{{Short description|Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy Admiral (1859–1938)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = Admiral | name = William Story | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} | image = Admiral William Oswald Story (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | other_name = | nickname = | birth_date = 18 April 1859 | birth_place = Bingfield, County Cavan | death_date = {{death date and age|1938|01|14|1859|04|18|df=y}} | death_place = Montreal | burial_place = Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = Royal Navy<br/>Royal Canadian Navy | service_years = 1872–1912 (RN)<br/>1914–1919 (RCN) | rank = | unit = | commands = HMS ''Hearty''<br/>HMS ''Narcissus''<br/>HMS ''Grafton''<br/>HMS ''Cumberland''<br/>HMS ''London''<br/>HMS ''Canopus''<br/>Eastern Coast Guard District<br/>Esquimalt Dockyard<br/>West Coast<br/>Halifax Dockyard | known_for = | battles = {{Tree list}} *Perak Expedition *Anglo-Egyptian War *Suakin Expedition *First World War {{Tree list/end}} | awards = Legion of Honour (France)<br/>Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)<br/>Order of Naval Merit (Spain) | memorials = | alma_mater = | spouse = {{marriage|Olave Baldwin|1891|}} | children = | relations = | other_work = | signature = }} Admiral '''William Oswald Story''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} (18 April 1859 – 14 January 1938) was a senior Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy officer.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 January 1938 |title=Admiral W. O. Story |pages=12 |work=The Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=15 January 1938 |title=Admiral Story, 78, of the Royal Navy |pages=15 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/01/15/archives/admiral-story-78-of-the-royal-navy-retired-commander-served-41.html}}</ref>
== Biography == The son of Joseph Story, of Bingfield, County Cavan, William Oswald Story joined the Royal Navy in 1872, joining the ''Britannia'' as a cadet. As a midshipman in HMS ''Modeste'', he took part in the Perak Expedition of 1875–76. He then took part in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 as a sub-lieutenant on the gunboat HMS ''Mosquito'' and commanded a landing party at Chalof, for which he was specially commended in despatches and specially promoted to lieutenant the same year. He again saw service in the Suakin Expedition of 1884, as a lieutenant on HMS ''Dryad''.
Promoted to commander in 1896 and captain in 1902, Story successively commanded HMS ''Hearty'' from 1900 to 1902, HMS ''Narcissus'' from 1903 to 1905, HMS ''Grafton'' from 1905 to 1906, HMS ''Cumberland'' from 1906 to 1907, HMS ''London'' from 1907 to 1908, and HMS ''Canopus'' from 1908 to 1909. He was Rear-Admiral-in-Charge of the Eastern Coast Guard District from 1909 to 1911. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1911 and retired at his own request in 1912, settling in Guelph, Ontario.
On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Story offered his services and was appointed Admiral-Superintendent, Esquimalt Dockyard, in the Royal Canadian Navy, as well as Senior Naval Officer West Coast. From 1918 to 1919, he was Admiral-Superintendent, Halifax Dockyard. He was promoted to vice-admiral on the Retired List in 1917 and admiral on the Retired List in 1919. For his service during the war, Story was appointed a CBE in 1920. He also received the French Legion of Honour, the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, and the Spanish Order of Naval Merit.
In retirement, Story, the only full admiral living in Canada, eventually settled in Montreal, and was involved in various patriotic organisations until his death in 1938.
== Family == Story married Olave Janet Baldwin, daughter of Captain Baldwin of Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1891; they had three sons and seven daughters. One daughter, Mary Caroline Story, served in the United States Army during World War I as a telephone operator.
== References == <references /> *{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/William_Oswald_Story|title=William Oswald Story|website=The Dreadnought Project|access-date=2022-02-11}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story, William Oswald}} Category:1859 births Category:1938 deaths Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Royal Navy admirals Category:British expatriates in Canada Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War