Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pound 1877 21 October 1943) Royal Navy officer. He served as First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy, for the first four years of the Second World War. In that role his greatest achievement was his successful campaign against German U-boat activity and the winning of the Battle of the Atlantic. in July 1942. He died from a brain tumour shortly after resigning from office, having also suffered two strokes.