Henry Peel Ritchie Henry Peel Ritchie VC ( 29 January 1876 – 9 December 1958 ) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for valour " in the face of the enemy " that can be given to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces . Ritchie received the first VC awarded to naval personnel during the First World War for his actions during a raid on the German colonial harbour of Dar - es - Salaam in November 1914 , which left him seriously wounded . Despite the courage of his actions during the raid , Ritchie was not initially recommended for the Victoria Cross . Delayed by discussion at the Admiralty concerning the correct medal to award , it was not until 24 April 1915 , nearly six months later , that the medal was presented . Ritchie never fully recovered from his wounds and was forced into early retirement the following year . Although he lived another 41 years , he never again commanded at sea . Early career . Born in Edinburgh to Dr Robert and Mary Ritchie , Henry was educated at George Watson ' s Boys ' College and Blair Lodge before he enrolled on the training ship HMS " Britannia " at the age of fourteen , in 1890 . Rapidly rising in the navy due to keen intelligence and impressive strength , Ritchie was promoted to lieutenant six years later , and served for the next fifteen years as a junior staff officer at Sheerness Gunnery School . In 1900 Ritchie became the armed forces lightweight boxing champion , and was the runner up in the same contest the following year . Whilst stationed at Sheerness , he met and married Christiana Lilian Jardine , with whom he would have two daughters . His shore service ended in March 1911 , when he was posted as senior lieutenant to the pre - dreadnought battleship HMS " Goliath " . Promoted to commander later that year , he managed the ship ' s gunnery exercises and procedures while " Goliath " was part of the Channel Fleet stationed in British waters . It was said by one of his junior officers that " Ritchie had the reputation of being very strict , but I always found him most fair " . War service . At the outbreak of World War I , " Goliath " was ordered to the Indian Ocean to lead a blockade of the German colony of German East Africa , and specifically its main port at Dar - es - Salaam . It was feared by the Admiralty that the German navy would use its colonial ports to support commerce raiding cruisers such as the SMS " Emden " or the SMS " Konigsberg " , both of which were known to be operating in the Indian Ocean at that time . This concern was amplified because the " Konigsberg " , blockaded in the delta of the Rufiji River , had operated from Dar - es - Salaam in the early months of the war and had sunk the British cruiser HMS " Pegasus " on a raid from the port . Remaining in Dar - es - Salaam ' s large natural harbour were the German cargo ships SS " Konig " and SS " Feldmarschall " , the hospital ship SS " Tabora " and several smaller coastal vessels – all of which could conceivably be used to resupply the trapped cruiser should they leave port . Despite a declaration from the German Governor Heinrich Schnee that neither the harbour nor its ships would be used for military purposes , the decision was taken by British Admiral Herbert King - Hall that the shipping in the port must nevertheless be neutralised . The Germans had pre - emptively scuttled a blockship in the port ' s entrance channel , with the intention of preventing " Goliath " and the other heavy British warships from entering the harbour to shell the undefended city . With close - range bombardment impossible , the British assembled assault teams with volunteers from the small blockading flotilla . Their mission was to augment the existing blockage by immobilising or sinking those cargo ships trapped in the port , thus denying its use to the Germans as well . Command of the assault was given to Commander Ritchie as the second most senior officer present , and he commandeered two small auxiliary gunboats , " Dupleix " and " Helmuth " , to carry his raiding parties . Raid on Dar - es - Salaam . The day prior to the raid the decision was taken that , in order to allow the Germans time to evacuate the target ships and minimise casualties , they would be warned of the British intentions . In a brief parley the German defenders requested that the British conduct their operations under a white flag , which request was denied . Ritchie was informed that he could begin his assault on the following morning of 28 November 1914 . Due to a breakdown aboard the " Dupleix " before it reached the harbour , Ritchie had to begin his assault with only the " Helmuth " and a handful of small boats and launches from the blockading ships . There were no signs of life on the target ships as Ritchie ' s flotilla moved uncontested into the port , and the shoreline was described by officers in the raiding party as " utterly deserted " and " cool and inviting " . Shortly after 10 : 00 the raiders laid explosive charges on the abandoned " Konig " and " Feldmarschall " . However they were then challenged by the port ' s commanding officer , who questioned their right to be in the anchorage and demanded to be permitted to observe their actions in order that he could make a report . In a meeting aboard the " Helmuth " it was explained to him that British orders were to disable German assets in the harbour and that , being at war , his permission was unnecessary . After some