List of Royal Navy flag officers who died during the First World War

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Naval Officers of World War I by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope. The three Royal Navy admirals killed in action in the war, Arbuthnot, Cradock, and Hood, are respectively nos. 5, 7, and 8 from the left. Naval Officers of World War I by Arthur Stockdale Cope.jpg
Naval Officers of World War I by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope. The three Royal Navy admirals killed in action in the war, Arbuthnot, Cradock, and Hood, are respectively nos. 5, 7, and 8 from the left.

This is a list of Royal Navy flag officers who died during the First World War. This list includes all officers who are listed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) as having died while serving during the First World War. During this period flag officers of the Royal Navy were those who held the ranks of rear-admiral, vice-admiral, admiral, or admiral of the fleet. They typically commanded groups of sea-going vessels or held staff positions.

Contents

The list includes 10 flag officers who died between Britain's entry into the war, 4 August 1914, and the armistice of 11 November 1918. Listed separately are 6 who died between the armistice and 31 August 1921 which was defined by an act of British parliament as the formal end of the war. Three flag officers were killed in action; one at the 1914 Battle of Coronel and two at the 1916 Battle of Jutland.

Ranks

During the First World War the Royal Navy senior command consisted of flag officers [Note 1] of the ranks (in ascending order of seniority): rear-admiral, vice-admiral, admiral, and admiral of the fleet. Ranks could also be held in an honorary capacity, often by foreign royalty. In August 1914 there were 18 serving rear-admirals, 22 vice-admirals, 12 admirals (plus 2 honorary appointments), and 3 admirals of the fleet (plus the monarch George V and 3 honorary appointments). [Note 2] [4]

In 1914 Royal Navy practice was for rear-admirals to lead divisions of 2-4 battleships, they also commanded squadrons of battlecruisers, with squadrons of smaller vessels often being commanded by commodores. [Note 3] These units were grouped into regional commands whose commander's rank varied depending on the importance of the region, but was usually a rear-admiral or vice-admiral. More senior officers held command of large sea-going forces such as the Grand Fleet. [7] Many admirals also held staff positions on land rather than sea-going commands. [4] The rank of admiral of the fleet was held for life and was granted to the most senior serving naval officers or as an honorary rank for prior service. [3]

Until 1957 the Royal Navy maintained separate branches for its officers, distinguishing the military (executive) roles from others, such as engineering, which were considered "civil" roles. The Royal Navy's engineers had previously had unique rank titles but since reforms in 1903 engineer branch officers had held the same ranks as their executive colleagues, though prefaced with "engineer". [8] [9]

First World War service

Royal Navy admirals served on land and at sea during the war. In British wartime prime minister David Lloyd George's 1933 memoirs he lauds the admirals for serving at sea and sharing the risk of death with their men. He contrasts this with the service of British generals in the war whom he generalises as châteaux generals who did not visit the battlefield. [10] This myth is unfair on the generals who suffered heavy casualties during the war, with many killed in action. [11] Three British admirals were killed in action during the war compared to at least 78 British generals with the rate of death proportionately greater in the army. [12] [10] The admirals killed were Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock at the Battle of Coronel in 1914 and Rear-Admirals Sir Horace Hood and Sir Robert Arbuthnot, both killed at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. [10]

The colonial navies (the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Canadian Navy) served in a combat capacity throughout the war, generally under the direction of the British Admiralty. [13] The Royal Indian Marine began the war as a non-combatant force, though during the course of the conflict its vessels were armed and served on patrol and transport duties. [14] [15] The only non Royal Navy admiral of the British Empire to die during the war was the Royal Australian Navy's director of naval auxiliary services, Rear-Admiral Frederick Tickell. [16]

Pre-armistice

This list includes all officers noted by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) as holding flag officer rank and who died between the British entry into the war on 4 August 1914 and the armistice of 11 November 1918. A large number of retired naval officers, including many admirals, volunteered for service during the war. Many accepted commissions at lower ranks in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) and served in yachts and other small craft on coastal patrols. The CWGC list these officers at their full rank, even where they died whilst serving in the lower RNR rank. [17]

ImageRankNameCommandDate of DeathPlace of DeathCause of DeathRef.
Engineer Rear-Admiral William Thomas Hocken Staff of the Engineer-in-Chief of the Fleet 28 August 1914 London, United Kingdom [18] [19]
Christopher Cradock.jpg Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock 4th Cruiser Squadron 1 November 1914 HMS Good Hope, Coronel Killed in action [20] [21]
Rear-Admiral William John Grogan HMY Sapphire II 14 March 1915 Portsmouth, United KingdomDrowned [22] [23]
Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot 4th Bt.jpg Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Arbuthnot 1st Cruiser Squadron 31 May 1916 HMS Defence, Jutland Killed in action [24] [25]
Rear-Admiral Horace Hood.jpg Rear-Admiral Sir Horace Hood 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron 31 May 1916 HMS Invincible, Jutland Killed in action [26] [27]
GeorgeWarrenderSigned.jpg Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender Formerly Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth 8 January 1917London, United KingdomIllness [28] [29] [30]
Admiral Sir Frederick Tower Hamilton Kcb Cvo Art.IWMART1746.jpg Admiral Sir Frederick Hamilton Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth 4 October 1917 Rosyth, United KingdomIllness [31] [32]
Vice-Admiral Frank Hannam Henderson On special service, HMS President 26 June 1918 Royal Hospital Haslar, United KingdomOperation [33] [34]
Engineer Rear-Admiral Francis Henry Lister Haulbowline Dockyard staff20 August 1918 Queenstown, United KingdomIllness [35] [36]
Engineer Rear-Admiral Richard James Tench 1 November 1918 Waterlooville, United Kingdom [37] [38]

