It has proven impossible to find out who he was. He is not in RIC register, and all references are just to Lt Commander Fry with no initial. Charles Messenger gives him as Robert, but is not sure how he got that. I have researched Robrt Fry RNVR, but do not think it is him. His employment record shows that he was at sea during 1921
1882 Apr 13 Born Taunton
1891 Census at 18 Fore St, Taunton
1906 Aug 13 Gains Mates Cert.
1911 Jul 1. RNR Prob Sub-Lt Robert Fry has been confirmed in that rank
1911 Oct 21. RNR Sub-Lt R Fry to HMS Vernon & HMS Excellent on T&G course
1912 Jul 26. RNR. Acting Lt R Fry to HMS Bristol to complete 12 months training
1913 Jul 1. Seniority as Lt. RNR,
1914 Nov 23. Appointed to Merchant Fleet Auxiliary Otway still there Nov. 1916. Otway was an armed merchant cruiser commissioned 11/11/14, torpedoed & sunk 23/7/17.
1917 Aug 21. Appointed to command Torpedo Boat 115 still there Dec. 1918.
1917 Oct 2. Cautioned over grounding of MTB 115
1919 Jan 1. Lt Robert Fry to be Acting Lt Commander
1919 Oct 24. Demobilised
1921 Jan 10 "Lt-Commander Fry" employed as a "temporary clerk" in office of Chief of Police in Dublin Castle.
1921 Feb 9. Drumcondra Murders
1921 Apr 12. Trial of King, Hinchcliffe and Welsh for murder. "Lt Commander Fry" a witness
After demobilisation by Robert Fry RNR he appears to continue as a Merchant Navy officer
And in particular, there is no sign on Navy Record of him being in Ireland. He is Chief Officer on SS Maine trading between London and New York
From 1917 standardized designs for transports were introduced to help offset the crippling losses from German submarine warfare, and orders were placed in huge numbers at yards both sides of the Atlantic. A total of 821 were ordered from British yards alone. At the end of the war orders not commenced were cancelled, but vast numbers of ships under construction or in service became available to civilian owners. The Atlantic Transport Line two British-built steamers in this way (the other being the Mesaba II).
Built as the War Riddle, a wartime standard N type, this was the first ship built in Harland & Wolff's new yard in Belfast's Musgave Channel. Her completion was delayed by a strike and she was not delivered until March 1920. She had been purchased from the Shipping Controller in London before completion and was immediately renamed. She never sailed as the War Riddle. This was a box shaped ship designed for easy construction and she had a minimum of rolled plates. A notable feature of her appearance was her squared off shape and "V" shaped stern described by Frank C. Bowen in 1938 as "a very ugly triangle." Her cargo apparatus was excellent, and she had facilities for carrying cattle. The Maine (IV) managed to loose her rudder during her maiden voyage (to Hampton Roads) and was towed back to Belfast for repairs by the Carrigan Head, which was awarded £10,000 for the salvage.
The Maine (IV) sailed regularly from either London or Antwerp to New York until she was laid up at Southend in 1927. She was briefly recommissioned and went back into service until May 1931 when she returned to Southend. She was sold to Arthur Stott & Co. of Newcastle for £8,000 who shortly sold her for £12,000 to Russian owners who renamed her Skala. Her subsequent career is very obscure. Haws notes that she was broken up in 1955, and she was finally deleted from Lloyd's Register in 1978.
1921 Jul 1. RNR. Lieuts. (act. Lieut.-Cdrs.) to be Lieut Cdrs. Robert Fry.
1921 Oct 15 to 1921 Dec 12. He did a short course in signals & a combined gunnery/torpedo short course.
1922 Jan 31. RD awarded. The RD was established in 1908, as a long service award for RNR officers. Original requirement was 15 years service, discounting service as a midshipman.
1922 Sept 27. RNR. Lt-Cdr R Fry, R.D to "Warspite"for training
1924 I do not know what "Q O " is
1927 Apr 13. R.N.R. Lt.-Cdr. R. Fry, R.D., placed on Retd. List with rank of Cdr.
1939 Register He is with wife Charlotte at 4 Bellevue Road , Ealing, Middlesex, He is a Parks Inspector and Cash Collector
1948 Oct 28. In a letter to Admiralty he states he is "not employed". He is living at 4 Bellevue Rd, West Ealing
1967 Jan 2. Communication with Admiralty shows him living at Orchard Cottage, Flackwell Heath. High Wycombe. A "cease reporting letter sent" (He is 85)