Years of service 1892–1939 | Service/branch Royal Navy Name Matthew Best Rank Admiral | |
Born 18 June 1878Frampton, Dorset ( 1878-06-18 ) Commands held HMS Queen ElizabethHMS ExcellentHMS Nelson2nd Cruiser SquadronAmerica and West Indies Station Battles/wars First World WarBattle of Jutland Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the BathDistinguished Service Order & BarMember of the Royal Victorian OrderMentioned in Despatches Battles and wars Battle of Jutland, World War I | ||
Admiral The Honourable Sir Matthew Robert Best KCB, DSO & Bar, MVO (18 June 1878 – 13 October 1940) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station.
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Early life
Best was born in Frampton, Dorset, on 18 June 1878, the fifth child and third son of George Best (later the 5th Baron Wynford) and his wife Edith Anne (nee Marsh).
Naval career
Best joined the Royal Navy in 1892. He served in the First World War and fought at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 as Staff Officer to the Commander-in-chief of the Grand Fleet where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). He was appointed Commanding Officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth in 1919 and Commanding Officer HMS Nelson and Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet in 1927, before becoming Commander of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in the Atlantic Fleet in 1929. He was appointed Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard in 1931 and Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station in 1937.
He died in 1940 at Frampton in Dorset.