Arthur Bedford, HMS Kent, and the Tolstoy rescue

Captain Arthur Bedford commanded Forward during her 1919 deployment, when the cruiser rescued members of the Tolstoy family from possible Bolshevik capture. He had entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman, trained in signals, and served on the Australia Station before the First World War. As second-in-command of HMS Kent, he took part in the December 1914 Battle of the Falkland Islands, where Kent sank SMS Nürnberg. He later joined the staff of Dover Patrol. His appointment to Forward followed experience in cruiser combat and operational staff work.