Richard Thornton Down

Captain Richard Thornton Down, C.V.O., D.S.O., Royal Navy (11 December, 1882 – 22 August, 1944) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Down served in the South African War and in China in 1900.

He was promoted to Lieutenant on 15 September, 1903.

On 27 June, 1914 Down was appointed first and gunnery Lieutenant-Commander of H.M.S. Neptune, in which he served at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May, 1916. In early May 1917, while in an appointment in Carnarvon though not presently on board, he was selected to travel to Washington, D.C. as a "British Naval Technical Expert" to promote informational exchange between America and Britain. He compiled his experiences in a report dated 27 June and a follow-on report dated 22 July in which he related more of his discoveries of U.S.N. methods.

From 1922 to 1926 he served as the Naval Attaché to Italy, before retiring in 1928. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War he returned to duty, commanding a naval depôt in Scotland, before dying on active service in 1944.

Bibliography

• "Fallen Officers" (Obituaries). The Times. Thursday, 31 August, 1944. Issue 49949, col D, pg. 7.
• "Report of Proceedings by Commander Richard T. Down, R.N. during visit to Washington -- 6th May to 27th June" dated 5 July 1917 at The National Archives. ADM 137/1621.

See Also

• H.M.S. Neptune at the Battle of Jutland

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Austen G. Lilley	Captain of H.M.S. Forester 6 Mar, 1918 – 15 Dec, 1919	Succeeded by ?
Preceded by Neston W. Diggle as Royal Navy Naval Attaché at Rome	Naval Attaché for Italy, Greece, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria 12 Jun, 1922 – Feb, 1926	Succeeded by Richard H. L. Bevan as Royal Navy Naval Attaché at Rome
Preceded by Tim M. Barrett	Captain of H.M.S. Pegasus 11 May, 1927	Succeeded by Reginald B. C. Hutchinson