Post-armistice

The First World War is usually held to have ended with the armistice of 11 November 1918 though the peace treaties officially ending the war took some years to agree and sign. Under the Termination of the Present War (Definition) Act 1918 the end of the war was defined for general purposes by the British parliament as 31 August 1921. This is the same date that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission uses for its casualty records. The following flag officers died between the armistice and 31 August 1921. [39]

ImageRankNameCommandDate of DeathPlace of DeathCause of DeathRef.
Admiral Frank Finnis Retired 1909; served from 1915 as a captain in the Royal Naval Reserve 17 November 1918 London, United KingdomIllness [40] [41] [42]
Admiral Herbert Lyon Retired 1913; served from 1914 as a commodore in the Royal Naval Reserve commanding patrols at Malta15 March 1919 Bighi Hospital, MaltaIllness [43] [44]
Rear-admiral Trevylyan Dacres Willes Napier Cb Mvo Art.IWMART1761.jpg Vice-Admiral Sir Trevylyan Napier Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station 30 July 1920 Hamilton, BermudaIllness [45] [46]
Vice-Admiral Gerald Marescaux Retired 1915; served from 1914 as a colonel in the British Army. Last position commanding British Troops, Paris.3 September 1920 Royal Naval Hospital Chatham, United KingdomWounds received [47] [48]
George Callaghan - Project Gutenberg eText 18334.jpg Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Callaghan Formerly Commander-in-Chief, The Nore 23 November 1920London, United KingdomIllness [49] [50] [51]
Rear-Admiral Henry Montagu Doughty Formerly 1st Battle Squadron 1 May 1921 Haslar Naval Hospital, United Kingdom [52] [53]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Royal Navy has varied in its definition of "flag officer" and the related term "officer of flag rank", with the former sometimes applying only to officers specifically authorised to raise a flag indicating their rank. [1] In the 1913 King's Regulations only the term "flag officer" was used and applied to all officers of the rank of rear admiral and above. [2]
  2. ↑ Of the honorary admirals of the fleet two (German Emperor Wilhelm II and his younger brother Prince Henry of Prussia) disavowed their rank when their nation declared war on Britain and one (Russian Tsar Nicholas II) was executed during the war. Two further (British) admirals of the fleet were appointed during the course of the war. [3]
  3. ↑ Some senior captains were appointed to the role of commodore to command a formation of ships, it did not become a formal rank until 1997. During the First World War two classes of commodore were appointed, the 1st class had sole responsibility for commanding the formation while the 2nd class (lower class) also commanded their own vessel. The 1st class was considered to rank in equivalent with the US Navy's rear admiral (lower half). [5] One commodore of the Royal Navy died during the war, Commodore 2nd Class Charles Edward Le Mesurier on 10 November 1917. [6]

