Earl Mountbatten of Burma

Louis of Battenberg, the great-grandson of Queen Victoria, and second cousin of George V was born in Windsor, England, on 25th June 1900. His father, Prince Louis of Battenberg, had been born in Austria. As a result of the anti-German feelings in Britain during the First World War, the family changed its name from Battenberg to Mountbatten.

Mountbatten was educated at Osborne and Dartmouth, Royal Naval College (1913-16). He joined the Royal Navy and during the war, he served onboard Lion and Elizabeth.

Mountbatten remained in the Royal Navy and on the outbreak of the Second World War was captain of the destroyer Kelly. He saw action during the Norwegian campaign and the ship was sunk off Crete on 23rd May 1940 with the loss of 130 men. Louis Mountbatten Earl Mountbatten

Winston Churchill appointed Mountbatten head of Combined Operations Command on 27th October 1941. He launched a series of commando raids, including the disastrous Dieppe Raid in August 1942. The decision by Churchill to promote Mountbatten to vice admiral, lieutenant general, and air marshal ahead of older and more experienced men upset senior officers in the military establishment.

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