East Indies Station

For the military post, see Commander-in-Chief, India.

East Indies Station
HMS Swiftsure at gunnery practice on the East Indies Station in the summer of 1913
Active	1744–1958
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet
Part of	Admiralty
Garrison/HQ	Royal Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee, Trincomalee

The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. ^[1]

Even in official documents, the term East Indies Station was often used. In 1941, the ships of the China Squadron and East Indies Squadron were merged to form the Eastern Fleet under the control of the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet. ^[2] The China Station then ceased as a separate command. The East Indies Station was disbanded in 1958.

It encompassed Royal Navy Dockyards and bases in East Africa, Middle East, India and Ceylon, and other ships not attached to other fleets. For many years under rear admirals, from the 1930s the Commander-in-Chief was often an Admiral or a Vice-Admiral.

History

Navy House, Trincomalee, residence of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station, from 1811 to 1942

The East Indies Station was established as a Royal Navy command in 1744. From 1831 to 1865, the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station. ^[3] The East Indies Station, established in 1865, was responsible for British naval operations in the Indian Ocean (excluding the waters around the Dutch East Indies, South Africa and Australia) and included the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. ^[4] From 1913, the station was renamed the Egypt and East Indies Station until 1918. ^{[5] [6]}

Anti-slavery activities in East Africa

During the 1850s and 1860s, the Royal Navy fought to suppress the slave trade operating out of Zanzibar up to the North Coast of the Arabian Sea. ^[7] An East African Squadron, which was part of the East Indies Station, was active in suppressing slavery in 1869. ^[8] The mission of Sir Bartle Frere in 1869 "produced... a recommendation that a guardship be permanently stationed off the Zanzibar coast." ^[9] Britain's real intentions in East Africa was to stop other European naval powers from establishing any similar bases in the region, and the station's purpose was to protect British trade interests passing through the Western Indian Ocean. ^[10] Rawley writes that Captain George Sulivan and his successor directed the activities of the old ship-of-the-line HMS London (1840), reequipped as both prison and hospital, with some success. London served as a base for cruisers operating against the slaving dhows, for four years. ^[11]

By 1873, London was a hulk, serving as a depot ship in Zanzibar Bay, off the east coast of Africa. In March 1878, she was recommissioned and involved in the suppression of the slave trade in the area, serving as a central depot for many smaller steam screw boats; she functioned as a repair depot, a hospital and a storage ship. At this time, there were Africans from West Africa (Kroomen or Krumen) and East Africa (Seedies or Sidis) serving on board. There were also Zanzibari and Arab interpreters and cooks from Portuguese Goa (India). London was sold and broken up in 1884. ^[12]

The East Indies Station had bases at Colombo, Trincomalee, Bombay, Basra and Aden. ^[13]

Second World War

In early May 1941, the Commander-in-Chief directed forces to support the pursuit of Pinguin, the German raider that eventually sank after the action of 8 May 1941 against HMS Cornwall. ^[14]

On 7 December 1941, cruisers on the station included the heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall, Dorsetshire, and Exeter; the light cruisers Glasgow, Danae, Dauntless, Durban, Emerald and Enterprise (some sources also place the heavy cruiser Hawkins as being on station on that date, while others report her being under refit and repair in the UK between early November 1941 & May 1942), and six armed merchant cruisers. Also assigned to the station was 814 Naval Air Squadron at China Bay, Ceylon, which unit was at that time equipped with Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers. ^{[15] [16]}

In response to increased Japanese threats, the separate East Indies Station was merged with the China Station in December 1941, to form the Eastern Fleet. ^[17] Later the Eastern Fleet became the East Indies Fleet. In 1952, after the Second World War ended, the East Indies Fleet became the Far East Fleet. ^[18]