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References

  1. ↑ The Queen's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Government of Her Majesty's Naval Service. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1953. p. xiv.
  2. ↑ The King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Government of His Majesty's Naval Service. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1914. p. 71.
  3. 1 2 Heathcote, T. A. (22 January 2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet, 1734–1995: A Biographical Dictionary. Pen and Sword. p. 4. ISBN   978-1-4738-1270-3.
  4. 1 2 Monthly Naval List. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. August 1914. pp. 78–90.
  5. ↑ Dodson, Aidan; Nottelmann, Dirk (30 November 2021). The Kaiser's Cruisers, 1871–1918. Seaforth Publishing. p. 9. ISBN   978-1-5267-6579-6.
  6. ↑ "Commodore 2nd Class C E Le Mesurier | War Casualty Details 2758491". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  7. ↑ Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary (2005). World War I: Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 794–795. ISBN   978-1-85109-420-2.
  8. ↑ Marder, Arthur (19 June 2014). From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: Volume I: The Road to War 1904-1914. Seaforth Publishing. p. 51. ISBN   978-1-84832-162-5.
  9. ↑ Moore, Patrick A. (2 September 2016). The Greenie: The History of Warfare Technology in the Royal Navy. The History Press. pp. 134–136. ISBN   978-0-7509-8013-5.
  10. 1 2 3 Davis, Frank; Maddocks, Graham (1995). Bloody Red Tabs - General Officer Casualties of the Great War, 1914-1918. London: Leo Cooper. pp. 14–15.
  11. ↑ Davis, Frank; Maddocks, Graham (1995). Bloody Red Tabs - General Officer Casualties of the Great War, 1914-1918. London: Leo Cooper. pp. 11–12.
  12. ↑ Davis, Frank; Maddocks, Graham (1995). Bloody Red Tabs - General Officer Casualties of the Great War, 1914-1918. London: Leo Cooper. p. 22.
  13. ↑ Gordon, Donald C. (1961). "The Admiralty and Dominion Navies, 1902-1914". The Journal of Modern History. 33 (4): 421. doi:10.1086/238913. ISSN   0022-2801. JSTOR   1877217. S2CID   145671918.
  14. ↑ Mohanan, Kalesh (8 October 2019). The Royal Indian Navy: Trajectories, Transformations and the Transfer of Power. Taylor & Francis. p. 16. ISBN   978-1-000-70957-5.
  15. ↑ Indian Armed Forces in the World War. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. p. 102. ISBN   978-93-5409-556-6.
  16. ↑ "Rear Admiral Frederick Tickell | War Casualty Details 75191397". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  17. ↑ Jellicoe, John Rushworth (9 February 2018). The Crisis of the Naval War: British Royal Navy in World War I: Admiralty Organization, Submarine & Anti-Submarine Operations, Entry of the United States in the War, Minesweeping Services. e-artnow. p. 157. ISBN   978-80-268-8273-2.
  18. ↑ "Engineer Rear Admiral William Thomas Hocken | War Casualty Details 75227948". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  19. ↑ "Funeral of an Engineer Admiral". The Western Daily Press. 4 September 1914. p. 7.
  20. ↑ "Rear Admiral Sir Christopher George F. M. Cradock | War Casualty Details 2870923". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  21. ↑ Stewart, William (26 November 2014). Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present. McFarland. p. 79. ISBN   978-0-7864-8288-7.
  22. ↑ "Rear Admiral W J Grogan | War Casualty Details 358360". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  23. ↑ "Rear-Admiral's Tragic Death". The Staffordshire Sentinel, Daily and Weekly. 28 April 1915. p. 3.
  24. ↑ "Rear Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot | War Casualty Details 2865235". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  25. ↑ Benbow, Tim (15 March 2012). Naval Warfare 1914–1918: The History of World War I: From Coronel to the Atlantic and Zeebrugge. Amber Books Ltd. p. 156. ISBN   978-1-906626-16-7.
  26. ↑ "Rear Admiral The Hon. Sir Horace Lambert A. Hood | War Casualty Details 3036690". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  27. ↑ Carradice, Phil (15 October 2014). 1916 The First World War at Sea in Photographs: The Year of Jutland. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 81. ISBN   978-1-4456-2265-1.
  28. ↑ "Vice Admiral Sir George John Scott Warrender | War Casualty Details 75229945". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  29. ↑ "Vice Admiral Warrender, Who Served in China, Passes Away". The Washington Post. 17 January 1917. p. 6.
  30. ↑ "Vice Adm. Sir George Warrender is Dead". Santa Ana Register. 10 January 1917. p. 2.
  31. ↑ "Admiral Sir Frederick Tower Hamilton | War Casualty Details 2753431". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  32. ↑ "A Naval Commander-in-Chief Dead". The Newcastle Daily Chronicle. 5 October 1917. p. 3.
  33. ↑ "Vice Admiral Frank Hannam Henderson | War Casualty Details 3055809". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  34. ↑ "ADM 196/86/137 record". National Archives. December 1862. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  35. ↑ "Engineer Rear Admiral Francis Henry Lister | War Casualty Details 2743563". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  36. ↑ "Admiral Found Dead". The Times. 21 August 1918. p. 15.
  37. ↑ "Engineer Rear Admiral Richard James Tench | War Casualty Details 362079". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  38. ↑ "Death of Eng.-Adml Tench". Western Morning News. 5 November 1918. p. 4.
  39. ↑ "The Last Casualties of the First World War". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  40. ↑ "Admiral Frank Finnis | War Casualty Details 660403". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  41. ↑ "Deaths". The Times. London. 20 November 1918. p. 8.
  42. ↑ "Admiral Frank Finnis, C.V.O." Dover Express. 22 November 1918. p. 5.
  43. ↑ "Admiral Herbert Lyon | War Casualty Details 4009588". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  44. ↑ "Death of Admiral Lyon". The Daily Telegraph. 20 March 1919. p. 10.
  45. ↑ "Vice Admiral Sir Trevylyan Dacres Willes Napier | War Casualty Details 428825". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  46. ↑ "Famed British Naval Officer Dies of Fever". The Grand Island Daily Independent. 30 July 1920. p. 1.
  47. ↑ "Vice Admiral Gerald Charles Adolphe Marescaux | War Casualty Details 3056873". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  48. ↑ "Vice-Admiral G. C. A. Marescaux". The Times. London. 7 September 1920. p. 13.
  49. ↑ "Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Astley Callaghan | War Casualty Details 4028730". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  50. ↑ "Death of Sir George Callaghan". The Gloucestershire Echo. 24 November 1920. p. 3.
  51. ↑ "Death of Admiral Callaghan". The Times. London. 24 November 1920. p. 14.
  52. ↑ "Rear Admiral Henry Montagu Doughty | War Casualty Details 75228232". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  53. ↑ "Rear-Admiral H. M. Doughty". The Times. London. 3 May 1921. p. 13.
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