Percy McMullen (1875-1961)

He was born at Hertford and was educated at Rugby School (where he was a Science Exhibitioner) and Merton College, Oxford, where he took a First in Chemistry. After graduating,  he took a post as an assistant master at Bradfield College and in 1899 joined the teaching staff of the Royal Naval College, Osborne, transferring the year following to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth where in 1906 he was appointed Head of the Science Department. During the First World War he served as a temporary Lieutenant with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve aboard HMS Agincourt and saw action at the Battle of Jutland where his conduct earned him a mention in despatches. From 1917 to 1936 he was an adviser to the Royal Navy and others on matters of education. He returned to Dartmouth as a master on the outbreak of the Second World War and continued to teach there until 1941. In 1902, he married the theatrical Catherine Maude Ashwell (d.1959), who was apparently American and related to Percy's famous brother-in-law, Andrew Mellon. Percy remained close to the Mellon family and it was his suggestion that Paul Mellon entered Clare College, Cambridge. They had two children.