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Sir Stanley Nelson
| Fleet Admiral Sir Stanley Nelson | |
 | |
| Profile | |
| Origin |  Bretonia
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| Affiliation | Bretonian Armed Forces |
| Born | May 11 781 A.S., Planet Leeds |
| Died | Still alive |
Sir Stanley Nelson KBE DSC NSM, is the current Fleet Admiral of the Bretonian Armed Forces, and chairman of the Fleet Admiralty Board as official representative of the Monarch.
During his career in the Armed Forces, both the QCRF and the regular BAF, Nelson has served in the defence of Bretonia on countless occasions becoming regarded as a competent pilot, but an excellent officer and leader of men. His grasp of tactics and strategy is excellent, being a student of military history, whilst his charismatic and friendly demeanor has made him the empitome of Bretonian politeness, tact and phlegmatic steadfastness in the face of danger.
Since assuming leadership of the Bretonian Armed Forces in mid 817 A.S. from his predecessor Percy Nelles, Sir Stanley has attempted to alter the course of the Tau War by a change in stance of the BAF's war effort, towards more bold offensive operations and with a tightening of control over supply lines both to Bretonian positions and across the Leeds blockade.
Background
Born as plain Stanley Nelson on May 11th, 783 A.S., he is the son of Richard and Helen Nelson, middle-class Leeds industrialists. In 788 A.S., when Stanley was 5 years old, his parents were killed during an attack on one of their transport ships near LD-14 by gaian terrorists. From this day until the age of 18, Stanley was raised by his grandfather Archibald Nelson. His childhood was somewhat difficult owing to the loss of his family's wealth upon the death of his parents, though Stanley worked hard and excelled at school, remaining in education on Leeds until the age of 18. Witnessing first hand the outbreak of the Nomad War above Leeds in 800 A.S. when he was 17, Nelson was struck by the bravery and dedication to duty of the Bretonian Armed Forces in repelling invading Rheinland Military warships.
After finishing school at the age of 18 during the closing stages of the Nomad War, Nelson secured a place at Cambridge University to study Military History. He enjoyed his studies there greatly, but in 803 tragedy struck with the death of his grandfather back on Leeds, most likely from a long-term respiratory infection as a result of a lifetime spent on the planet. With no remaining family and precious few friends back on Leeds and with his opinions of the Armed Forces further enhanced by his studies of their past operations Nelson decided to enlist himself and the following year he applied and was accepted as a cadet for the graduate officer training programe at Dartmouth Naval Academy.
Early Military Career
With his enthusiasm for tactical and strategic studies, his sharp intellect and ability to assume responsibility and tackle difficult challanges with ease and a calm, relaxed nature, Nelson excelled at his officer training, coming top of his class upon his graduation in 807 A.S. As was customary for the top performing officer-cadets Nelson was granted a commission aboard a Battleship, serving as second navigation officer on the HMS Glorious, being promoted to first navigation officer in 809 A.S. before transferring to a fighter wing the following year.
During the continuing period of peace which lasted until the Tau War buildup began in 813 A.S. Nelson served with the BAF in a fighter wing in the Cambridge Planetary Fleet, distinguishing himself more for his calm and polite manner and ability to diffuse tense situations through discussion and negotiation than for his skill in a fighter, though he served dutifully and achieved several notable combat victories through use of superior tactics and intelligence including the destruction of a corsair cruiser threatening Planet Cambridge in only his fighter by luring the vessel into the planetary atmosphere.
When the Tau War finally broke out, Nelson was assigned to non-front line duty and served from 812-184 A.S. as adjutant to Commodore Richard Windsor of the 2nd CPF Battlefleet, becoming Admiral Windsor of the Cambridge Planetary Fleet in 813. He proved just as capable in an administrative role as he had done commanding in the field, but when Windsor left the Admiralty Board in 814 to found the QCO Nelson's position was undermined. The suspicion of Windsor and all associated with him in the eyes of the Admiralty Board prohibited Nelson from taking up another adjutant's position under the Board's supervision, whilst Nelson's personal background made him unsuitable for the QCO under Windsor's command.
