Remembering a Veteran: Admiral Bubbles

Capt. James in the Interwar Period

Admiral Sir William Milbourne James, GCB (1881–1973) was a British naval commander, politician and author. He served in the Royal Navy from the early 20th century to the Second World War.  James was the son of Major W. C. James of the 16th Lancers and his wife Effie, daughter of the painter John Everett Millais. He was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, and aboard HMS Britannia.

As a child, James sat as a subject for several paintings by his grandfather, Millais. The most well known of these is Bubbles, in which the five-year-old William is shown gazing enraptured at a soap bubble he has just blown. When the painting was used in an advertisement for Pears soap, it became famous. The image dogged James throughout his life, and he was regularly nicknamed "Bubbles".

Bubbles by John Everett Millais

His career nevertheless was one of continued and fresh accomplishment from his commissioning in 1901 through his retirement. On the occasion of his retirement as First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Francis C. B. Bridgeman wrote to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston S. Churchill on 8 December, 1912:

This is the cleverest and most accomplished Gunnery Lieutenant in the Navy. He is responsible for the excellent gunnery efficiency of the "Colossus." Admiral de Chair would tell you more about him; but I hear on every side that he is quite an exceptional man, and it would be a matter of great satisfaction to the whole of the gunnery branch if recognition of his ability was awarded by promotion at this time.

James was promoted to the rank of Commander on 1 January 1913. On 1 February, he was appointed to the battlecruiser Queen Mary. In March 1916, James was fortunate to be whisked away from the doomed Queen Mary when he was appointed Flag Commander to Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee, Bart., Vice-Admiral Commanding the Fourth Battle Squadron. This appointment placed him, initially, in the Benbow, which is from where he participated in the Battle of Jutland. 

After the battle, he followed Sturdee to the new flagship, Hercules. On 1 January 1917, James was also appointed for War Staff duties and was assigned to the intelligence division of the Naval Staff the following June. After the war, in recognition of his service, he was named a Companion to the Order of the Bath. Service as aide-de-camp to the king, further promotions,  and increasingly important commands followed during the interwar years.

Admiral James, 1942

In 1939,  Admiral James was named Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth and served in that post until his retirement from the service in October 1942. Due to his long experience in intelligence, he was recalled from retirement after a few months to take an appointment as Chief of Naval Information at the Admiralty. In November 1944 he returned to the retired list. Most of his retirement was dedicated to his writings on aspects of British naval history.

Sources: Dreadnought.net; Wikipedia; National Portrait Gallery