SOMERVILLE

Sir James Fownes Somerville (1882-1949), British naval officer who served in World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). In 1942, Somerville was selected to command a fleet of British vessels in the Indian Ocean to fight the Japanese and protect the Indian coast. Two years later, in 1944, he went to Washington, DC, USA, and served on a committee responsible for the overall planning of the war and shortly thereafter was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet, the highest rank in the British Navy.