Noel Laurence

Admiral Sir Noel Laurence KCB DSO* (1882 – 26 January 1970) was a notable submarine commander during World War I.

Early life
Laurence was born in 1882 and joined the Navy in 1899. By 1904 he was a Lieutenant and a submarine specialist.

Naval service
In 1914 he commanded the submarine E1, it operated in the baltic to attack the German High Seas fleet. While in the baltic Laurence worked with the Russians and in 1915 the E1 stopped a naval attack on Riga when it sank a German transport and damaged the battle-cruiser SMS Moltke. As well as being awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his work in the Baltic the Russians awarded him the Order of St. George (4th Class) and the Order of St Vladimir (4th Class with swords).

Laurences next command was the submarine J1 which torpedoed two German battleships near Jutland. He was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Service Order for his further operation in submarines and was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the French. At the end of the war he was commander of the HMS Bonaventure, a submarine depot ship, and its associated submarine flotilla.

In 1930 he was Commodore of Davenport Naval Barracks and after two years was appointed Rear-Admiral Submarines, from 1936 he was Vice-Admiral Aircraft Carriers. From 1938 he was Admiral Commanding Reserves before he moved to Ministry of Aircraft Production as the naval representative, Laurence retired in 1943.

Family life
Laurence had married Esme Coghlan White in 1917 and they had two sons and a daughter.