Herbert Richmond Admiral Sir Herbert William Richmond KCB ( 15 September 1871 – 15 December 1946 ) was a prominent naval officer , who also served as Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History at Cambridge University and Master of Downing College , Cambridge . He was married to Florence Elsa , daughter of Sir Thomas Hugh Bell and half sister of Gertrude Bell . Early life and naval career . The grandson of the portrait painter George Richmond and son of another artist , Sir William Blake Richmond the Slade Professor at Oxford University , Herbert Richmond joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1885 . He served on the Australian Station and in the Hydrographic Service before qualifying as a torpedo officer in 1897 . He began to develop a serious interest in naval history while serving in HMS " Empress of India " in 1897 - 98 , HMS " Ramillies " in 1899 , and HMS " Canopus " in 1899 - 1900 . In 1900 - 1903 , Richmond served in the flagship of the Channel Fleet . Promoted to commander in 1903 , he became first officer in HMS " Crescent " , flagship of the Cape of Good Hope Station . He was assigned to the Admiralty in 1906 - 08 , where he served briefly as naval assistant to Admiral John Fisher , 1st Baron Fisher . Inspired by the work of the naval historian Julian Corbett , Richmond began to research the naval aspects of the War of the Austrian Succession , which he completed in 1914 , but which was not published until 1920 . Promoted to captain , Richmond commanded HMS " Dreadnought " from 1909 to 1911 , then , in 1911 - 12 , the Torpedo School training ships HMS " Furious " and HMS " Vindictive " . In 1912 , he founded the " magazine " , in order to promote innovative thought within the Royal Navy . Richmond became assistant director of operations on the Naval Staff from 1913 to 1915 and liaison officer to the Italian Fleet in 1915 . From those assignments , he went on to command HMS " Commonwealth " ( part of a pre - dreadnought battle squadron at the Nore ) from 1916 to 1917 , and HMS " Conqueror " in the Grand Fleet ( 1917 – 18 ) , served as director of staff duties and training in 1918 , and commanded HMS " Erin " in 1919 . Career as a flag officer and academic . Promoted to Rear - Admiral , he became Rear - Admiral in Charge of the Senior Officers ' Course at the Royal Naval College , Greenwich in 1920 , which office was merged with the Presidency of the Royal Naval College itself in November 1922 . In October 1923 , he was assigned as commander - in - chief , East Indies Squadron . Promoted to Vice - Admiral in 1925 , he was created knight commander of the Order of the Bath in 1926 . Returning to London in 1927 , he became Commandant of the Imperial Defence College . In 1929 , he was promoted to Admiral and served as president of the International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea . Following his retirement from the Royal Navy in 1931 , Cambridge University appointed him Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History , an academic chair he held from 1934 to 1936 . In 1934 , he was also elected master of Downing College , Cambridge , a post he held until his death in 1946 . While Master of Downing College , he delivered the Ford Lectures in English History at Oxford University in 1943 ( for the academic year 1943 / 4 . ) External links .