Sir Arthur Wilson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson | |
| Nickname(s) | Tug, Old 'Ard 'Art |
| Born | 4 March 1842 Swaffham, Norfolk, England |
| Died | 25 May 1921 (aged 79) Swaffham, Norfolk, England |
| Buried | St Peter and St Paul's Churchyard, Swaffham |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1855–1911 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | First Sea Lord Channel Fleet Experimental Torpedo Squadron HMS Sans Pareil HMS Vernon HMS Raleigh HMS Hecla |
| Battles / wars | Crimean War Second Opium War Anglo-Egyptian War Mahdist War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Member of the Order of Merit Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Order of the Medjidie (Ottoman Empire) Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark) Order of the Netherlands Lion |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson, 3rd Baronet, VC, GCB, OM, GCVO (4 March 1842 – 25 May 1921) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Anglo-Egyptian War and then the Mahdist War being awarded the Victoria Cross during the Battle of El Teb in February 1884. He went on to command a battleship, the torpedo school HMS Vernon and then another battleship before taking charge of the Experimental Torpedo Squadron. He later commanded the Channel Fleet. He briefly served as First Sea Lord but in that role he "was abrasive, inarticulate, and autocratic" and was really only selected as Admiral Fisher's successor because he was a supporter of Fisher's reforms. Wilson survived for even less time than was intended by the stop-gap nature of his appointment because of his opposition to the establishment of a Naval Staff. Appointed an advisor at the start of World War I, he advocated offensive schemes in the North Sea including the capture of Heligoland and was an early proponent of the development and use of submarines in the Royal Navy.