Admiral Sir William Fane De Salis, KBE, MVO, JP (21 July 1858 – 23 January 1939),[1][2] was a Royal Navy admiral during the early years of the First World War.

de Salis entered the Royal Navy, HMS Britannia, in 1871;[3][4] and served in the Niger (1886) and the Ogaden Somali expeditions (1901).

After promotion to captain on 30 June 1901,[5] he was on 5 September 1902 appointed in command of the ironclad HMS Orion, depot-ship for at Malta for torpedo-boats in the Mediterranean Fleet.

[6] He was naval ADC to Kings Edward VII and George V, 1909-1910, was promoted to rear-admiral in 1911, and retired from the navy in 1913.

He served as a captain in the Royal Naval Reserve's Yacht Patrol, 6 March 1915 – 1916;[7] Vice-Admiral, Head of Mission to Portugal, 9 June 1916.