Background
Reginald Tyrwhitt was born in Oxford on May 10, 1870, the son of a vicar.
Reginald Tyrwhitt was born in Oxford on May 10, 1870, the son of a vicar.
Tyrwhitt entered the navy in 1883 and received his first destroyer command in 1896.
He was promoted to the grade of commander in 1903 and to that of captain in 1908 as head of the fourth destroyer flotilla at Portsmouth. A "grand fighter," Tyrwhitt became a member of the "Fishpond," that is, a favorite of Admiral John A. "Jacky" Fisher, who regarded the vicar's son as the personification of pugnacity. Later in life, Fisher fondly reminisced about "those glorious reforming years in which we . . . produced men like Commodore Tyrwhitt." Tyrwhitt was utterly without conceit and happily developed no propensity for intrigue. In 1910 he accepted duty in the Mediterranean, returning home two years later as captain of the second destroyer flotilla of the Home Fleet. In 1914 he was promoted to the grade of commodore in charge of all destroyer flotillas in the fleet. He also became a strong backer of naval air development.
The outbreak of war in August 1914 found him at Harwich on board the light cruiser Amethyst with the first and third destroyer flotillas. Tyrwhitt remained in charge of the Harwich Force throughout the war a high tribute of recognition to his unique skills. He was appalled by Germany's "distinctly barbaric" mining of the North Sea, which deeply offended his sporting nature: "It will be months before the North Sea is safe for yachting!" With a natural gift for leadership, a creative mind, and an indomitable offensive spirit, Tyrwhitt was the right man for the job at Harwich. On August 5, 1914, his units were the first in action as they destroyed the German minelayer Königin Luise off the Thames estuary. Twenty-three days later, in an action planned by Tyrwhitt in conjunction with Roger Keyes, commander of submarines, Admiral David Beatty's battle cruiser squadron surprised and destroyed three German light cruisers (Ariadne, Köln, Mainz) off Helgoland Island. And although the Amethyst was severely damaged during the engagement, Tyrwhitt brought it safely to Sheemess, where the commodore recalled, Winston Churchill "fairly slobbered over me."
During the German raid on Scarborough and Hartlepool on December 16, 1914, the sea proved too rough for Tyrwhitt's destroyers; his light cruisers barely avoided contact with the German units that day. On Christmas Day 1914, the Harwich Force covered the naval seaplane raid on Zeppelin sheds at Cuxhaven, and in January 1915, the same force played a decisive role along with Beatty's battle cruisers in destroying the German armored cruiser Blücher at the Dogger Bank. But the commodore was not pleased with what he regarded to be the leisurely pace of the war at sea. "We are not overworked! In fact, at times I am very bored, as I don't see any prospect of doing business at present."
Relief came in April 1916, when the Harwich Force, consisting of three light cruisers and thirty-five destroyers, encountered the Germans near Lowestoft on yet another so-called tip-and-run raid by the enemy. Tyrwhitt's characteristic doggedness allowed the Harwich Force to maintain contact with the German raiders while Beatty rushed down from Rosyth with his battle cruisers, but to no avail. The German commander, Admiral Friedrich Boedicker, broke off the engagement before either Beatty or Admiral John Jellicoe could arrive on the scene.
Perhaps Tyrwhitt's greatest frustration came on May 31, 1916, during the encounter of the two fleets at Jutland. Once the enemy's movements had become known, Tyrwhitt was ready to put out to sea at once, but the Admiralty kept the Harwich Force at one hour's notice, or, as Tyrwhitt put it, "straining at their leash." By the time he was ordered out to sea it was too late: his five light cruisers and eighteen destroyers were thus denied Jellicoe at Jutland by Whitehall's indecision.
In August 1916, Tyrwhitt's forces were the only ones out at sea during yet another German raid, this one on Sunderland. Tyrwhitt gave chase until nightfall on August 19, but then broke contact with Admiral Reinhard Scheer's units. Some criticized the commodore for the latter action, but, obviously, it would have been suicidal to engage German heavy ships with only light cruisers and destroyers. Moreover, Jellicoe fully supported Tyrwhitt's actions on that occasion. Throughout 1917 and 1918 Tyrwhitt argued eloquently for naval
operations against the German captured ports in Belgium by the Dover Patrol as well as covered naval air attacks on German harbors. As early as October 1916, he had advised operations to block the entrances to the locks at Zeebrugge and Commodore Keyes' dashing attempt to accomplish just that in April 1918 brought this scheme to fruition. Tyrwhitt was promoted to the grade of rear admiral in 1918 and after the armistice accepted the surrender of German U-boats at Harwich.
Tyrwhitt was created a baronet in 1919 and granted £10,000 by Parliament for his wartime service. He was promoted to the grade of vice admiral in 1925, and to that of admiral four years later. He served as commander in chief, China Station, and in 1934 in the grade of admiral of the fleet became the principal naval aide-de-camp to the king. Tyrwhitt died at Sandhurst, Kent, on May 30, 1951. Arthur Marder calls him simply "the outstanding British sea officer of the war."
In 1903 Tyrwhitt married Angela Corbally; they had two daughters and a son.