For the next 14 months Nelson served as a desk officer with the Defence Intelligence Staff; an unglamourous job but one at which he excelled nonetheless, instituting significant administrative reforms of the information relaying system for the Cambridge Planetary Fleet which proved invaluable in saving lives during the Phantom MOX bombing of the Planet that year and were later copied and repeated across the BAF. It was only with the formation of the Queen Carina's Regulars in late 815 A.S. once the Board has reasserted its control over the QCO that Nelson was finally eligible to join Queen Carina's Royal Fleet and he did so, being accepted into the QCR as one of its founding members.
With the QCRF Nelson returned to space once more as a flying officer, serving across Bretonia and well into Tau, fighting on the front lines against Kusari for the first time. In the summer of 816 A.S. he personally commanded a BAF strike force deep into the Kyushu system and which reached briefly into New Tokyo itself. By late August of 816, however, the QCRF was embroiled in a political crisis surrounding the rebellion of George Mountbatten and with the death and capture of his respective superiors, Captains Isaac Brock and Sam Windsor and the resignation of several other key officers Nelson was forced to assume responsibility as second in command of the QCR service branch under his old wing-commander Mark McKenna. It was in this role that Nelson was tasked with personally accepting the surrender of Mountbatten and the King George's Loyalists above Leeds on 3rd October, an act which earned him considerable prestige and did much to redeem him in the eyes of the Admiralty Board.
As the political crisis of 816 drew to a close with the exile of the Populist Party in mid-October, however, Nelson and McKenna were to ultimately be forced to oversee the dissolution of the QCRF itself, as political neccessity forced the hand of the Monarch. The Admiralty Board disbanded the Royal Fleet, the privateers were disowned, the QCO and QCR absorbed into the main fleets; McKenna was made Commodore of the 1st NGF Battlefleet and Nelson received the rank of Commander in the Suffolk Fleet as Executive Officer aboard the destroyer HMS Steadfast, soon promoted to Captain and given command of the ship.
Capture and Rescue
Nelson continued to serve as Captain of the Steadfast and its associated squadron throughout late 816, participating in many key engagements against both the Kusari and Corsairs. However, it was on patrol near Southampton Shipyard in his Challanger on 12th December 816 A.S. that was to prove his darkest hour. A KNF Destroyer, the Ai Keiko, had bypassed the Tau and Leeds defences and was launching a raid against New London. Desperate to prevent an attack on the capital, Nelson rushed forwards to engage in an attempt to delay the attacker whilst more reinforcements arrived. Unfortunately no help came in time, his ship was destroyed and his escape pod was tractored in before he could make good his escape. As the Destroyer fled back towards New Tokyo, a month-long incarceration as a Kusari prisoner of war beckoned.
Quickly transferred to a secure wing of Fuchu Prison, prospects for Nelson looked grim, though he approached his imprisonment with the same calm outer demeanor that had served him so well in the BAF. Within a few short weeks a plot had been hatched by MI6 to rescue him, Nelson later revealed that he used his intelligence to communicate with agents via hidden messages inside the fish from the Junyo Fishing Platforms he was forced to work, though many details of his escape still remain classified. Not only did he survive the harsh interrogation techniques of a particularly ruthless KNF Commander, but towards the end of his imprisonment he learned of the presence of ex-QCO Captain Sam Windsor on the base, having long since beleived her to be dead. On January 4th, 817 with a fragile holiday truce between BAF and KNF beginning to collapse across Tau, Nelson and Windsor made good their escape from Fuchu with the assistance of an MI6 agent known only by the codename "White Rose", who is beleived to have been killed during the rescue, along with a number of KNF officers including the base commander following a large explosion which depressurised the main hangar bay. Thanks to a large-scale BAF diversionary attack on Kyushu, Nelson was able to return safely to Leeds in time to confront and defeat a major corsair assault on the planet. He has since personally issued commemorative medals to all BAF officers who participated in the twin actions of Kyushu-Leeds on that day.
