Vice-Admiral Herbert Edward Holmes à Court (16 February 1869 – 21 October 1934) was an officer of the Royal Navy. His commands included HMS Revenge, HMS St Vincent, and the Royal Naval College, Osborne.

Early life Holmes à Court was the fifth of the seven sons of William Leonard Holmes à Court (1835—1885), a Deputy Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight and the eldest son and heir of William à Court-Holmes, 2nd Baron Heytesbury. His mother was a cousin of the Heytesbury family, Isabella Sophia, daughter of the Rev. Richard à Court Beadon, Vicar of Cheddar, Somerset, and a grand-daughter of Annabella à Court, sister of the first Lord Heytesbury. His six brothers included the third and fourth Lords Heytesbury, and he also had three sisters.Burke's Peerage, vol. 2 (2003), p. 1900

Born at Codford St Peter, his early years were spent around Heytesbury in Wiltshire,In the census of 1871 he is listed at Codford St Peter, and in the census of 1881 in Heytesbury. and in July 1882, aged thirteen, he joined the Royal Navy training ship HMS Britannia at Dartmouth.

Naval career

After his training as a naval cadet, Holmes à Court began his active service career as a Midshipman."Vice-Admiral Holmes-à-Court" (obituary) in The Times, Issue 46894 dated 25 October 1934, column B, p. 17 He was promoted to Lieutenant on 17 December 1890 and to Commander on 26 June 1902.The London Gazette (Supplement) no. 27448 dated 26 June 1902, p. 4198

On 1 September 1907 he was appointed as Assistant to the Inspector of Target Practice,"Naval and Military Intelligence" in The Times, Issue 38424 dated 29 August 1907, p. 4, column C and was promoted to Captain on 31 December 1907.The London Gazette no. 28096 dated 3 January 1908, p. 34 In April 1909 he was given his first command, the elderly second-class cruiser HMS Leander,The Navy List, January 1910, p. 339 and in February 1910 was moved to captain the much newer protected cruiser HMS Sapphire, at the same time becoming Captain of the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla.The Navy List, April 1910, p. 372 His subsequent commands were the gunnery training ship HMS Revenge (December 1910)The Navy List, April 1911, p. 367 and the important Dreadnought HMS St Vincent (January to December 1912). Holmes à Court's final command, from 1 August 1914, was the Royal Naval College, Osborne,The Navy List, December 1914, p. 376 and its training ship HMS Racer.The Navy List, April 1915, p. 397 He served out the whole of the Great War at Osborne and retired from his post in December 1918. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral on the Retired List in February 1919 and to Vice-Admiral in 1924.

Following Holmes à Court's death, Admiral Sir William Hall wrote to The Times that

Private life On the death of Holmes à Court's grandfather Lord Heytesbury in 1891, his father had already died, so the peerage went to his oldest brother. At the same time he and his five other brothers were raised to the rank of baron's sons, carrying with it the courtesy title of the Honourable.Charles Roger Dod, Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, Including All the Titled Classes (1904), p. 980

In retirement in 1923, Holmes à Court was living at Bishopstrow, near the family seat of Heytesbury.Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland (S. Low, Marston & Company, 1923), p. 432: "Rear-Adm. Hon. Herbert Edward Holmes-à Court, b. 16 Feb. 1869. Residence — Bishopstrowe, Warminster." On 4 July 1927, several years after his retirement from active service, he married Lydia Gertrude, a daughter of William Manning, of Wing, Buckinghamshire, and the widow of Holmes à Court's brother the Hon. Charles Holmes à Court (1867–1922).Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland (1923), p. 431: "Hon. Charles Holmes-à Court, b. 16 Dec. 1867; m. 13 April 1893, Marion May (d. 17 Feb. 1913), dau. of late Walker Busfield; m. 2nd, 7 March 1918, Lydia Gertrude...Manning." The wedding took place less than a week after it had been announced in The Times, which was said to be owing to illness.The Times dated 29 June 1927, p. 9: "A marriage has been arranged and will take place shortly (very quietly owing to illness) between Vice-Admiral (Retd.) the Hon. H. E. Holmes à Court and Lydia Gertrude, second surviving daughter of the late Mr. William Manning, of Wing, Bucks, and of Mrs. Manning, of Linslade, Bucks, and widow of the Hon. Charles Holmes à Court."

In the event, Holmes à Court survived the illness and lived for another seven years. His funeral took place on 24 October 1934 at the church of Leonard Stanley, Gloucestershire.holmesacourt.org, p. 292, "His funeral was held on 24 October 1934 in Leonard Stanley Church, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire." His widow died on 19 November 1967.

Arms In Armorial Families (1895), A. C. Fox-Davies reported that Holmes à Court was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and blazoned his arms as:"Herbert Edward HOLMES-A COURT, Esquire" in Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, and a Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-armour (London: T. C. & E. C. Jack, 1895, ASIN B0008BKLM8), p. 509

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External links Herbert Edward Holmes A'COURT at militaryimages.net