Meanwhile, a separate Commander-in-Chief for the East Indies was reappointed. During the 1950s, the task for Royal Navy vessels in the East Indies "..was to deliver fighting power in support of British foreign policy, be that in major warfighting (Korea) or low intensity operations such as counterinsurgency (Malaya), and to offer a British military presence in support of national policy." ^[19] But disagreement over Suez meant that the Ceylonese Government did not wish to let British naval forces use their bases in an emergency, and this policy was reaffirmed by the new government installed after the 1956 Ceylonese parliamentary election. ^[20] The Navy Yard, and Admiralty House were handed over on 15 October 1957, the flag was lowered over the shore establishment HMS Highflyer, and the next day, 16 October 1957, the last flagship, HMS Ceylon, left Trincomalee. The station was temporarily relocated to Bahrain. The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf was to become an independent commander with the title Commodore, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf. "At nine o'clock on the morning of 7 September 1958, 'the flag of the one-hundredth Commander in Chief of the East Indies Station, Vice Admiral Sir Hilary Biggs, was hauled down over HMS Jufair,'" the Royal Navy base in Bahrain. ^[21]

Subordinate Commands

Flag Officer, East Africa

Originally established by the Royal Navy as East Coast of Africa Station (1862–1919) was administered by the Flag Officer, East Africa. This officer was subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station, then later came under the Eastern Fleet from 1862, from April 1942 to September 1943, and then the command's name changed back to the East Indies station.

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer, East Africa
1	Rear-Admiral		Charles G. Stuart	September, 1943 – 11 January 1944.	[22]
4	Rear-Admiral		Richard Shelly Benyon	11 January 1944 - November 1944	[23]
5	Commodore		Sir Philip Bowyer	November 1944 - 1945

Royal Indian Navy

The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India from 1 May 1830 to 26 January 1950. It came under the East Indies Station at the outbreak of the Second World War on 3 September 1939. ^[24] In December 1941 it came under the command of the new Eastern Fleet.

Vice-Admiral Sir Herbert Fitzherbert was the Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy, from September 1939 to December 1941. ^[25]

Red Sea

The Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea, was responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, and during the Second World War for a period flew his flag afloat in HMS Egret.

At the beginning of the war, Rear Admiral A.J.L. Murray was Senior Officer, Red Sea Force. ^[26]

On 21 October 1941, the title was changed to Flag Officer, Red Sea, and that officer was resubordinated to the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, until 17 May 1942. ^[27] On 18 May 1942 the title was changed again to Flag Officer, Commanding Red Sea and Canal Area, and transferred again to the Eastern Fleet.

Persian Gulf

The Royal Navy's presence in the Persian Gulf was originally located at Basidu, Qishm Island, in Persia (c. 1850–1935), then later Juffair, Bahrain. It was commanded by the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf. It included a naval base, depot and naval forces known as the Persian Gulf Patrol, then the Persian Gulf Squadron later called the Persian Gulf Division. It was a sub-command of the East Indies Station until 1958 when it was merged with the Red Sea Station under the new appointment of Commodore, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf. ^[28]

Naval officers, ports and bases

#	Location	In command	Dates	Notes
1	Aden	Naval Officer-in-Charge, Aden	1839 to 1917 1921 to 1943 1945	naval base/shore establishment
2	Addu Atoll	Naval Officer in Charge, Addu Atoll	1942 to 1945	fleet base [29]
3	Calcutta	Naval Officer in Charge, Calcutta	1939 to 1945	during WW2 only normally under FOCOMM, Royal Indian Navy
4	Colombo	General Staff Officer, Colombo	1938 to 1939
5	Diego Suarez	Naval Officer in Charge, Diego Suarez	1935 to 1945	fleet base [30]
6	Kilidini, Mombasa	Senior British Naval Officer, Kilindini	1935 to 1945	shore establishment
7	Port Louis	Naval Officer-in-Charge, Port Louis	18	shore establishment
8	Port Sudan	Naval Officer-in-Charge, Port Sudan	1935 to 1945
9	Seychelles	Naval Officer-in-Charge, Seychelles	1915 to 1945	fleet base [30]
10	Tanganyika	Naval Officer-in-Charge, Tanganyika	1915 to 1945
11	Trincomalee	Captain-in-Charge, Ceylon	1915 to 1945
12	Zanzibar	Naval Officer-in-Charge, Zanzibar	1915 to 1945

