Early career Dare enlisted in the Royal Navy as an officer cadet, first serving as a
midshipman on
HMS Monarch, In 1893, he was promoted to
commander.
Command On his promotion to commander, Dare was given command of
HMS Lapwing, a
Redbreast-class gunboat, one of the last built of composite materials. In 1898, he was in command of
HMS Archer, serving for a time in the Far East. In 1900, he was promoted to full
captain, temporary on promotion, in command of the third class
cruiser,
HMS Bellona. In 1903, he was given command of
HMS Assistance to carry out sea trials off Sheerness; the first of her type, she was a "floating dockyard" designed to go to sea with the fleet, and cost £213,000. In December 1903 he was put in command of the new
armoured cruiser HMS Berwick, seeing service with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron; in March 1904 she returned to
Chatham from the West Indies for a refit. In September the same year Dare was appointed to the Royal Victorian Order. In 1906, he was in command of
HMS Ramillies for six months, following which, in September, he was put in command of the Eastern
Coastguard District until April 1909. In 1908 Dare was awarded a Good Service Pension of £150 per annum.
Flag In March 1909, Dare was promoted to
Rear Admiral on the retirement of Rear Admiral Fegan, conforming to the Navy's regulations on the permitted number of serving senior officers. Four months later, he placed himself on the retired list. and made a speech on the occasion of the rector of
Harkstead's 70th birthday.
World War I On 10 November 1914, Dare was given a temporary commission of commander in the
Royal Naval Reserve. A few months after the outbreak of the
First World War, having been placed on the retired list as Vice-Admiral, Dare was made a captain in the
Royal Naval Reserve and in 1915 took command of
HMS Idaho, the shore establishment at
Milford Haven, to counter the threat from German U-boats to shipping, including convoys, in the area. In the
1917 Birthday Honours, Dare was made a
Companion of the Bath. In the December, Dare and his wife opened the new Trafalgar Institute for Seafarers in Milford Haven, erected and furnished at a cost of £1,548, paying tribute to the Welsh fishermen of the RNR: In September 1918, Dare's promotion to full Admiral (retired) was posted. At the end of the war, Dare paid tribute to all who had served at the Milford base.
Post-war Dare was knighted by King George V in May 1919, the citation reading:
For valuable services in command of the important Auxiliary Patrol Base of Milford Haven since February 1915. On 31 July 1919, Dare struck his flag at Milford Haven, the ceremony being performed aboard the trawler
Idaho. ==Death==