Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland

Last updated

Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland
HMS Ark Royal Visits HMNB Clyde for the Final Time MOD 45152036.jpg
HMS Ark Royal on the River Clyde
Active1913–2020
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Type Command (military formation)
Part of Navy Command
Garrison/HQ HM Naval Base Clyde

The Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (FOSNI) was a senior post in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It was based at HM Naval Base Clyde, and the holder of the post was the Royal Navy's senior officer in Scotland. [1] The post of FOSNI, dating from 1946, was re-scoped and re-named in 1994 to Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England & Northern Ireland (FOSNNI), then named back in 2015, before being dis-established in 2020.[ why? ]

Contents

History

The Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland was the most senior naval position in Scotland and is the successor to appointments starting with the Senior Officer on the Coast of Scotland, established in 1913, just prior to the outbreak of the First World War. The title was altered to Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth in 1916. From 1946 the post became the Flag Officer Scotland & Northern Ireland. Between 1961 and 1994 the Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland was triple-hatted as Commander Northern Sub-Area (NORLANT) of Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), and as Commander Nore Sub-Area Channel (NORECHAN) of Allied Command Channel. Based at RAF Pitreavie Castle, NORECHAN was tasked to prevent Soviet Navy ships and submarines from entering the North Sea. When the command moved from Rosyth to HMNB Clyde in 1994, it took responsibility for a larger area, becoming the Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland. [2] In 2015 the post reverted to Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland. The post was removed under the Royal Navy's Navy Command Transformation Programme and renamed Commodore Submarine Service (COSM). [3]

Major subordinate stone frigates under C-in-C Rosyth on the outbreak of the Second World War included HMS Flora at Invergordon; HMS Bacchante (a shore establishment) at Aberdeen, HMS Claverhouse at Leith, and HMS Calliope on the Tyne. [4] Bacchante had been commanded by the Senior Naval Officer, Aberdeen from 1915 to 1919 [5] and then the Flag Officer-in-Charge, Aberdeen from 1942 to 1945. [6] Wartime subsidiary bases included Aultbea on Loch Ewe. [7] Facilities at Aultbea were established in February 1915 during World War I and partially deactivated in April 1919. Aultbea was reactivated during World War II in 1940 following the German attack on Scapa Flow and subsequent sinking of HMS Royal Oak, when the Home Fleet was temporarily based there. [8] It was also a staging point for arctic convoys that operated out of Loch Ewe. It remained in operation until October 1967. [9]

Admirals Commanding

Flag Officers have been: [10]

Admiral Commanding on the Coast of Scotland; 1913–1916

Included: [11]

S.NoNameRankAssumed officeLeft office
1Sir Robert Lowry AdmiralJuly 1913June 1916

Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth; 1913–1919

S.NoNameRankAssumed officeLeft office
1Sir Frederick Hamilton AdmiralJune 1916October 1917
2Sir Cecil Burney AdmiralOctober 1917March 1919

Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland; 1919–1939

S.NoNameRankAssumed officeLeft office
1Sir Herbert Heath AdmiralMarch 1919April 1922
2Sir John Green Vice-AdmiralApril 1922June 1923
3Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt, Bt.Rear-AdmiralJune 1923June 1925
4Sir Walter Cowan Vice-AdmiralJune 1925June 1926
5 Humphrey Bowring Rear-AdmiralJune 1926June 1928
6 John Cameron Rear-AdmiralJune 1928July 1929
7 Theodore Hallett Rear-AdmiralJuly 1929July 1931
8the Hon. William Leveson-Gower Vice-AdmiralJuly 1931July 1933
9 Everard Hardman-Jones Rear-AdmiralJuly 1933July 1935
10 Robert Davenport Rear-AdmiralJuly 1935July 1937
11 Evelyn Thomson Vice-AdmiralJuly 1937August 1939

Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth; 1939–1946

S.NoNameRankAssumed officeLeft office
1Sir Charles Ramsey AdmiralAugust 1939June 1942
2Sir Wilbraham Ford AdmiralJune 1942June 1944
3Sir William Whitworth AdmiralJune 1944July 1946

Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland; 1946–1994

S.NoNameRankAssumed officeLeft office
1Sir Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton AdmiralJuly 1946July 1948
2Sir Ernest Archer Vice-AdmiralJuly 1948July 1950
3Sir Angus Cunninghame Graham Vice-AdmiralJuly 1950August 1951
4 John Crombie Rear-AdmiralAugust 1951October 1953
5Sir Geoffrey Robson Vice-AdmiralOctober 1953March 1956
6Sir John Cuthbert Vice-AdmiralMarch 1956July 1958
7 David Luce Vice-AdmiralJuly 1958December 1959
8Sir Royston Wright Vice-AdmiralDecember 1959September 1961
9Sir Arthur Hezlet Vice-AdmiralSeptember 1961June 1964
10Sir David Gregory Vice-AdmiralJune 1964July 1966
11Sir John Hayes Vice-AdmiralJuly 1966July 1968
12Sir Ian McGeoch Vice-AdmiralJuly 1968May 1970
13 David Dunbar-Nasmith Rear-AdmiralMay 1970July 1972
14 Martin Lucey Rear-AdmiralJuly 1972August 1974
15Sir Anthony Troup Vice-AdmiralAugust 1974June 1977
16Sir Cameron Rusby Vice-AdmiralJune 1977November 1979
17Sir Thomas Baird Vice-AdmiralNovember 1979January 1982
18 Robert Squires Vice-AdmiralJanuary 1982December 1983
19Sir Nicholas Hunt Vice-AdmiralDecember 1983May 1985
20Sir George Vallings Vice-AdmiralMay 1985October 1987
21Sir Jock Slater Vice-AdmiralOctober 1987February 1989
22Sir Michael Livesay Vice-AdmiralFebruary 1989March 1991
23Sir Hugo White Vice-AdmiralMarch 1991November 1992
24Sir Christopher Morgan Vice-AdmiralNovember 1992April 1996

Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland; 1994–2015

Note: From 2005, the post holder also held the title of Flag Officer, Reserves and Flag Officer Regional Forces. [12]

S.NoNameRankAssumed officeLeft office
1 John Tolhurst Rear-AdmiralApril 1996September 1997
2 Michael Gregory Rear-AdmiralSeptember 1997August 2000
3 Derek Anthony Rear-AdmiralAugust 2000 [13] May 2003
4 Nick Harris Rear-AdmiralMay 2003April 2006
5 Philip Wilcocks Rear-AdmiralApril 2006December 2006
6 Tony Johnstone-Burt Rear-AdmiralDecember 2006February 2008
7 Philip Jones Rear-AdmiralFebruary 2008 [14] September 2008
8 Martin Alabaster Rear AdmiralSeptember 2008 [14] September 2011
9 Christopher Hockley Rear-AdmiralSeptember 2011August 2014
10 John Clink Rear-AdmiralAugust 2014July 2015

Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland; 2015–2020

S.NoNameRankAssumed officeLeft office
1 John Weale Rear-AdmiralJuly 2015 [15] May 2020 [16]

References

  1. Royal Navy official site, FOSNNI
  2. Army Quarterly and Defence Journal, Volume 124, page 230 (West of England Press, 1994).
  3. "Submariners Association Newsletter In Depth 68" (PDF). Submariners Association. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  4. Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939–1945". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 19 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  5. Admiralty, Great Britain (December 1919). "Other Senior Naval Officers or Officers in Charge at Ports in the United Kingdom". Navy List. London England: HM Stationery Office. p. 699.
  6. Admiralty, Great Britain (December 1942). "Flag Officers in Commission". Navy List. London England: HM Stationery Office. p. 1336.
  7. Admiralty, Great Britain (January 1919). "The Royal Navy". Navy List. London England: HM Stationery Office. p. 769.
  8. Smith, Peter C. (2008). The Great Ships: British Battleships in World War II. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, United States: Stackpole Books. p. 70. ISBN   9780811749350.
  9. Archives, The National (1940–1967). "Aultbea Naval Base, Loch Ewe, Ross and Cromarty: a short history. With photographs and plan". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. London England: The National Archives. Retrieved 19 October 2018. ADM 1/31049
  10. Listing compiled by historian Colin Mackie Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Admiralty. British. (November 1914). The Navy List. List of Admirals by Seniority. Admirals. H.M.S.O. London. England. p86.
  12. Committee, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence (2013). House of Commons - Defence Committee: The Defence Implications of Possible Independence - Volume I: HC 198: Sixth Report of Session 2013-14, Vol. 1: Report, Together with an Appendix, Formal Minutes and Oral Evidence. London: The Stationery Office. p. 15. ISBN   978-0-215-06246-8.
  13. Warships Magazine, FLAG OFF SCOTLAND SPECIAL
  14. 1 2 Royal Navy official site Base Braves the Elements to Wave Fond Farewell to Admiral, Tuesday, 6 September 2008
  15. Lochside Press, New admiral takes the helm at Faslane, 27 July 2015
  16. "No. 63039". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 June 2020. p. 11075.