W.M. James

William Millbourne James was the grandson of Sir John Everett Millais, who painted him - this was used for the advert for Pears Soap, which earned him the nickname of "Bubbles". He entered the Navy at the age of 13 by the Training Ship Britannia. At the beginning of 1913 he had reached the rank of Commander. He was appointed to the new battle cruiser HMS Queen Mary. "Blinker" Hall was appointed to command. Hall foresaw war coming and told James that he wanted his ship's organisation in peacetime to be the same as that to be adopted when war began. Hall transferred to Naval Intelligence in October 1914, where he gained fame for running "Room 40". James left the Queen Mary in March 1916 and joined Hall in Intelligence. Thus they both escaped the disaster which overcame the Queen Mary at Jutland. James rose to flag rank and commanded the Portsmouth base in the early stages of World War 2.