Lieutenant Commander Keith Robin Hoare, DSO & Bar, DSC, AM (26 September 1890 – 6 February 1959) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Albert Medal, a high level decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth awarded for gallantry in saving life.
Hoare was awarded the Albert Medal in 1918 for his actions in removing depth charges from HM Motor Launch 356 after its engine room exploded, despite the flames, thus preventing a further explosion.
[6] He then emigrated to New Zealand where he stayed for several years before working his passage home via Valparaíso where he collected some polo ponies for delivery to the United Kingdom.
[9] On 12 April 1918, the engine room of HM Motor Launch 356 exploded at Dunkirk quay, after a collision with another vessel, and the forward petrol tanks burst into flames.
As others proceeded to flee the scene,[11] Hoare, along with Lieutenant Arthur Bagot, realised the fire was threatening the aft petrol tanks and the depth charges located on board the launch.
The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Albert Medal for Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea to Lieutenant-Commander Keith Robin Hoare, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N.V.R., and Lieutenant Arthur Gerald Bagot, D.S.C., R.N.V.R.
It was then realised by the crews of adjacent vessels that the aft petrol tanks and the depth charge were being attacked by the fire, and might explode at any moment.
At the moment when others were running away, Lieutenant Hoare and Sub-Lieutenant Bagot jumped into their dinghy, rowed to the wreck, got on board, and removed the depth charge, thereby preventing an explosion which might have caused serious loss of life amongst the crowd of English and French sailors on the quay.
[18] At the start of the Second World War, Hoare returned the Royal Navy,[19] seeing action on armed trawlers with Dover Command from May 1940 and then joining Combined Operations to undertake landing craft duties in preparation for the Normandy landings from August 1943[20] before serving as commanding officer, HM Naval Base Haifa from January 1945.