Alexander Duff (Royal Navy officer)


Sir Alexander Ludovic Duff was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, China Station.

Naval career

Duff joined the Royal Navy as a Midshipman in 1875. He was promoted Commander in 1897, Captain in 1902, and Rear-admiral in 1913. In 1906 he was appointed Deputy-Controller of the Royal Navy. In 1909, he was put in command of HMS Temeraire. He was Director of the Mobilisation Division at the Admiralty from 1912 through the start of the war. He served in World War I as Rear-Admiral of the 4th Battle Squadron, taking part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, where he was in command of HMS Superb.
He then became Director of the Anti-Submarine Division in 1917. Like the First Sea Lord, Admiral Jellicoe, Duff initially opposed the use of convoys. However, his efforts greatly reduced the destruction caused by the "underwater menace".
After the War he became Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff and then, from 1919, Commander-in-Chief, China Station. He retired in 1925.

Family

In 1886, he married his first cousin Janet Douglas Duff; they had two daughters. In 1924 he married Alice Marjorie Hill-Whitson; they had no children.

Books