Educated at Leamington College and at
Burney's Royal Naval Academy in
Gosport, he joined the
Royal Navy as a cadet in 1861 and took part in the
Abyssinian Expedition in 1868 where he was second in command of the naval rocket brigade. and in May 1902 he became Second-in-Command of the
Home Fleet. He hoisted his flag on board the
pre-dreadnought battleship on 7 May 1902, as his flagship during the
Coronation Fleet Review for King
Edward VII. After the end of the manoeuvres, he transferred on 16 September to , which became
flagship to the Home Squadron, the permanent sea-going nucleus of the Home Fleet. In 1903 he was appointed
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station. In June 1905 in recognition of his service in Somaliland he was made a Knight Commander of the
Order of the Bath. Atkinson-Willes was promoted vice admiral in 1905 and admiral in 1908. He retired in July 1912 and died in December 1921, aged 74. ==References==