Bernard Warburton-Lee

Infobox Military Person
name=Bernard Armitage Warburton Warburton-Lee
lived=13 September 1895 – 10 April 1940
placeofbirth=Broad Oak, Gwynedd, Wales
placeofdeath=Narvik, Norway


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=United Kingdom
branch=Royal Navy
serviceyears=1917 - 1940
rank=Captain
commands=HMS Tuscan (28 Nov 1924 - Jan 1925) HMS "Walpole" (30 Mar 1926 - July 1927) HMS "Vanessa" (9 Apr 1928 - Apr 1930) HMS "Bryony" (7 Apr 1933 - Jan 1934) HMS "Witch" (17 Dec 1934 - Feb 1936) Flag Captain, HMS "Effingham" & Chief of Staff to Vice-Admiral Commanding Reserve Fleet (14 Feb 1938 Apr 1939) HMS "Hardy" (28 Jul 1939 - 10 Apr 1940) & Captain (D) 3rd Destroyer Flotilla (from Aug 1939; 2nd Destroyer Flotilla)
unit=
battles=World War I World War II
- Narvik
awards= [ [http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersW.html Royal Navy Officers 1939-1945] ] Mentioned in Despatches (11 Dec 1918) Victoria Cross (7 Jun 1940 posthumously) Norwegian War Cross (19 Oct 1942 posthumously)
laterwork=
portrayedby=

Bernard Armitage Warburton Warburton-Lee VC (13 September 1895 - 10 April 1940) was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

He was 44 years old, and a captain in the Royal Navy during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 10 April 1940 in Ofotfjord, Narvik, Norway, in the First Battle of Narvik Captain Warburton-Lee of HMS "Hardy" led a flotilla of five destroyers in a surprise attack on German destroyers and merchant ships in a blinding snowstorm. This was successful, and was almost immediately followed by an engagement with five more German destroyers, during which Captain Warburton-Lee was mortally wounded by a shell which hit "Hardy"'s bridge. In 1942 he was awarded the Norwegian War Cross.

Further information

First VC to be gazetted in the Second World War.

Captain Bernard Armitage Warburton-Lee, RN, VC, is the famous British World War II hero of the First Battle of Narvik, Norway. Warburton Lee at that time commanded the British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla consisting of HMS "Hardy", "Havock", "Hostile", "Hotspur" and "Hunter" which engaged the German shore batteries and warships in a fierce action which cost the captain his life. For his exploits in this engagement he was awarded Britain's highest decoration for valour in combat, the Victoria Cross, posthumously. (During World War II, only 23 Victoria Crosses were awarded to members of the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Reserve, and of those only approximately 11 survived.) How his sextant / quintant found its way to these shores is unknown.

Bernard Warburton-Lee's citation reads as follows:

For gallantry, enterprise and daring in command of the force engaged in the First Battle of Narvik, on 10th April, 1940. On being ordered to carry out an attack on Narvik, Captain Warburton-Lee learned that the enemy was holding the place in much greater force than had been thought. He signalled to the Admiralty that six German destroyers and one submarine were there, that the channel might be mined, and that he intended to attack at dawn. The Admiralty replied that he alone could judge whether to attack, and that whatever decision he made would have full support. Captain Warburton led his flotilla of five destroyers up the fjord in heavy snow-storms, arriving off Narvik just after daybreak. He took the enemy completely by surprise and made three successful attacks on warships and merchantmen in the harbour. As the flotilla withdrew, five enemy destroyers of superior gunpower were encountered and engaged. The captain was mortally wounded by a shell which hit the bridge of H.M.S. "Hardy". His last signal was "Continue to engage the enemy".

See also

* City and Naval Station of Ferrol in Northwestern Spain 1936 [http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/history/your_history/your_photos/showrecord?Id=1577&config=live&templatestyle=leaf] - "In sight of the outbreak of a civil war, and because there was fear of social unrest in the naval station, the Foreign Office in London, organized a ship to repatriate all the remaining British citizens and on 22 July 1936. The HMS Witch (D89), captained by B.A. Warburton-Lee, departed from Ferrol back to Britain. "

References

*British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997)
*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)