Charles James Colebrooke Little

Admiral SIR Charles James Colebrooke Little, G.C.B., G.B.E. (14 June 1882 – 20 June 1973) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Born in Shanghai, the son of a physician.

Little was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 15 January, 1903.

Little married Rothes B. Leslie on 29 February, 1908, but Lady Little died 9 May, 1909.

Little was promoted to the rank of Commander on 1 January, 1913.

Commander Little was appointed in command of the torpedo gunboat Hazard and of the Fourth Submarine Flotilla on 23 November, 1911.

Great War

On 10 February, 1915, Little was appointed to Dolphin, additional, as assistant to Commodore (S) and for duty with submarines. He was awarded the Order of Cavalieri Ufficiele of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus by the Italian government for his assistance in their purchase of submarines from Britain.

In 1916, an able bodied sailor in Fearless drowned. An ensuing Court of Enquiry commended Little for his "exceedingly prompt and courageous action" in attempting to assist the man. Little was awarded the Royal Humane Society's Bronze Medal and certificate for this.

He was appointed in command of the scout cruiser Fearless in September 1916, and remained in her to the end of the war. In May, 1917, he appears to have been appointed the role of Captain (S) to the Twelfth Submarine Flotilla, of which Fearless was flag/flotilla cruiser.

Little was promoted to the rank of Captain on 30 June, 1917.

Post-War

Little was appointed in command of the light cruiser Cleopatra on 4 March, 1919.

He was appointed as captain of Iron Duke in 1926.

Little was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 27 February, 1929.

Little was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 1 September, 1933.

Little was promoted to the rank of Admiral on 25 June, 1937.

On New Year's Day, 1940, Little married Mary Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey.

Little hoisted his flag as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth on 1 October, 1942. He stepped down upon being placed on the Retired List on 15 April, 1945.

See Also

• Service Records
• Wikipedia

Papers

• Uncatalogued papers in the possession of the National Maritime Museum.
• Uncatalogued papers in the possession of the National Maritime Museum.

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Robert R. Cooke	Captain of H.M.S. A 4 c. 1904	Succeeded by Martin E. Nasmith
Preceded by ?	Captain of H.M.S. D 1 1 Aug, 1908 – 3 May, 1910	Succeeded by Noel F. Laurence
Preceded by Alexander R. Palmer	Captain of H.M.S. Hazard 23 Nov, 1911 – 3 Aug, 1914	Succeeded by Nicholas E. Archdale
Preceded by ?	Commander (S), Fourth Submarine Flotilla 1 Jan, 1913 – 3 Aug, 1914	Succeeded by Henry Spencer
Preceded by Martin E. Nasmith	Captain of H.M.S. Arrogant 3 Aug, 1914 – 10 Feb, 1915	Succeeded by Alexander R. Palmer
Preceded by Charles D. Roper	Captain of H.M.S. Fearless Sep, 1916 – 4 Mar, 1919	Succeeded by Ernest W. Leir
Preceded by ?	Captain (S), Twelfth Submarine Flotilla 26 Sep, 1916 – 4 Mar, 1919	Succeeded by ?
Preceded by Walter R. G. Petre	Captain of H.M.S. Cleopatra 4 Mar, 1919 – 23 Dec, 1919	Succeeded by Arthur Stopford
Preceded by Charles T. Hardy	Assistant Director of the Trade Division 23 Dec, 1919 – 24 May, 1920	Succeeded by ?
Preceded by Alan G. Hotham	Director of the Trade Division 24 May, 1920 – 2 May, 1922	Succeeded by Martin E. Dunbar-Nasmith
Preceded by Frank Larken	Captain of the Fleet, Mediterranean Fleet after Jun, 1922 – 20 Aug, 1924	Succeeded by Theodore J. Hallett
Preceded by Raymond Fitzmaurice	Captain of H.M.S. Iron Duke 24 Jul, 1926 – 8 Aug, 1927	Succeeded by Francis M. Austin
Preceded by Francis H. Mitchell	Rear-Admiral, Second-in-Command, Second Battle Squadron 26 Apr, 1930 – 25 Apr, 1931	Succeeded by Lancelot E. Holland
Preceded by Martin E. Nasmith	Rear-Admiral (S) 2 Sep, 1931 – 10 Dec, 1932	Succeeded by Noel F. Laurence
Preceded by Sir Frederic C. Dreyer	Deputy Chief of Naval Staff 9 Jan, 1933 – 8 Nov, 1935	Succeeded by Sir William M. James
Preceded by Sir Frederic C. Dreyer	Commander-in-Chief, China Station 8 Nov, 1935 – 5 Feb, 1938	Succeeded by Lewis G. E. Crabbe as Acting Commander-in-Chief, China Station
Preceded by Sir Martin E. Dunbar-Nasmith	Second Sea Lord 2 Sep, 1938 – 1 Jun, 1941	Succeeded by Sir William J. Whitworth
Preceded by Sir William M. James	Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth Station 1 Oct, 1942 – 15 Apr, 1945	Succeeded by Sir Geoffrey Layton