# Charles Laverock Lambe

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Sir Charles Laverock Lambe Air Vice Marshal Lambe Born (1875-05-10)10 May 1875 Died 25 April 1953(1953-04-25) (aged 77) Allegiance United Kingdom Branch Royal Navy (1889–1918) Royal Air Force (1918–31) Service years 1891–1931 Rank Air Vice Marshal Commands Coastal Area (1928–31) RAF Halton (1924–28) No. 1 School of Technical Training (1924–28) Midland Area (1919) No. 5 Group (1918–19) VII Brigade RAF (1918) RNAS Dover Command (1916–18) No. 5 Squadron RNAS (1915) HMS Hermes (1914–15) Conflicts Benin Expedition of 1897 First World War Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) Croix de guerre (France) Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) Knight of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Croix de guerre (Belgium) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (United States)[1]

[Air Vice Marshal](/source/Air_Vice_Marshal) **Sir Charles Laverock Lambe**, [KCB](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath), [CMG](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George), [DSO](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) (10 May 1875 – 25 April 1953) was a distinguished officer in the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) and a foundational commander in the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) (RAF) on its creation in 1918. Lambe was one of the most senior officers with naval experience to serve in the 1920s RAF.

## Biography

Joining the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) in 1889, Lambe attended the [training ship *Britannia*](/source/Britannia_Naval_College). In 1897 he was promoted to lieutenant and served aboard [HMS *Magpie*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Magpie_(1889)&action=edit&redlink=1), taking part in Rear Admiral [Rawson](/source/Harry_Rawson)'s [punitive expedition to Benin](/source/Benin_Expedition_of_1897). Lambe later served at the Naval Ordnance Department as an assistant to the Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes. Promoted to Commander in 1908 he was again appointed an assistant to the Director of Naval Ordnance in 1913.

In August 1914, Lambe was appointed as captain of the seaplane carrier [HMS *Hermes*](/source/HMS_Hermes_(1898)), which sank after being torpedoed in October of the same year. At the start of August 1916, having just been promoted to wing captain, Lambe took up appointment as the officer commanding the [Royal Naval Air Service](/source/Royal_Naval_Air_Service)'s Dover Command which included RNAS units at Dunkirk. During his time at the Dover Command, Lambe's aircraft carried out bombing raids on the German submarine harbours at [Bruges](/source/Bruges).[2] On 1 April 1918, Lambe was appointed [General Officer Commanding](/source/General_Officer_Commanding) the VII Brigade of the RAF. On 23 April, Lambe's VII Brigade carried out air attacks as part of the [blocking of Zeebrugge and Ostend](/source/First_Ostend_Raid).[3] On 9 May, Lambe was once again the air commander in a naval action, this time for the [Second Ostend Raid](/source/Second_Ostend_Raid).[4]

In 1919 Lambe was selected by [Sir Hugh Trenchard](/source/Hugh_Trenchard%2C_1st_Viscount_Trenchard) to sit on the Air Council and in 1924 he was appointed commandant of the RAF's [No. 1 School of Technical Training](/source/No._1_School_of_Technical_Training_RAF). In 1928 Lambe was appointed [Air Officer Commanding](/source/Air_Officer_Commanding) [Coastal Area](/source/Coastal_Area_(RAF)) (the forerunner of [Coastal Command](/source/RAF_Coastal_Command)) from where he retired in the rank of [air vice marshal](/source/Air_vice_marshal) in 1931. Lambe died on 25 April 1953.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["No. 31691"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31691/supplement/15614). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)* (Supplement). 16 December 1919. p. 15614.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Jellicoe, John, Admiral of the Fleet, 1st Earl Jellicoe](/source/John_Jellicoe%2C_1st_Earl_Jellicoe) (1920). [*The crisis of the naval war*](https://archive.org/details/crisisofnavalwar00jelluoft). pp. [72](https://archive.org/details/crisisofnavalwar00jelluoft/page/72), 73.{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list)) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_numeric_names:_authors_list))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["AIRCRAFT in the ZEEBRUGGE AND OSTEND BATTLES"](http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1919/1919%20-%200268.html). *[Flight](/source/Flight_(magazine))*. [The Royal Aero Club of the U.K.](/source/Royal_Aero_Club) 27 February 1919. Retrieved 4 July 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["No. 30870"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30870/supplement/10088). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)* (Supplement). 27 August 1918. p. 10088.

## External links

- [Air of Authority—A History of RAF Organisation—AVM Lambe](http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Lambe.htm)

- [Profile](http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/donkey/lambe.htm)

Military offices Unknown Officer Commanding RNAS Dover Command 1916–1918 Command disbanded Responsibilities transferred to VII Brigade Vacant Title last held by Tom Webb-Bowen On 26 March 1918 (Italian operations) General Officer Commanding VII Brigade (Dover and Dunkirk operations) April – May 1918 Brigade disbanded Responsibilities transferred to No. 5 (Operations) Group Preceded by Frederick Halahan As Officer Commanding General Officer Commanding No. 5 (Operations) Group 1918–1919 Vacant Title next held by William Callaway In 1937 As Air Officer Commanding Preceded by John Higgins General Officer Commanding Midland Area January – February 1919 Succeeded by Bertram Cooke Preceded by Unknown or none Director of Equipment 1919–1922 Succeeded by Duncan Pitcher Preceded by Francis Scarlett Commandant, No. 1 School of Technical Training 1924–1928 Succeeded by Ian Bonham-Carter Preceded by Francis Scarlett Air Officer Commanding Coastal Area 1928–1931 Succeeded by Robert Clark-Hall

v t e Royal Air Force generals RAF generals between 1 April 1918 and 31 July 1919 Lieutenant-Generals David Henderson John de Mestre Hutchison Major-Generals Edward Ashmore Sefton Brancker George Cayley Edward Ellington Philip Game Frederick Gordon Frederick Heath-Caldwell John Higgins Mark Kerr Charles Lambe Charles Longcroft Godfrey Paine Geoffrey Salmond John Salmond Frederick Sykes Hugh Trenchard Tom Webb-Bowen Brigadier-Generals William Alexander John Becke Amyas Borton Harold Briggs Robert Brooke-Popham Charles Burnett Walter Caddell Lionel Charlton Christopher Courtney Alfred Critchley Hugh Dowding Francis Leycester Festing Eugene Gerrard Percy Groves Robert Marsland Groves John Hearson Thomas Higgins Cuthbert Hoare Felton Holt Guy Livingston Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt Norman MacEwen Edward Maitland Edward Masterman Cyril Newall Duncan Pitcher Francis Scarlett John Miles Steel Oliver Swann Harry Viener Vyell Vyvyan James George Weir Kenneth Wigram

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Charles Laverock Lambe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Laverock_Lambe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Laverock_Lambe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.