Vincent Barkly Molteno Vice Admiral Vincent Barkly Molteno CB ( 30 April 1872 – 12 November 1952 ) was a Royal Navy officer during World War I . He fought and distinguished himself in the Battle of Jutland in April 1916 , commanding from the armoured cruiser HMS " Warrior " . He was subsequently awarded the Russian Order of St . Anna for bravery , and made Commander of the Order of Bath and Aide - de - camp to the King . Early life . Molteno was born in Cape Town , then part of the Cape Colony , into a large family of Italian origin . He was the son of John Molteno , who at the time was Prime Minister of the Cape , and many of his relatives held positions of influence in business and government . Vincent Molteno had little interest in business though . His father died when he was 14 years old , and he left the colony to enter the Royal Navy as a cadet . Soon after joining the Navy , he was discovered to be a lethally accurate shot , was selected for special training , and quickly distinguished as a gun specialist . In 1893 he was sent to take part in the Vitu Expedition to Zanzibar as a lieutenant to crush the slave trade , and was awarded the " General African Medal " . His incredible effectiveness on this mission was repeatedly reported in despatches , and led to his being promoted to Commander . World War I . He commanded several warships in World War I , including HMS " Revenge " , " Antrim " , " King George V " , " Shannon " , " Minotaur " , and " Bellerophon " . It was from " Revenge " ( also after she was renamed HMS " Redoubtable " ) that he successfully led the bombardment of German bases along the Flanders coast . He also served as Flag - Captain of the 2nd Battle Squadron and the 3rd Cruiser Squadron . Molteno fought at the Battle of Jutland , the largest naval engagement of the First World War , commanding from the Armoured cruiser HMS " Warrior " . HMS " Warrior " was part of the ill - fated " First Cruiser Squadron " , which was deployed as a vanguard several miles ahead of the main British fleet . When contact was first made with the German High Seas Fleet , the First Cruiser Squadron was unwisely ordered by Rear - Admiral Arbuthnot to engage , and thus soon found itself facing the combined firepower of the German Dreadnought s . Hopelessly outgunned , the other ships in Arbuthnot ' s squadron were swiftly blown to pieces and sank - taking their entire crews ( as well as Admiral Arbuthnot himself ) down with them . However HMS " Warrior " fought on , exchanging fire with the combined line of German dreadnoughts for a considerable time . While able to manoeuvre to somewhat minimise the damage , " Warrior " was nevertheless taking hits from 11 - inch and 5 . 9 - inch shells , and beginning to suffer large fires and massive carnage on deck . With casualties mounting and signs of flooding , Molteno manoeuvred " Warrior " out of harms way as the beleaguered HMS " Warspite " unintentionally drew the enemy fire . Once out of danger , Molteno had the heavily damaged ship taken in tow , and the crew were safely landed before the ship was finally discarded and allowed to sink . < br > He was awarded the Order of St . Anna with Swords for his exceptional performance at the battle . A newspaper from the time reports : Molteno then led attacks on German forces that were covering axis convoys in the North Sea , commanding from HMS " Shannon " , and when hostilities ended he was appointed aide - de - camp to the King and made Commander of the Order of Bath . He retired in 1921 as a Rear - Admiral but was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1926 while on the retired list . He died on 12 November 1952 aged 80 . Family life . Molteno married Ethel Manwaring Robertson in 1915 , and they had one daughter Viola born in 1917 . Ethel had been married twice before , firstly to George Batley in 1895 and then James Swanston in 1901 .