Subordinate naval formations

Naval Units	Based at	Date	Notes
4th Cruiser Squadron	Colombo/Trincomalee, Ceylon	August to December, 1916
4th Light Cruiser Squadron	Colombo/Trincomalee, Ceylon	November 1918 to April 1919
Arabian Bengal Ceylon Escort Force (ABCEF )	Aden, Colony of Aden	1941 to 1942	Under the Eastern Fleet command from April 1942 to November 1943. [31]
East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron	Port Said, Egypt	1916 to 1918	Royal Navy's first carrier squadron
Red Sea Division	Port Tawfik, Egypt	August 1914 to November 1918
Red Sea Force	Port Tawfik, Egypt	April 1940 to 1944	Naval base HQ Red Sea Force [31]
Persian Gulf Division	Basidu, Persia,(1818-1935), Ras Al-Jufair, Bahrain	1885 to 1958
Persian Gulf Squadron	Basidu, Persia/ Ras Al-Jufair, Bahrain	1818 to- 1885

Shore establishments

#	Unit name	Location	Dates	Notes
1	Admiralty House	Trincomalee, Ceylon	1813 to 1958	Official residence of the Commander-in-Chief
2	HM Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee	Trincomalee, Ceylon	1813 to 1939, 1945-1958	Headquarters East Indies Station - HMS Highflyer
3	HMS Gloucester II	HM Naval Office, Colombo, Ceylon	1939-1945	Headquarters East Indies Station [32] Also linked to Navy House, Colombo, Official residence of the Commander-in-Chief in Colombo.
4	HM Naval Dockyard, Madras	Madras, India	1796 to 1813	Headquarters, East Indies Station [33]
5	HMS Anderson	Colombo, Ceylon	1939 to 1949	Electronic listening station of the Far East Combined Bureau built on Anderson Golf Club; reverted to previous use after war.
6	HM Naval Base, Basra	Basra	1939 to 1949	Naval base
7	HM Naval Dockyard, Bombay	Bombay, India	1811 to 1958	naval base during WW2 known as HMS Braganza
8	HM Naval Base, Calcutta	Calcutta, India	1811 to 1958	Naval base during WW2 known as HMS Braganza
9	HMS Lanka	Colombo, Ceylon	1939 - 1958	Naval base and shore station
10	HMS Mauritius	Tombeau Bay, Mauritius	1810 to 1958	Telegraphic then Wireless Station [34]
11	HM Naval Base, Port Jackson [35]	Port Jackson, New South Wales	1785 to 1865	Naval base transferred to China Station
12	Port Louis	Port Louis, Mauritius	1810 to 1968	Naval base
13	HM Naval Base, Port Tawfik	Port Tawfik, Red Sea, Egypt	August 1914 to 1944	Naval base HQ Red Sea, Patrol/Division/Force
14	HMS Sheba	Steamer Point (now Tawahi) in Aden	Example	Naval and shore base till 1958
15	RNAS China Bay	Trincomalee, Ceylon	1938 to 1945	Air Station HMS Bambara
16	RNAS Colombo Racecourse	Prince of Wales Island, George Town, Penang	1943 to 1945	Naval air station - HMS Bherunda
17	RNAS Katukurunda	Katukurunda, Ceylon	1938 to 1945	Naval air station - HMS Ukussa
18	RNAS Mackinnon Road	Mackinnon Road, Kenya, East Africa	1942 to 1944	Naval air station - HMS Tana then HMS Kipanga II [36]
19	RNAS Puttalam	Puttalam Ceylon	1942 to 1944	Naval air station - HMS Rajaliya [37]
20	RNAS Port Reitz	Port Reitz, Mombasa, Kenya	1942 to 1944	Naval air station, Aircraft Repair Yard, Reserve aircraft storage - HMS Tana then HMS Kipanga II HQ of Commdre-in-Charge, NAS, (Eastern Stations.).
21	RNAS Tanga	Tanga, Tanzania	1942 to 1944	Naval air station - HMS Kilele [38]

Commanders

N = died in post

Commander-in-Chief, East Indies

Prior to 1862, flag officers were appointed to coloured squadrons. Command flags are shown below. See: Royal Navy ranks, rates, and uniforms of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Post holders included: ^{[39] [40]}

