HMS Umpire (1917)

HMS Umpire was a modified Admiralty R-class destroyer (1916) destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. The Modified R class added attributes of the Yarrow Later M class to improve the capability of the ships to operate in bad weather. Launched on 9 June 1917, the ship operated with the Grand Fleet during World War I as an escort to a squadron of light cruiser and took part in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. After the Armistice, the vessel continued to serve and gained fame when, after rescuing the charity's founder from drowning in 1924, the name of the first house opened by what would become Veterans Aid was named H10 after the destroyer's pennant number. Umpire was sold to be broken up in 1930.

Design and description
Umpire was one of eleven modified R-class destroyer (1916) destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Eighth War Construction Programme. The design was a development of the existing R class, adding features from the Yarrow Later M class which had been introduced based on wartime experience. The forward two boilers were transposed and vented through a single funnel, enabling the bridge and forward gun to be placed further aft. Combined with hull-strengthening, this improved the destroyers' ability to operate at high speed in bad weather.

Umpire was 276 ft long overall and 265 ft long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 27 ft and a draught of 11 ft. Displacement was 1035 LT normal and 1090 LT at deep load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27000 shp and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 36 kn. Two funnels were fitted. A total of 296 LT of fuel oil were carried, giving a design range of 3450 nmi at 15 kn.

Armament consisted of three single 4 in Mk V QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the funnels. Increased elevation extended the range of the gun by 2000 yd to 12000 yd. A single 2-pounder 40 mm "pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried on a platform between two twin mounts for 21 in torpedoes. The ship had a complement of 82 officers and ratings.

Service
Umpire was launched on 9 June 1917 by William Doxford & Sons of Sunderland. The vessel was named after the umpire in the game of cricket. On commissioning in August that year, the ship joined the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet and served there to the end of the conflict.

The vessel formed part of the escort for the Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron based at Rosyth. On 15 October, the destroyer accompanied the Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron in an attack on German minesweepers with aircraft carrier HMS Furious (47). No enemy ships were sunk. On 16 November, the destroyer was at sea again accompanying Furious and HMS Courageous (50). On the following day, Umpire took part in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in support of the First Cruiser Squadron, led by Vice-Admiral Trevylyan Napier. Along with sister ships HMS Urchin (1917) and HMS Ursa (1917), the destroyer was one of the first to launch torpedoes at the German ships in the action. The vessel also rescued aviation pioneer Jack McCleery when he ditched his aircraft on 24 September 1918.

When the Grand Fleet was disbanded, Umpire was transferred to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, under the flag of HMS King George V (1911) However, as the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength, both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money. The destroyer was recommissioned in reserve on 23 October 1919. The ship continued to serve and, while operating in Malta on 2 November 1924, Umpire rescued Gwendolin Huggins, who later went on to found Veterans Aid. She named the charity's first house H10 in honour of the ship. On 21 September 1928, the ship escorted the Sultan of Muscat to a naval demonstration. However, soon after, the destroyer was decommissioned and sold on 7 January 1930 to Metal Industries to be broken up in Charlestown.