Background
John de Robeck was born at Gowran Grange, Naas, county Kildare, on June 10, 1862, the second son of the fourth Baron De Robeck (an Irishman of Swedish descent and the only British subject holding a Swedish title of nobility).
John de Robeck was born at Gowran Grange, Naas, county Kildare, on June 10, 1862, the second son of the fourth Baron De Robeck (an Irishman of Swedish descent and the only British subject holding a Swedish title of nobility).
De Robeck entered the navy in 1875 and quickly became known for his dignity and charm.
He was widely regarded as a strong-minded and highly talented officer. Before his promotion to the grade of commander in 1897, he served on no fewer than twenty-four warships as well as on station in China and Newfoundland. In 1902 Captain De Robeck was attached to the Mediterranean Squadron. Nine years later came promotion to the grade of rear admiral, and in 1912 the post of admiral of patrols in home waters.
August 1914 found De Robeck unemployed. He was quickly given command of the Ninth Cruiser Squadron on patrol in the mid-Atlantic area, but his gift for leadership and his ability to take subordinates into his confidence made him an ideal choice for a more senior appointment. This came early in 1915, in the form of second in command to Vice Admiral Carden of a projected naval expedition to the Dardanelles. De Robeck hoisted his flag on the battleship Vengeance and took part in the bombardment of the outer forts at the Straits. Carden cracked under the pressure of the command in March, and De Robeck, although junior in rank to Admiral Wemyss, was entrusted with command of all naval forces at the Dardanelles. He decided to have a " real good try" at the forts again and, on March 18, resumed bombardment of the outer defenses. But Lady Luck was not with him. The battleships Irresistible, Ocean, and Bouvet (French) foundered upon German mines, taking 600 officers and crew down with them. De Robeck then developed serious doubts about the wisdom of the entire operation, particularly fearing that naval forces alone could not decide the issue. On April 25 he acquired the consent of Generals Sir Ian Hamilton and Sir Charles Monro to launch a simultaneous military assault on the Turkish defenses. This, too, failed, but De Robeck's role during the massive undertaking was so highly praised by Hamilton ("the Royal Navy has been father and mother to the Army") that his was to be one of the few careers not shattered by the Dardanelles expedition. De Robeck made the right decision in calling for an early evacuation of Allied troops, and on January 8/9, 1916, over 100,000 men were successfully lifted from the beaches.
The ensuing reorganization of the Grand Fleet the recall of Admiral Jellicoe to the Admiralty and his relief by Admiral Beatty brought De Robeck command of the Second Battle Squadron in the grade of vice admiral; he hoisted his flag on the George V on December 3, 1916. De Robeck remained at this post until the dissolution of the Grand Fleet in May 1919.
After the war, De Robeck was promoted to admiral, created baronet, given the special thanks of Parliament (as well as a grant of £10,000), and ap¬pointed commander in chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. In August 1922, he transferred to the identical command with the Atlantic Fleet, a post he held for the next two years. De Robeck was promoted to the grade of admiral of the fleet in 1925; he died on January 20,1928, in London.
In 1922 he married Hilda, Lady Lockhart, widow of Sir Simon Macdonald Lockhart, 5th Baronet; they had no children.