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Major Francis John William Harvey, VC (29 April 1873 – 31 May 1916) was an officer of the British Royal Marine Light Infantry during the First World War. Harvey was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, for his actions at the height of the Battle of Jutland. A long serving Royal Marine officer descended of a military family, during his career Harvey became a specialist in naval artillery, serving on many large warships as gunnery training officer and gun commander. Specially requested for , the flagship of the British battlecruiser fleet, Harvey fought at the battles of Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank and Jutland. At Jutland, Harvey, although mortally wounded by German shellfire, ordered the magazine of Q turret on the battlecruiser ''Lion'' to be flooded. This action prevented the tons of cordite stored there from catastrophically detonating in an explosion that would have destroyed the vessel and all aboard her. Although he succumbed to his injuries seconds later, his dying act may have saved over a thousand lives and prompted Winston Churchill to later comment: "In the long, rough, glorious history of the Royal Marines there is no name and no deed which in its character and consequences ranks above this".〔 ==Gunnery expert== Harvey was born in Upper Sydenham, Kent, the son of Commander John William Francis Harvey, RN and Elizabeth Edwards Lavington Harvey ''née'' Penny. At age 11 in 1884, Harvey moved with his family to Southsea and he attended Portsmouth Grammar School, achieving excellent academic results and showing proficiency in languages and debating.〔Snelling, p. 106〕 Harvey was descended from a military family; his great-great-grandfather John Harvey had been killed in the Glorious First of June in 1794 and his great-grandfather Admiral Sir Edward Harvey, GCB, RN and grandfather Captain John Harvey of the 9th Regiment of Foot were also prominent military figures.〔Snelling, p. 107〕 After leaving school, Harvey chose a military career and was accepted by both the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich for officer training. Choosing the latter school as a Royal Marines officer cadet, Harvey graduated in 1892 and the following year was made a full lieutenant, joining for his first seagoing commission. After just a year at sea, Harvey was back on shore attending gunnery courses at , qualifying in 1896 as an instructor first class in naval gunnery.〔 Harvey was appointed to the cruiser when she was commissioned at Devonport on 8 June 1897 for service on the Pacific Station.〔''Navy List, July 1898, corrected to 18 June 1898'', page 279.〕 In 1898, whilst on the ''Phaëton'', he was reprimanded by the Admiralty for an unfavourable report he released on San Diego Harbour. Returning home the same year, Harvey was given the position of Assistant Instructor for Gunnery at Plymouth Division. During this period, Harvey married Ethel Edye and had one son, John.〔 Between 1898 and 1904 Harvey spent much of his time attached to the Channel Fleet, aboard and , practising and instructing in gunnery. In 1900 he was promoted to captain. In 1903 he was posted aboard , the first of a string of big ship appointments teaching gunnery to the heavy units of the Channel Fleet. By 1909, Harvey had served on , and the new battlecruiser . In 1910 Harvey became Instructor of Gunnery at Chatham Dockyard and the following year was promoted to major, a report on the gunnery school commenting "Degree of efficiency in Gunnery Establishment at Chatham is very high both as regards general training and attention to detail. Great credit is due all concerned particularly to Major F.J.W. Harvey, the I of G".〔 The strength of this report subsequently gained Harvey a position as senior marine officer aboard , the 27,000 ton flagship of the British battlecruiser fleet. ''Lion'' had eight 13.5-inch guns and Harvey was stationed in an office under Q turret directing their operation and fire. Under her new commander, Admiral David Beatty, Harvey served as the senior marine officer on board into the First World War, his first military campaign.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Francis Harvey」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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