WW1 admiral who helped secure peace

November is, as always, a time for remembering those who have died in war – including so many Royal Navy and Merchant Navy seafarers.

Each year, Remembrance Day falls on 11 November thanks to the work of Admiral Rosslyn 'Rosy' Wemyss, a key figure in negotiating an end to First World War hostilities with the Germans in 1918. He is the subject of a new biography by John Johnson-Allen, which gives an account both of Admiral Wemyss's distinguished career and his role during a turbulent time for the Royal Navy.

Wemyss was one of the reformers who adapted the Navy technologically and socially from a Victorian institution still rooted in the Age of Sail – full of ships 'too old to fight and too slow to run away' – to a modern fleet staffed by professionals. The book gives interesting accounts of his work in maritime education; his voyages; his war service, including his successful evacuation of Gallipoli and support for Lawrence of Arabia; and the armistice negotiations on the Western Front.

Throughout the book, Rosy comes across as a far-sighted officer, a natural leader, and a humane man – admired by both his adversaries and his friends. Though he survived the war, he, too, should be remembered on 11 November for his part in bringing it to an end.