Roger Backhouse Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Roland Charles Backhouse GCB GCVO CMG ( 24 November 1878 – 15 July 1939 ) was a Royal Navy officer . He served in World War I as a cruiser commander and after the War became a battle squadron commander and later Commander - in - Chief , Home Fleet . Becoming First Sea Lord in November 1938 , his major contribution in that role was to abandon the official British policy of sending a major fleet to Singapore to deter Japan ese aggression ( the Singapore strategy ) , realising the immediate threat was closer to home ( from Germany and Italy ) and that such a policy was no longer viable . He died from a brain tumor in July 1939 just before the start of World War II . Naval career . Born the fourth son of Sir Jonathan Backhouse , 1st Baronet and Florence Backhouse ( née Salusbury - Trelawny ) , Backhouse joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS " Britannia " in 1892 and went to sea as a midshipman in the battleship HMS " Repulse " in the Channel Squadron in 1894 . Backhouse transferred to the corvette HMS " Comus " on the Pacific Station in October 1895 and , having been promoted to sub - lieutenant on 15 March 1898 and to lieutenant on 15 March 1899 , he joined the battleship HMS " Victorious " in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1899 . After attending the gunnery school HMS " Excellent " , he was posted as gunnery officer to the battleship HMS " Russell " in the Mediterranean Fleet in February 1903 and then to the battleship HMS " Queen " in Mediterranean Fleet in April 1904 , before returning to HMS " Excellent " to join the directing staff in July 1905 . He became gunnery officer in the battleship HMS " Dreadnought " in the Channel Fleet in August 1907 and , having been promoted to commander on 31 December 1909 , he rejoined the directing staff at HMS " Excellent " in February 1910 . He became Flag Commander to the Commander - in - Chief , Home Fleet first in HMS " Neptune " from March 1911 and then in HMS " Iron Duke " from March 1914 . Backhouse served in World War I , earning promotion to captain on 1 September 1914 , and being appointed commanding officer of the light cruiser " HMS Conquest " in the Harwich Force in November 1915 before being given command of the battle cruiser " HMS Lion " , flagship of the Battle Cruiser force , in November 1916 . He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 4 June 1917 . Backhouse became Director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty in September 1920 and then commanding officer of the battleship HMS " Malaya " in January 1923 , before receiving promotion to rear admiral on 24 February 1925 and being given command of the 3rd Battle Squadron in May 1926 . He became Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy in November 1928 , and having been promoted to vice - admiral on 9 October 1929 , he became Commander of the 1st Battle Squadron and Second - in - Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in April 1932 . Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1933 New Year Honours , he was promoted to full admiral on 11 February 1934 and became Commander - in - Chief , Home Fleet in 20 August 1935 . He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 20 May 1937 . Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1938 New Year Honours and appointed First and Principal Naval Aide - de - Camp to the King on 1 July 1938 , Blackhouse became First Sea Lord in November 1938 . Taking office shortly after the signing of the Munich Agreement , his major contribution as First Sea Lord was to abandon the official British policy of sending a major fleet to Singapore to deter Japan ese aggression ( the Singapore strategy ) , realising the immediate threat was closer to home ( from Germany and Italy ) and that such a policy was no longer viable . With failing health , he resigned as First Sea Lord in May 1939 and , having been promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 29 June 1939 , he died from a brain tumor in London on 15 July 1939 just before the start of World War II . Family . In 1907 Backhouse married Dora Louise Findlay , daughter of John Ritchie Findlay proprietor of the British newspaper , " The Scotsman " ; they had two sons and four daughters .