Orders, Decorations and Medals

A fine Great War ‘Naval Intelligence’ C.B., C.V.O., and ‘Adriatic’ D.S.O. group of seven awarded to Admiral H. W. W. Hope, Royal Navy, a pioneer of Naval Intelligence in ‘Room 40’, and later commanding H.M.S. Dartmouth at the bombardment of Durazzo in October 1918

The Order of The Bath (Civil) C.B., silver-gilt neck badge; The Royal Victorian Order, C.V.O., neck badge, silver-gilt and enamels, the reverse officially numbered ‘C564’; Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R.; 1914-15 Star (Capt., D.S.O. R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (Capt., R.N.) these three all later issues; Coronation 1911, generally good very fine (7) £1000-1200

C.B. London Gazette 4 June 1917, for services in Naval Intelligence.

C.V.O. London Gazette 10 November 1925, on the occasion of the Prince of Wales’ visit to Africa and South America. With Central Chancery letter confirming insignia No. C564 to Captain Herbert Hope.

D.S.O. London Gazette 17 March 1919: ‘For his services in command of H.M.S. Dartmouth at the bombardment of Durazzo on 2 October 1918.’

Herbert Willes Webley Hope entered the Royal Navy in 1892, was promoted Lieutenant with five firsts in July 1898 and, specialising in Gunnery, was a Lieutenant for Experimental duties at H.M.S. Excellent 1905-09. He was Commander of the Prince of Wales during the 1911 Coronation Review and, in 1913, commanded the King Edward VII at the occupation of Scutari by International Forces under Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Burney. In July 1914 he was appointed a War Staff Officer and was posted to the Admiralty where he was selected as an ‘Intelligence Officer’ by Admiral Reginald Hall. He became Captain in June 1915 having been recommended for promotion by Lord Fisher when he gave up his post as First Sea Lord in May 1915.

‘Hope was just the right man for the job; quiet, modest and unassuming, he claimed to know no German and nothing of cryptography, but William Clarke, who joined Room 40 early in 1916, has stated that ‘if one took him a version of a German signal, which one had carefully prepared, he would often say “I don’t like that, can it not be ...?” and he was practically always right. His appreciation of situations seemed always right and if those at the top had only realised this instead of forming their own opinions, the war at sea might have been better managed. He inspired a devotion in those who worked under him which can seldom have been equalled. Hope’s job was to supply the naval knowledge inevitably lacking in Room 40’s civilian volunteers and to be the organisation’s first “intelligence” as opposed to cryptographic officer... He was, in effect, the real head of Room 40, which, despite all it owed to Ewing and to the brilliance of men like Denniston and later civilian recruits, would never have achieved so much without the leadership of three regular naval officers, Hall, Hope and Rotter.’ (Ref Room 40 by Patrick Beesly).

Hope left Naval Intelligence in October 1917, having been rewarded with a C.B. for his intelligence work, and was appointed to the command of H.M.S. Dartmouth in the Adriatic. On 2 October 1918, Dartmouth, Weymouth, Lowestoft, 4 destroyers and 3 Italian cruisers, together with aircraft, began a bombardment of Durazzo, in support of the land operations of the victorious armies under Franchet d’Esperey in Macedonia. Weymouth was torpedoed by U-31 but beyond having her rudder blown off received no very serious damage and was escorted back to Brindisi by Dartmouth and Lowestoft. For his services during the war, Hope was awarded the Italian Silver Medal for Military Valour and the Russian Order of St Anne, 2nd class.

Hope commanded H.M.S. Repulse during the Prince of Wales’ visit to Africa and South America in 1925, and was appointed Naval A.D.C. to the King in 1926. He became Rear-Admiral in July 1926 and Vice-Admiral in April 1931, when he was placed on the retired list. He was kept on, however, as President of the Ordnance Committee of the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich until January 1932, and was promoted to Admiral in January 1936. He died on 26 April 1968.