discussion he was persuaded to disembark so that the " Helmuth " could continue operations . Leaving demolition parties aboard the cargo vessels , Ritchie then took the " Helmuth " further downriver to check for other shipping , but the small ship grounded on a sandbar . Assuming the route was blocked , he returned to the two cargo ships on one of the expedition ' s small launches . It was at this stage , whilst conducting a final inspection , that he made the discovery of a large number of empty ammunition cases and discarded bullets in the holds of the cargo ships . Deducing that the German crew had armed themselves before they left their vessels , he suspected preparations were underway to ambush his force when it attempted to leave the harbour . Despite this discovery Ritchie resolved to continue as ordered . He took the precaution of sending " Helmuth " to the harbour entrance to cover the withdrawal , and gathered together several small boats moored in the harbour . These he secured around his launch , providing added buoyancy in case it received fatal damage in the engagement he was sure would ensue . With preparations complete , one of Ritchie ' s boats ( from the cruiser HMS " Fox " ) moved to the harbour entrance . There it was met with a hail of fire from the shore , where the hidden German crews and town garrison had lain in wait . The " Helmuth " was also attacked , but despite sustaining severe damage both craft were able to limp to safety , carrying several wounded . From outside the harbour " Fox " and " Goliath " responded with a heavy barrage , demolishing several streets in the town , including the Governor ' s Palace . Ritchie , aboard the only remaining British boat in the harbour , attempted to pick up one of his officers who had earlier gone aboard the German hospital ship SS " Tabora " to conduct a medical inspection . This effort was unsuccessful , and on leaving the harbour Ritchie ' s launch came under sustained fire from machine guns , rifles and light artillery . With most of his crew wounded , Ritchie refused to relinquish his place at the helm until he had steered his boat to safety . He was discovered " simply smothered in blood and barely conscious " by " Goliath " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s crew when they went to his aid in the battleship ' s pinnace . Ritchie was rushed to the sick bay , where it was ascertained that he had been hit in eight separate places . The raid had cost the British one dead , fourteen seriously wounded and twelve captured after they were left behind in the confusion . The raiders had in turn immobilised three large merchant vessels and destroyed several shore installations , as well as taking thirty five prisoners . Two days later , with the wounded hospitalised in Zanzibar , " Goliath " and " Fox " returned to Dar - es - Salaam and reduced most of the seafront to rubble , setting fire to several other districts of the town as well . This reprisal served only to turn the hitherto neutral local populace against the British . Feelings ran high in both camps following the raid , with the British claiming that white flags flying from several shore installations should have prevented any German attack , and the Germans insisting that the British had attempted to capture their merchant vessels ' crews despite promises not to do so . According to Stephen Snelling in " The Naval VCs " , both sides had entered the operation with the intention of breaching the predetermined agreements . Retirement and the Victoria Cross . Ten were honoured for their role in the operation , seven receiving Distinguished Service Medals , two the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and one , the grievously wounded Ritchie , the Victoria Cross . Ritchie had not initially been recommended for this award ; the recommendation being submitted at a later date by an unidentified figure in the Admiralty . Snelling speculates that the Admiralty ' s change of heart was possibly a morale boosting measure , although Ritchie ' s courage during the action was never called into question . The shrapnel and bullet wounds he sustained in the raid were extensive , including injuries to his forehead , left thumb , left arm ( twice ) , right arm , right hip and a badly broken right leg after being hit by two large calibre machine gun bullets . Ritchie spent six weeks in hospital in Zanzibar before he was considered well enough to be transported home . In England he recovered during the spring of 1915 at Plymouth Hospital , with his family present . Although judged fit in late February , Ritchie was assigned light duties and was not returned to " Goliath " ; a disappointment which proved fortunate for him when she was sunk off the Dardanelles in May 1915 by the Turkish destroyer " Muavenet " with the loss of five hundred lives . His Victoria Cross was presented by King George V at Buckingham Palace in April 1915 . Promoted acting Captain , he retired in 1917 having been deemed unfit for further service as a legacy of the wounds he had received . Following his retirement Ritchie settled with his family back in his home city of Edinburgh , and lived a quiet and uneventful retirement . He was not involved in any official capacity during the Second World War , and died at his home in 1958 . Ritchie was cremated at Warriston . There are no memorials or headstones dedicated to him today , and his Victoria Cross is not on public display .