Rank	Ensign	Name	Term	Ref
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
Commodore		Curtis Barnett N	1744–1746	[41]
Commodore		Thomas Griffin	1746–1748	[42] [a]
Rear-Admiral		Edward Boscawen	1748–1750	[43] [44]
Commodore		William Lisle	1750–1752	[45]
Commodore		Joseph Knight	1752–1754	[46]
Rear-Admiral		Charles Watson N	1754–1757	[47] [48] [b]
Vice-Admiral		George Pocock	1757–1759	[49] [c]
Commodore		Charles Steevens N	1760–1761	[50] [d]
Rear-Admiral		Samuel Cornish	1761–1763	[51] [52] [e]
Commodore		John Tinker	1763–1765	[53]
Captain		John Byron	1765–1766	[54] [53] [f]
Captain		Philip Affleck	1766–1767	[53]
Commodore		John (later Sir John) Lindsay	1769–1772	[55]
Rear-Admiral		Sir Robert Harland, 1st Baronet	1771–1775	[56] [57]
Commodore		Edward Hughes	1773–1777	[58]
Commodore		Sir Edward Vernon	1776–1780	[59] [g]
Rear-Admiral		Sir Edward Hughes	1780–1784	[58] [h]
Vice-Admiral		Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet N	1782	[60] [61] [i]
Commodore		Andrew Mitchell	1784–1785	[62]
Commodore		Charles Hughes	1785–1787	[63]
Commodore		William Cornwallis	1788–1794	[64]
Commodore		Peter Rainier	1794–1805	[65]
Vice-Admiral		Sir George Keith Elphinstone	1795	[66] [67] [j]
Rear-Admiral		Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Baronet	1804–1809	[68] [69] [k]
Rear-Admiral		Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet N	1805–1807	[70] [71] [l]
Rear-Admiral		William O'Bryen Drury N	1809–1811	[72]
Vice-Admiral		Sir Samuel Hood, 1st Baronet N	1811–1814	[73] [m]
Commodore		George Sayer	1814	[74]
Rear-Admiral		Sir George Burlton N	1815
Rear-Admiral		Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet	1816–1820	[75] [n]
Rear-Admiral		Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet	1820–1822	[76] [o]
Commodore		Charles Grant N	1822–1824
Commodore		Sir James Brisbane N	1825–1826	[77]
Rear-Admiral		Joseph Bingham N	1825	[78] [p]
Rear-Admiral		William Hall Gage	1825–1829	[79]
Rear-Admiral		Edward Owen	1829–1832	[80]

C-in-C, East Indies and China Station

Main article: East Indies and China Station

Note: for the period 1832–1865.

C-in-C, East Indies & Cape of Good Hope Station

Post holders included: ^[81]

Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies & Cape of Good Hope Station
Commodore		Frederick Montresor	(1865) [3]
Commodore		Charles Hillyar	(1865–1867) [3]

C-in-C, East Indies Station

^{[3] [82] [83]}

Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
Rear-Admiral		Leopold Heath	(1867–1870)
Rear-Admiral		James Cockburn N	(1870–1872)
Rear-Admiral		Arthur Cumming	(1872–1875)
Rear-Admiral		Reginald Macdonald	(1875–1877)
Rear-Admiral		John Corbett	(1877–1879)
Rear-Admiral		William Gore Jones	(1879–1882)
Rear-Admiral		William Hewett	(1882–1885)
Rear-Admiral		Frederick Richards	(1885–1888)
Rear-Admiral		Edmund Fremantle	(1888–1891)
Rear-Admiral		Frederick Robinson	(1891–1892)
Rear-Admiral		William Kennedy	(1892–1895)
Rear-Admiral		Edmund Drummond	(1895–1898)
Rear-Admiral		Archibald Douglas	(1898–1899)
Rear-Admiral		Day Bosanquet	(1899–1902)
Rear-Admiral		Charles Drury	(1902–1903) [84]
Rear-Admiral		George Atkinson-Willes	(1903–1905)
Rear-Admiral		Edmund Poë	(1905–1907)
Rear-Admiral		Sir George Warrender	(1907–1909)
Rear-Admiral		Edmond Slade	(1909–1912)
Rear-Admiral		Alexander Bethell	(1912-1913)

