Godfrey Herbert
Royal Navy captain and suspected war criminal (1884–1961)
Captain Godfrey Herbert, DSO and bar, (28 February 1884 – 8 August 1961) was an officer of the Royal Navy who was sometimes referred to as 'Baralong Herbert', in reference to accusations of war crimes subsequent to the Baralong incidents, during World War I. In a naval career stretching from 1898 to 1919, and with a return to duty between 1939 and 1943 in World War II, Herbert had several close encounters with death.
Early life
Godfrey Herbert was born on 28 February 1884 in Coventry. His father was a local solicitor, John Herbert, and his mother was Lucy Mary Herbert (née Draper). He attended Stubbington House School in the village of Stubbington, Hampshire. This was an early example of a preparatory school established primarily with the purpose of educating boys for service in the Royal Navy and it was probably the most successful of such institutions, becoming known as "the cradle of the navy". Following a period at Littlejohn's School, a naval crammer in Greenwich, Herbert became a naval cadet on HMS Britannia in 1898, and in June 1900 was enlisted as a midshipman in the Navy.
Submarines
Following promotion to sub-lieutenant in 1903 and specialised training in submarine technology on depot ship HMS Thames in 1905, Herbert became second-in-command of HMS A4, an early British submarine. His superior was Eric Nasmith, slightly older than Herbert and who had been educated at another well-known naval preparatory school, Eastman's Royal Naval Academy; Nasmith was to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the Gallipoli Campaign. The two men and their crew survived when the A4 sank in 90 feet (27 m) of water a few months later. The Times commented that:Nothing but the admirable steadiness of the men and the splendid presence of mind of Lieutenant Nasmith and Sub-Lieutenant Herbert could have saved the country from another appalling submarine disaster.
The public source identifies “Godfrey Herbert” as royal Navy captain and suspected war criminal (1884–1961). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Godfrey, Herbert and Royal.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Godfrey Herbert”, the useful work is to connect “royal Navy captain and suspected war criminal (1884–1961)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5576454. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1884, 1961, 1898 and 1919.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Godfrey Herbert”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Godfrey Herbert primary sources, Godfrey Herbert archive and Godfrey research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Godfrey Herbert”?
- Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Godfrey Herbert” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.