Martin Dunbar - Nasmith Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar - Nasmith VC KCB KCMG ( 1 April 1883 – 29 June 1965 ) , was a Royal Navy officer who was awarded 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 . He was born Martin Eric Nasmith , adding " Dunbar " to his surname in 1923 . Early career . Educated at Eastman ' s Royal Naval Academy in Winchester and HMS " Britannia " at Dartmouth , Nasmith joined the Royal Navy in 1898 . One early event in his career often gave him pause to ponder in later life . In May 1912 , King George V was in HMY " Victoria and Albert III " in Weymouth Bay to witness Fleet manoeuvres . Because of heavy fog , the programme was disrupted , and the King expressed the desire to dive in a submarine . On Wednesday 8 May , he embarked on HM Submarine D4 , under then Lieutenant Nasmith ' s command , and ( in the words of " The Times " of May 10 ) " made a lengthy run in her when she was submerged . " What made the occasion all the more remarkable was the presence on board of his second son , Prince Albert , who was to become King George VI , of Winston Churchill , ( First Lord of the Admiralty and future World War II Prime Minister ) , and of then Captain Roger Keyes , Inspecting Captain of Submarines , who was to become the first Director of Combined Operations ( the Commandos ) in the early part of World War II . Former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour was also embarked , but the then Prime Minister Herbert Asquith , who had been with the King ' s party earlier in the day , had had to return to London on urgent business and did not dive in D4 . Nasmith ' s diary records that " We remained under water for ten to 15 minutes , during which time he showed great interest in the proceedings , periscope in particular . " The Navy News article , from July 2012 , by Commander William Corbett R . N . ( at whose parents ' wedding Nasmith had proposed the toast to the health of the bride and groom ) , records that Nasmith often wondered what would have happened to the course of 20th century history had he sunk that day , a not unreasonable thought , given that he had very nearly sunk in the Solent in 1905 whilst in command of HM Submarine A4 . World War I . He was 32 years old , and a Lieutenant - Commander in the Royal Navy during World War I , when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC . Nasmith ' s First Lieutenant , Guy D ' Oyly - Hughes , and Second Lieutenant , Robert Brown , were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross , and all the rest of the crew were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal . Nasmith was promoted to Commander immediately and to Captain a year later . Later naval career . Later in the war , Nasmith was in charge of the Seventh Submarine Flotilla in the Baltic and Senior Naval Officer at Reval ( later Tallinn ) , and was appointed CB in 1920 for that service . He was captain of HMS " Iron Duke " 1921 – 24 . He was appointed Commandant of the Royal Naval College , Dartmouth , in 1926 and then became Rear Admiral Submarines in 1929 . He became Commander - in - Chief of the East Indies Station in 1932 and Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel in 1935 . He was Commander - in - Chief , Plymouth from 1938 and then Commander - in - Chief of Plymouth and Western Approaches Command from the outbreak of war in September 1939 . He served as Flag Officer in charge of London from 1942 and retired in 1946 . In retirement he became Vice Chairman of the Imperial War Graves Commission . He was also appointed Vice - Admiral of the United Kingdom , a ceremonial position , and he became President of the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust . Family . In 1920 he married Beatrix Justina Dunbar - Dunbar - Rivers ; they had two sons ( Rear - Admiral David Dunbar - Nasmith and the architect Professor Sir James Dunbar - Nasmith ) and a daughter .