Early career Born the fifth son of Robert Oliver and Margaret Oliver (née Strickland) at Lochside near
Kelso, Oliver joined the Royal Navy as a
cadet in the training ship
Britannia on 15 July 1878. He joined the
armoured frigate Agincourt, flagship of the Second-in-Command of the
Channel Squadron, in September 1880 and, having been promoted to
midshipman on 21 January 1881, he transferred to the
corvette Amethyst on the
South America Station in March 1882. Promoted to
sub-lieutenant on 21 January 1885, he joined the
battleship Triumph, flagship of the
Pacific Station, in October 1886. he joined the survey ship
Stork and then qualified as a navigator. he became navigating officer on the battleship
Majestic, flagship of the Vice-Admiral Commanding the Channel Squadron, in September 1900. Oliver became the first commanding officer of his proposed new navigation school
Mercury that year. he went on to be commanding officer of the
armoured cruiser Achilles in the
Home Fleet in February 1907 and then became Naval Assistant to Admiral Fisher, now the
First Sea Lord, in November 1908. Appointed a
Companion of the Order of the Bath on 3 June 1913, he was promoted to
rear-admiral on 7 December 1913 and became
Director of the Intelligence Division at the
Admiralty later that month. When Admiral
Sir John Jellicoe was appointed First Sea Lord in December 1916, Oliver became
Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and a
Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and in that capacity was closely involved in directing the allied forces at the
Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Appointed a
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 12 January 1918, he became commander of the
1st Battlecruiser Squadron in the
Grand Fleet with his flag in the
battlecruiser Repulse in March 1918. and in February 1919 he was given temporary command of the
Battle Cruiser Force. He became commander of the
2nd Battle Squadron in March 1919. When the Grand Fleet was disbanded in April 1919, the older ships were reformed as the
Home Fleet and placed under Oliver's command with his flag in the battleship
King George V. he became commander-in-chief of the
Atlantic Fleet in August 1924. and advanced to
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1928 before retiring in January 1933. He attended the funeral of
King George V in January 1936. In retirement Oliver became deputy chairman of the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He died at his home in
London on 15 October 1965. He was reputed, throughout his naval service, to be the worst-dressed officer in the Navy but was also renowned for his work ethic; he rarely took any leave and often worked fourteen hours a day, including at weekends. It has been claimed he was not highly regarded as an inspiring leader of those who served under him. ==Family==