The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary and River Medway.[1] In due course the Commander-in-Chief became responsible for sub-commands at Chatham, London (less the Admiralty), Sheerness, Harwich and the Humber.[1]
The origins of the Commander-in-Chief's post can be traced to Stafford Fairborne,[2] who in 1695 was appointed as captain of HMSLondon and "Commander in Chief of his Majesty's shipps in the River of Thames and the Medway".[3]
Thereafter, and for most of the eighteenth century, appointments were only made irregularly, and often just for limited periods of time (ranging between seven and thirty days).[4] The appointment only became permanent with the posting of Commodore George Mackenzie in 1774.[5]
In the early 18th century the post holder was usually known as Commander-in-Chief in the Thames and Medway. In 1711 the office began to be known as Commander-in-Chief in the Thames, Medway and Nore. In 1742 Sir Charles Hardy was appointed "Commander in chief of all the ships of war in the rivers Thames and Medway, and at the buoy of the Nore",[6] and similarly in 1745 Sir Chaloner Ogle, Admiral of the Blue, was appointed "Commander-in-Chief of HM Ships and Naval Vessels in the Rivers Thames and Medway and at the Buoy of the Nore"[7] (as indeed was Isaac Townsend in 1752).[8]
HMSTrafalgar lying off the Royal Dockyard at Sheerness (by Robert Strickland Thomas, 1845). The large house on the right with the smoking chimney is Admiralty House, Sheerness.
From 1827 the Commander-in-Chief was accommodated in Admiralty House, Sheerness, built as part of the renewal of Sheerness Dockyard. From 1834 to 1899 his appointment was sometimes known as the Commander-in-Chief at Sheerness; but otherwise by this time he was generally termed Commander-in-Chief at The Nore.[9]
After the dissolution of the Home Fleet in 1905, remaining ships at a lesser state of readiness were split between three reserve divisions: Nore Division plus the Devonport Division and the Portsmouth Division.[10] In 1909 the division was brought out of reserve status, and became operational as part of the 3rd and 4th Division of the Home Fleet.[11]
In 1907 the Commander-in-Chief moved to a new Admiralty House alongside the naval barracks (HMS Pembroke) in Chatham,[12] the Sheerness house being given over to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet.[13] The Dover Patrol, Harwich Force, and Humber Force operated in the Channel during the First World War, but were responsible to the Admiralty in London; the Nore was effectively a provider of shore support rather than a command with operational responsibilities.[14]
In 1938 an underground Area Combined Headquarters was built close to Admiralty House to accommodate the Commander-in-Chief together with the Air Officer CommandingNo. 16 Group RAF, Coastal Command, and their respective staffs;[15] similar headquarters were built close to the other Royal Dockyards. During the Second World War, the Nore assumed great importance: it was used to guard the east coast convoys supplying the ports of North Eastern England.[1]
During the Second World War, the Commander-in-Chief at the Nore, at Chatham, included eight sub commands, each of which usually commanded by a Flag Officer either a Rear Admiral or Vice Admiral. They included Brightlingsea station, Harwich, Humber, London (not including the Admiralty), Lowestoft, Sheerness, Southend and Yarmouth.[16] These sub-commands were then sub-divided into Base areas usually commanded by a Naval Officer in Charge (NOIC) or a Residential Naval Officer (RNO) these included HM Naval Bases at Boston, Burnham-on-Crouch, Felixstowe, Gravesend, Grimsby, Immingham, and Queensborough.[17]
With the onset of the Cold War, the Nore diminished in importance as the navy decreased in size. Between 1952 and 1961 the Commander-in-Chief, The Nore was double-hatted as Commander, Nore Sub-Area, of NATO's Allied Command Channel.[18]
Cecil Hampshire writes that the appointment of Commander-in-Chief finally lapsed as part of the "Way Ahead" economies. The closing ceremony took place on 24 March 1961, when the station's Queen's Colour was formally laid up in the presence of members of the Admiralty Board, several former Commanders-in-Chief, other civilian and military figures, "..and the Commander-in-Chief of the Netherlands Home Station flying his flag in the new Dutch destroyer Limburg who had been invited to attend."[19] The Commander-in-Chief's appointment was finally discontinued on 31 March 1961.[20] Cecil Hampshire writes that from 1 April 1961, the area was divided between the Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth and the Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland, the demarcation line being "roughly at The Wash." For purposes of administration from that date onward, the Admiral Superintendent Chatham also took the title of Flag Officer Medway.[21]
The underground headquarters went on to serve as HMSWildfire, a Royal Naval Reserve training and communications centre, from 1964 to 1994.[1]
Installations
Chatham
The Admiral's Offices, Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham. At its most extensive, in the early 20th century, two-thirds of the dockyard lay in Gillingham, one-third in Chatham. The senior officer was a Captain-Superintendent, Chatham Dockyard or the Admiral-superintendent Chatham
In the early 20th century the Rear Admiral Commanding, Chatham Sheerness Reserve Division, was established and became responsible eventually to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet(s). Post holders included Rear Admirals Walter Hodgson Bevan Graham, 3 January 1905 – 3 January 1906; Charles H. Adair 3 January 1906 – 3 January 1907; and Frank Finnis 3 January 1907 – 4 January 1909.[22]
The Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham were purpose-built to provide accommodation and training facilities for the men of the reserve fleet who were waiting to be appointed to ships. Designed by Colonel Henry Pilkington, construction of the barracks began in 1897 and completed in December 1902.[23]
Sheerness Dockyard
Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960.
At various times during the First and Second World Wars, up to nine sub-areas were established. These were usually administered by either a retired vice or rear admiral, or an active captain, who were appointed as Senior Naval Officers or Flag Officers.[16]
↑ "Preferments". The Scots Magazine. IV: 47. January 1742.
↑ Fearne, Charles (1746). Minutes of the Proceedings of a Court-Martial, assembled on the 23rd of September, 1745. London: Published with His Majesty's Royal Privilege and Licence.
↑ Laughton, John Knox (1890). "Hardy Thomas (1666–1732)". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900. Smith, Elder & Co, 1885–1900. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham.
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Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960.
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