Mediterranean Command was a short-lived command of the British Army in the early twentieth century, based in Malta. It had nominal command of the British troops around the Mediterranean Sea: in Malta, Gibraltar, Cyprus and Egypt.
The post was created in 1907 for King Edward VII's brother, Field Marshal the Duke of Connaught. Connaught, as Inspector-General of the Forces, had antagonised the War Office by his negative reports on the Esher reforms of the Army. He was too senior to be sacked, so was shifted sideways into the Mediterranean Command. He regarded the post as "the fifth wheel on the coach" and only accepted it on the King's insistence, but resigned two years later, effectively ending his military career. [1] The post was next offered to Lord Kitchener, recently returned as Commander-in-Chief, India. Kitchener, who had ambitions to be appointed Viceroy, also had to be persuaded by the King to accept, but first went on a seven-month world tour. On his return in April 1910 the King released him from his promise to take up the post. [2] Instead the Adjutant-General Sir Ian Hamilton was appointed, [3] with the additional role of Inspector-General of Overseas Forces to make the job more attractive. [4]
Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief and High Commissioner in the Mediterranean
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief and High Commissioner in the Mediterranean
In July 1914 Hamilton was back in Britain and, on the outbreak of the First World War the following month, was appointed to command Central Force at home. The position of GOC-in-C Mediterranean was left vacant. On the formation of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in March 1915, Hamilton was appointed commander-in-chief. [3]
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Governor General of Canada, the tenth since Canadian Confederation and the only British prince to do so.
Admiral of the Fleet is a five-star naval officer rank and the highest rank of the Royal Navy, formally established in 1688. The five-star NATO rank code is OF-10, equivalent to a field marshal in the British Army or a Marshal of the Royal Air Force. Apart from honorary appointments, no new admirals of the fleet have been named since 1995, and no honorary appointments have been made since 2014.
Field Marshal James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley and 1st Baron Kilmaine, PC, was an Irish officer in the British Army. After serving as a junior officer in Spain and the Low Countries during the War of the Spanish Succession, he went on to become British ambassador to Lisbon establishing a close relationship with King John V there. He undertook a tour as British ambassador to Saint Petersburg before becoming Governor of Gibraltar where he set about improving the fortifications. He was briefly commander of British troops in Portugal during the Seven Years' War but was replaced within a few months. During his military career, he was colonel of eight different regiments.
General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, was a senior British Army officer who had an extensive British Imperial military career in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Hamilton was twice recommended for the Victoria Cross, but on the first occasion was considered too young, and on the second too senior. He was wounded in action at the Battle of Majuba during the First Boer War, which rendered his left hand permanently injured. Near the end of his career, he commanded the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War.
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War as commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915, leading the landings on the peninsula and then the evacuation later in the year, before becoming commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army on the Western Front during the closing stages of the war. He went on to be general officer commanding the Northern Army in India in 1920 and Commander-in-Chief, India, in 1925.
The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board; he is also the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS). Since 1959, the post has been immediately subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the post held by the professional head of the British Armed Forces.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 and of the British Army from 1707 until 1904. In 1904 the office was replaced with the creation of the Army Council and the appointment of Chief of the General Staff.
Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, was title of the commander of the British forces in Ireland before 1922. Until the Act of Union in 1800, the position involved command of the distinct Irish Army of the Kingdom of Ireland.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the Harwich Force. He led a supporting naval force of 31 destroyers and two cruisers at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914, in which action the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under Sir David Beatty sank three German cruisers and one German destroyer with minimal loss of allied warships. Tyrwhitt also led the British naval forces during the Cuxhaven Raid in December 1914, when British seaplanes destroyed German Zeppelin airships and at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, in which action Tyrwhitt again supported Beatty's powerful battlecruiser squadron.
Group Captain George Nigel "Geordie" Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk, was a British nobleman and Conservative politician.
General Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, 1st Baronet, was a British Army General in the First World War. He held the post of Commander-in-Chief, India in 1916–1920. From 1923 to 1928 he was the Governor of Gibraltar.
Admiral Sir Hastings Reginald Yelverton, was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in a major action against pirates off Candia in June 1826 and was involved in protecting British interests during the Portuguese Civil War during the early 1830s. He saw action in the Crimean War as Captain of one of the two ships that captured a Russian barque beneath the batteries at Ekenäs in Finland in May 1854. Then in July 1873 he took part in the suppression of the Cantonal Revolution in Cartagena. He became First Naval Lord in September 1876 and in that role implemented a series of economies demanded by the Disraeli ministry but was also involved in ordering the small, cheap and thoroughly unsuccessful ironclad Ajax-class battleships.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Rowley KB was a Royal Navy officer. He distinguished himself by his determination as commander of the vanguard at the Battle of Toulon in February 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in August 1744 and successfully kept the Spanish and French fleets out of the Mediterranean area but was relieved of his command following criticism of his decision as presiding officer at a court-martial.
General Henry Edward Fox was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Minorca and governor of Gibraltar.
The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like the Constable, the Lieutenant was usually appointed by letters patent, either for life or during the King's pleasure.
Scottish Command or Army Headquarters Scotland is a command of the British Army.
Sir Robert Graham of Kinpont was a Scottish landowner, and one of the key conspirators in the assassination of King James I of Scotland in 1437.
General Sir Robert Cunliffe Low, GCB was a British officer in the British Indian Army.
Inspector-General of the Forces was a British Army appointment. There were also Inspectors-General for the different arms.