C-in-C, East Indies and Egypt Station

Note:The post was sometimes styled as Senior Naval Officer, Egypt, and Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station. ^[85]

Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and Egypt Station
Rear-Admiral		Sir Richard Peirse	(1913–1915) [86]
Rear-Admiral		Rosslyn Wemyss	(1916–1917) [87]

C-in-C, East Indies Station

Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
Rear-Admiral		Ernest Gaunt	(1917–1919)
Rear-Admiral		Hugh Tothill	(1919–1921)
Rear-Admiral		Lewis Clinton-Baker	(1921–1923)
Rear-Admiral		Herbert Richmond	(1923–1925)
Rear-Admiral		Walter Ellerton	(1925–1927)
Rear-Admiral		Bertram Thesiger	(1927–1929)
Rear-Admiral		Eric Fullerton	(1929–1932)
Rear-Admiral		Martin Dunbar-Nasmith	(1932–1934)
Vice-Admiral		Frank Rose	(1934–1936)
Vice-Admiral		Alexander Ramsay	(1936–1938)
Vice-Admiral		James Somerville	(1938–1939)
Admiral		Sir Ralph Leatham	(1939–1941)
Vice-Admiral		Geoffrey Arbuthnot	(1941–1942) [15]
Admiral		Sir Geoffrey Layton	(1942–1944)
Vice-Admiral		Sir Arthur Power	(1944–1945)
Admiral		Sir Arthur Palliser	(1946–1948)
Vice-Admiral		Sir Charles Woodhouse	(1948–1950)
Admiral		Sir Geoffrey Oliver	(1950–1952)
Admiral		Sir William Slayter	(1952–1954)
Vice-Admiral		Sir Charles Norris	(1954–1956)
Vice-Admiral		Sir Hilary Biggs	(1956–1958)

Chief of Staff 1939-41

Included: ^[88]

Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Chief of Staff, East Indies Station/Eastern Fleet
Captain		Frederick Rodney Garside	3 January 1939 - June 1941 [89]
Rear-Admiral		Arthur F. E. Palliser	June - December 1941

Note: Under East Indies Station briefly when the Eastern Fleet its established Rear-Admiral Palliser becomes COS to C-in-C, Eastern Fleet.

See also

• List of fleets and major commands of the Royal Navy
• List of Eastern Fleet ships

Notes

1. Thomas Griffin promoted later Rear- then Vice-Admiral
2. Charles Watson promoted later to Vice-Admiral
3. George Pocock appointed Vice-Admiral of the White, February 1757, Ref:Harrison. Simon, (2010-2018)
4. Charles Steevens promoted later to Rear-Admiral
5. Samuel Cornish promoted later to Vice-Admiral
6. Byron's appointment was initially a subterfuge, designed to provide apparent legitimacy for a voyage along the coast of Spanish South America and around the Cape of Good Hope. Byron's true mission was to establish a British naval presence on an uninhabited island off Spanish South America, which he achieved via landings on the Falkland Islands in December 1764. ^[54]
7. Edward Vernon promoted later to Rear-Admiral
8. Edward Hughes, second term as Commander-in-Chief
9. Hyde Parker appointed 1782 but lost at sea on his way out
10. Elphinstone went to capture the Dutch East Indies in 1795 but Rainier had already done it
11. Pellew was later promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Red, 9 November 1805
12. Troughbridge served jointly with Edward Pellew
13. Samuel Hood appointed Vice-Admiral of the White, 4 June 1814, Harrison, 2010-2018
14. Richard King appointed Rear-Admiral of the White, 4 June 1814 ref: Harrison, Simon (2010-2018)
15. Henry Blackwood appointed Rear-Admiral of the Blue, July 1819 ref: Harrison, Simon (2010-2018)
16. Joseph Bingham appointed 1825 but died before taking up post

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Further reading

• Peter A. Ward, British Naval Power in the East, 1794-1805: The Command of Admiral Peter Rainier, Boydell Press

External links

• The British Pacific and East Indies Fleets
• Commander-in-Chief East Indies, recommendations for awards, 1858
• National Archives, Folios 191-261: telegrams from Admiralty to Commander-in-Chief East Indies, 1914