Vice-Admiral Vincent Barkly Molteno (30 April 1872 – 12 November 1952) was a Royal Navy officer during World War I. He fought and distinguished himself in the Battle of Jutland in April 1916, commanding from the armoured cruiser . He was subsequently awarded the Russian Order of St. Anna for bravery, and was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath and Aide-de-camp to the King. Early life Molteno was born in Cape Town, then part of the Cape Colony, into a large family of Italian origin. He was the son of Sir John Charles Molteno, who at the time was Prime Minister of the Cape, and many of his relatives held positions of influence in business and government. Vincent Molteno had little interest in business though. His father died when he was 14 years old; he left the colony to enter the Royal Navy as a cadet. Soon after joining the Navy, he was discovered to be a lethally accurate shot, was selected for special training, and quickly distinguished as a gun specialist. In 1893 he was sent to take part in the Vitu Expedition to Zanzibar as a lieutenant to crush the slave trade, and was awarded the General African Medal. His extraordinary effectiveness on this mission was repeatedly reported in despatches, and led to his being promoted to Commander. World War I He commanded several warships in World War I, including HMS Revenge, Antrim, King George V, Shannon, Minotaur, and Bellerophon. It was from Revenge (also after she was renamed HMS Redoubtable) that he successfully led the bombardment of German bases along the Flanders coast. He also served as Flag-Captain of the 2nd Battle Squadron and the 3rd Cruiser Squadron. Molteno fought at the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval engagement of the First World War, commanding from the armoured cruiser HMS Warrior. HMS Warrior was part of the ill-fated First Cruiser Squadron, which was deployed as a vanguard several miles ahead of the main British fleet. When contact was first made with the German High Seas Fleet, Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot boldly but unwisely ordered the First Cruiser Squadron to engage, and the small squadron thus found itself facing the combined firepower of the German dreadnoughts. The last two ships of the squadron were unable to join up with the admiral and avoided the HSF. HMS Duke of Edinburgh survived the battle but HMS Black Prince was destroyed