Upon his return, Nelson became a national hero overnight, his standing with the Admiralty Board was significantly enhanced and he was quickly made Commodore of the 1st SGF Battlefleet. Richard Windsor, now returned to the War Cabinet as Rear Admiral for Auxilliary Operations, was so grateful for the rescue of his neice that he lobbied the Queen, with whom he still had considerable influence, to have Nelson knighted, which he duly was later that month.
Flag Officer
Now Commodore Sir Stanley Nelson, a Flag Officer and given command of the prestigious HMS Suffolk, Nelson's career had seen remarkable success for an officer of only 35, especially given his fall from grace only 2 years previously, yet more was soon to come. In late January of 817 A.S. he was to receive the additional honour of being appointed BAF Diplomatic Officer by the Admiralty, recognising that his fine negotiation skills and upright manner could be put to good use representing the Armed Forces abroad. Nelson relished the task granted to him and immediately was thrust into the international spotlight as he began a series of bipartisan talks with Liberty Navy Vice Admiral Hale that would eventually lead to the Treaty of Curacao the following month. Being personally responsible for the drafting of the Treaty and the negotiation of terms on behalf of Bretonia, Nelson was granted the honour of being invited to the Signing Ceremony as an signatory for Bretonia alongside Queen Carina and Fleet Admiral Nelles.
If his daring escape from Fuchu accorded him national acclaim and was responsible for his early promotion to Commodore, Curacao brought him international repute and led him, for many across Liberty and elsewhere, to become the most recognisable face of the Bretonian Armed Forces, with his characteristic politeness and eloquent speech. It was this also which ultimately led to the remarkable announcement in May of 817 that Nelson was to be elevated to command of the Suffolk Great Fleet and granted a seat on the Admiralty Board.
Nelson had for several months been effectively managing the administration of the Suffolk Fleet, owing to the ill health of the ageing Lord Admiral Jellicoe and when Jellicoe finally announced his retirement in May, Fleet Admiral Nelles realised that he had little option but to appoint Nelson as his replacement given that appointing a fully commanding Admiral to the Suffolk for Nelson to serve under would effectively be a demotion for a man whose talents for administration and leadership were clearly second to none. Despite it being a breach of convention to appoint one of the most junior Commodores for an Admiralty position so early in life, Nelles clearly recognised Nelson's ability which he felt the war effort sorely needed.
As Admiral of the Suffolk Fleet Nelson made great efforts to reform security after a number of high profile breaches and successfully commanded the Fleet in defence of Southampton and New London on several occasions where Kusari, molly or corsair forces threatened the system. He was also tasked with the regrettable job of having to organise the transfer of many of his best squadrons away from the Suffolk to reinforce struggling positions in the York, Derby and Leeds Planetary Fleets.
As well as commanding the Suffolk, his new responsibilities on the Admiralty Board gave him further outlet for his command talents and he served on several notable occasions as Staff Admiral Commanding, both from the deck of the HMS-Pendragon and from his own personal craft, including holding strategic command during the Battle of Upper Tau, directing Commander James Hobart who led the tactical forces in space during the epic victory which saved the Bretonian positions in Tau 23 from collapse.
Finally, in July of 817 A.S., Nelson was appointed Fleet Admiral by the Queen, on the advice of George Mountbatten, now Prime Minister. Whilst the appointment raised a few eyebrows amongst Parliamentarians and members of the Bretonian aristocracy, Admiralty insiders who knew him well recognised the choice on the part of the Prime Minister as a move towards more a dynamic command of the Armed Forces, much in keeping with the leadership style of Mountbatten himself, with whom Nelson had much in common despite their different upbringings.
Nelson's career in the Armed Forces has truly been a story of remarkable success, though he himself confesses that he could not have hoped to achieve such career triumphs were it not for the patronage and support of key figures such as Richard Windsor, Percy Nelles and George Mountbatten; individuals who recognised his innate abilities early on and took risks to advance his career in the face of a bureaucratic Admiralty, and whose personal stories are in many ways deeply connected to his own.
