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Pimperne’s Commander Buckle RN


Village of Pimperne is not a place normally associated with whaling off Antarctica. Yet, Commander Buckle GC OBE, a Pimperne resident between 1948 and 1975, provides such a link.

Henry Buckle was born in Middlesbrough in 1889 and joined the Royal Navy in 1905. On the 27th August 1919, he was Officer on Watch on HMS Tiger undergoing repairs at the Invergordon naval base in Scotland. This was a giant battle cruiser which had seen action against the German Navy at the Battle of Jutland. During the repairs two dockyard fitters and an able seaman, working in the ship’s hold, became overcome by noxious fumes. Despite great personal risk, Henry Buckle played a key role in bringing the three men to safety. As a result on 22nd March 1922, he was presented the Albert Medal by King George V at Buckingham Palace.

In 1934, he retired as an Acting Commander in the Royal Navy and took on a new role as a Whaling Inspector off Antarctica. With the outbreak of World War II, he was recalled and spent most of his time at Campbeltown in Scotland commanding the Armed Yacht, HMS Shemara. He then moved south taking charge of the destroyer HMS Eggesford based at Portland.

Retiring from the Royal Navy for the second time, he returned to whaling which meant he was for long periods away from his home in Pimperne. In 1952, he was made an Officer of the British Empire. He died in January 1975 and is buried, alongside his wife Eleanor, in the Graveyard of St Peter’s Church, Pimperne.

Commander Henry Buckle GC OBE is remembered fondly by the more senior residents and former residents of the village of Pimperne.

Battle Cruiser HMS Tiger
(Source: victoriacrossonline.co.uk)


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