Gilbert Stephenson facts for kids

Vice Admiral Sir Gilbert Owen Stephenson (born February 13, 1878 – died May 27, 1972) was a very important officer in the Royal Navy. He was a pioneer in developing ways to fight submarines during the First World War. He became most famous for leading a special naval training school during the Second World War.

Early Life and Naval Career

Gilbert Stephenson was born in London, England, on February 13, 1878. His father worked as a merchant, trading with British India. When Gilbert was 14, in 1892, he joined the Royal Navy. He began his training at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

As a young officer, called a midshipman, he served on ships like HMS Endymion and HMS Forte. While on Forte, he took part in a military action in Benin in 1897. After becoming a sub-lieutenant in 1898, he joined the First Destroyer Flotilla.

In 1900, he was assigned to HMS Ramillies, a main ship of the Mediterranean Fleet. He then served on HMS Ocean. Later that year, he became a lieutenant and got his first command: a small, fast boat called TB 90.

Stephenson made a good impression on Admiral Sir Jackie Fisher. Because of this, at just 23 years old, Stephenson was given command of the destroyer HMS Scourge. He then studied torpedoes at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. After that, he became a torpedo officer on cruisers like HMS Monmouth and HMS Black Prince. He was promoted to lieutenant commander and served on the battleship HMS Duncan. In 1912, he became a commander.

First World War Service

When the First World War began in August 1914, Stephenson was working at the Admiralty in the Naval Intelligence Division. However, he soon got a chance to serve at sea. He became the executive officer of HMS Canopus.

He was involved in battles in the Dardanelles. After that, he commanded a group of naval trawlers that patrolled from Crete. He also commanded the gunboat HMS Hussar. As an acting captain, he led the Otranto Barrage. This was a group of small boats that tried to stop enemy submarines from leaving the Adriatic Sea.

During this time, he also started experimenting with hydrophones. These devices could listen underwater to detect submarines. For his service, he was mentioned in official reports in December 1918. He also received awards like the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George and the United States Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

After the war, Stephenson became the director of the anti-submarine division at the Admiralty. He tried to introduce new ways to fight submarines, but many officers were slow to accept his ideas. In 1921, he left this role to command the cruiser HMS Dauntless. Then, in 1923, he commanded the battleship HMS Revenge. A young Louis Mountbatten was one of his junior officers on this ship.

Stephenson later worked on land. He was Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. Then he became the Commodore of Portsmouth Naval Barracks. He introduced many new ideas to boost morale, like regular community singing. In 1929, he retired from active service and was promoted to rear admiral. He was also appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1930. From 1932 to 1935, he worked for the Navy League. In 1934, he was promoted to vice admiral. He also ran a boys' club where he was nicknamed "Monkey Brand" because his face with whiskers reminded the boys of a cleaning product's advertisement.

Second World War and Training Legacy

When the Second World War started in September 1939, Stephenson was called back to duty. He served as a Commodore of Convoy, leading groups of merchant ships safely across the seas. He also helped with the Dunkirk evacuation, where many soldiers were rescued from France.

In 1940, Stephenson was given a very important job. He was asked to set up a training base called HMS Western Isles at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. This became the Royal Navy's main Anti-Submarine Training School for the rest of the war. Stephenson's training methods were so good that they influenced the navy for many years.

Stephenson understood that training new officers and sailors who were not career military needed a different approach. He believed the most important thing was to make trainees determined to win. Then, they needed to understand discipline and how to manage things correctly. Finally, technical skills were important, but only if they had the right spirit.

He used strict discipline but also encouraged sailors to adapt quickly. He would do surprise inspections and give unexpected orders. He also created clever war games to practice difficult situations at sea.

One famous story tells how Stephenson was inspecting a ship called a corvette. He suddenly threw his hat on the deck and said it was an unexploded bomb. A quick-thinking trainee immediately kicked the hat into the water. Stephenson praised him for his fast action. Then, wanting his hat back, he suddenly said the hat was now a "man overboard" and the trainee had to jump in to get it!

Stephenson was known as a very tough leader. He would sometimes replace officers or even commanding officers if they didn't meet his high standards. However, he was very kind to those who did well. Even though trainees sometimes disliked him and called him "The Terror of Tobermory" or "The Monkey," Stephenson was praised for creating skilled sailors. These sailors were ready for the tough challenges of the Battle of the Atlantic. Many believe Stephenson played a key role in helping the Allies win this crucial battle.

His work at Tobermory was even shown in a famous novel called The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. Stephenson was reportedly very proud of how he was shown in the book.

During the four and a half years Stephenson ran the school, 911 ships completed 1132 training courses. He was again mentioned in official reports in 1940. In 1943, he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He also received a Norwegian award, the Commander with Star of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. He retired for the second time in 1945, after the anti-submarine battle was won.

Later Life

Even in his second retirement, Stephenson remained very active. In 1949, he became the Honorary Commodore of the Sea Cadet Corps. He held this position until 1958, when he was 80 years old.

Stephenson settled in Saffron Walden, a town in England. He took a great interest in local matters and was known there as "The Admiral." He passed away in Saffron Walden on May 27, 1972, at the age of 94.