title: James Ashton (Royal Navy officer)
text: # James Ashton (Royal Navy officer)
  
  Rear Admiral James Ashton DSO (1883–1951) was a senior Royal Navy officer.
  
  ## Naval career
  
  Born in 1883, Ashton was educated at Bedford School and at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Devonport. He served in the Royal Navy during the First World War and was invested as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1917. He was appointed as Aide-de-camp to King Edward VIII in 1936, and served at the Admiralty during the Second World War.
  
  Rear Admiral James Ashton died on 30 December 1951, aged 68.
  
  