Admiral Sir Richard Henry Peirse, (4 September 1860 – 10 July 1940) was a senior Royal Navy officer during the First World War.

Naval career Peirse joined the Royal Navy in 1873 and, in 1885, developed a new naval directorFifty Years in the Royal Navy by Admiral Sir Percy Scott Bt. which was to become the fire-control system used in all ships with large guns. Promoted to captain in 1900, he commanded during the Second Boer War.

Promoted to rear admiral in February 1909, Peirse was appointed Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station in 1913.HMS Swiftsure The Straits Times, 24 May 1913, Page 10 Then promoted to vice admiral in October 1914, he served in the First World War taking part in the attack on Smyrna in 1915,Attack on Smyrna The Hobart Mercury, 8 March 1915 where he outgunned the Turkish Fleet.Turks' Fire powerless; Ottoman Guns Outranged by English; Landing Party Suffers Losses New York Times, 7 March 1915 He continued in his role on the East Indies Station until December 1915.Royal Navy Flag Officers 1914–1918 He was promoted to admiral in March 1918.

After the war Peirse became Naval Member of the Central Committee of the Board of Invention and Research. He retired from the navy in January 1919.

Personal life Peirse lived in Upper Norwood in LondonNational Archives and there is a memorial to him in Bedale Parish Church in North Yorkshire.North Yorkshire County Council Archives

He and his wife Blanche Melville Wemyss-Whittaker lived for many years at Fiesole on Bathwick Hill in Bath, Somerset before moving to Belmont in Combe Down, where he died in 1940.Bath Chronicle, 13 July 1940, p. 9

His son, Sir Richard Peirse, became air chief marshal.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse

Awards and decorations Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath – 22 June 1914 Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire – 7 June 1918 Member of the Royal Victorian Order – 9 October 1903 Legion of Honour, Grand officer (France) – 18 June 1918 Order of the Nile, First Class (Egypt) – 25 October 1918

References

External links Portrait painting of Admiral Sir R H Peirse by Frederic Whiting