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Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

WILDISH, Engineer R Adm Sir Henry William (1884-1973)


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0099 KCLMA Wildish H W

Held at: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Title: WILDISH, Engineer R Adm Sir Henry William (1884-1973)

Date(s): 2001 (1884-1973)

Level of description: Collection (Fonds)

Extent: 1 volume

Name of creator(s): Wildish | Denis Bryan Harvey | b. 1914 | Vice Admiral

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

R Adm Sir Henry William Wildish: born 1883; educated at Royal Naval Engineering College, Keyham and Royal Naval College, Greenwich; Engineer Sub Lt 1904; HMS NILE 1905-1906; HMS HERMES, 1906-1907; Engineer Lt 1907; Assistant to Engineer Captain, Nore Division, 1908-1912; HMS DUNCAN 1912-1914; Senior Engineer, HMS SUTLEJ, 1914-1915; Engineer Lt Cdr 1915; Senior Engineer, HMS KING ALFRED, 1915-1916; Chief Engineer, HMS SPRINGBOK 1916-1919; Engineer Officer, Malta, 1919-1923; Engineer Cdr 1921; Engineer Officer, HMS CANTERBURY, 1923-1925; Engineer Officer, HMS DILIGENCE, 1925; Engineer Officer, HMS WEYMOUTH, 1925-1926; Engineer Officer in charge, Admiralty Fuel Experimental Station, Haslar, 1926-1928; Engineer Officer, HMS FURIOUS, 1928-1931; Engineer Capt 1930; Engineer Manager, HM Dockyard, Gibraltar, 1930-1934; Fleet Engineer Officer, Mediterranean Fleet, 1934-1936; Admiralty Engineer Overseer, Northern District, 1936-1937; Engineer R Adm, 1937; Staff of Commander-in-Chief, Nore Command, 1937-1941; CBE, 1939; Staff of Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, 1941-1945; CB, 1942; retired 1945; KBE, 1946; died 1973.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Copy of unpublished memoir, 'The Life of Engineer Rear Admiral Sir Henry Wildish aka The Rogue Elephant, 1884-1973', by his son, V Adm Sir Denis Bryan Harvey Wildish, covering his Naval career, 1901-1945, including chapters on his early life and training; sea service aboard HMSs NILE, HERMES, DUNCAN, 1905-1914; service in World War One as Senior Engineer of the heavy cruiser, HMS SUTLEJ, attached to 11th Cruiser Squadron based at Queenstown 1914-1915, as Senior Engineer of the heavy cruiser HMS KING ALFRED, Flagship of the 6th Cruiser Squadron, mainly engaged in patrol duties off the African coast, and as Chief Engineer of the destroyer HMS SPRINGBOK, attached to the Harwich Light Forces, 1916-1919; inter-war sea service as Engineer Officer of HMSs DILIGENCE, 1925, WEYMOUTH, 1925-1926, and FURIOUS, 1928-1931, and shore appointments particularly as Engineer Officer in Charge. Admiralty Fuel Experimental Station. Haslar, 1926-1928; service in World War Two as Engineer Admiral on the Staff of Staff of Commander-in-Chief, Nore Command, 1937-1941and as Command Engineer Officer on the Staff of Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, Adm Sir Max Kennedy Horton, 1941-1945; Appendices include copies of his Confidential Reports (flimsies), 1904-1945; correspondence on Wildish's concept of a petrol fuelled internal combustion engine for torpedoes and submarines when submerged; details of the Stefco-Wildish Patent Two Stage Steam Dryer and the Wildish firebrick and bolt.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

Single volume

Conditions governing access:

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Presented by V Adm D B H Wildish, 2001

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Existence and location of copies:

Copy also presented to the Imperial War Museum, London

Related material:

LIDDELL HART CENTRE FOR MILITARY ARCHIVES, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON also holds V Adm Sir Denis Bryan Harvey Wildish's unpublished memoir 'D.B.H.W.' covering his life and naval career 1917-1999 (Ref GB 0099 KCLMA Wildish D B H )

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, LONDON (GB 0062) holds R Adm Sir Henry William Wildish's (1884-1973) correspondence and papers regarding his invention of a petrol engine torpedo 1912-1927; correspondence relating to 'damage control in ships', 1942; statistics relating to RN vessels out of action at Londonderry, Greenock and Liverpool bases 1941-1945; copy article by Wildish, `Some maintenance aspects of the Western Approaches Command in the Second World War', published in Journal of Naval Engineering, Vol 4 No 1, 1950; account of labour problems in shipyard control in the Clyde area, Scotland 1941-1945

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

Archivist's note: Compiled by Alan Kucia as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: Aug 2001


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Armed forces | State security
War | International conflicts
World War One (1914-1918) | World wars (events) | Wars (events)
World War Two (1939-1945) | World wars (events) | Wars (events)
International relations
Military organizations

Personal names
Horton | Sir Max Kennedy | 1883-1951 | Knight | Admiral
Wildish | Sir | Henry William Wildish | Knight | Rear Admiral

Corporate names
HMS Canterbury
HMS Diligence
HMS Duncan
HMS Furious
HMS Hermes
HMS King Alfred
HMS Nile
HMS Springbok
HMS Sutlej
HMS Weymouth
RN | Royal Navy x Royal Navy

Places