductions in numbers of ships which were agreed under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in February 1922. Promoted to full admiral on 1 November 1923, he became commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet in August 1924. He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 21 January 1928 and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1928 before retiring in January 1933. He attended the funeral of George V in January 1936.
Family
In June 1914 Oliver married Beryl Oliver (later Dame Beryl Oliver); they had no children.
Honours and awards
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Categories: Lords Of The Admiralty, Directors Of Naval Intelligence, Royal Navy Admirals Of The Fleet, Royal Navy Admirals Of World War I, 1865 Births, 1965 Deaths, British Men Centenarians, Knights Grand Cross Of The Order Of The Bath, Knights Commander Of The Order Of St Michael And St George, Members Of The Royal Victorian Order, Commanders Of The Legion Of Honour, Foreign Recipients Of The Distinguished Service Medal, Recipients Of The Order Of The Rising Sun, 2nd Class, People From Kelso, Scottish Borders, Military Personnel From The Scottish Borders, Recipients Of The Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Royal Navy Personnel Of The Second Boer War
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