Roger Backhouse

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Roland Charles Backhouse, (24 November 1878 – 15 July 1939) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as a cruiser commander and after the war became a battle squadron commander and later Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. 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. He died from a brain tumour in July 1939 just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Naval career Backhouse was fourth son of Sir Jonathan Backhouse, 1st Baronet and Florence Backhouse (née Salusbury-Trelawny); his elder brother, Admiral Oliver Backhouse, also achieved flag rank in the Royal Navy. Backhouse joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS Britannia in 1892 and went to sea as a midshipman in the battleship in the Channel Squadron in 1894. Backhouse transferred to the corvette on the Pacific Station in October 1895 and, having been promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 March 1898 and to lieutenant on 15 March 1899, he joined the battleship in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1899. After attending the gunnery school , he was posted as gunnery officer to the battleship in the Mediterranean Fleet in February 1903 and then to the battleship in Mediterranean Fleet in April 1904, before returning to HMS Excellent to join the directing staff in July 1905. He became gunnery officer in the battleship in the Channel Fleet in August 1907 and, having been promoted to commander on 31 December 1909, he rejoined the directing staff at HMS Excellent in February 1910. He became Flag Commander to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, first in from March 1911 and then in from March 1914. Backhouse served in the First World War, earning promotion to captain on 1 September 1914, and being appointed commanding officer of the light cruiser in the Harwich Force in November 1915 before being given command of the battle cruiser , flagship of the Battle Cruiser force, in November 1916. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 4 June 1917.