Newfoundland Station

Newfoundland Station
Newfoundland Station
Active	1729–1825
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Naval formation
Part of	Royal Navy
Garrison/HQ	Plymouth, Portsmouth, St. John's.

Last updated June 15, 2025

The Newfoundland Station^[1] was a formation or command of, first, the Kingdom of Great Britain and, then, of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. Its official headquarters varied between Portsmouth or Plymouth^[2] in England where a squadron of ships would set sail annually each year to protect convoys and the British fishing fleet operating in waters off the Newfoundland coast and would remain for period of approximately six months based at St. John's Harbour. In 1818 the station became a permanent posting headquartered at St John's. It existed from 1729 to 1825.

History

The Commodore-Governor was both a British Government and a Royal Navy official who was commander-in-chief^[3] of the annual fishing convoy which left England each spring, sometimes from Portsmouth and other times from Plymouth, to fish off Newfoundland: the fleet were tasked with protecting the fishing convoys from harm. They were also responsible for administrative and judicial functions, including assisting the fishing admirals in Britain in maintaining admiralty law and order and compiling the annual report on the fish stocks for the British government. From 1729 to 1775 the officer appointed was usually of Commodore rank; however the station's increasing importance after that date led to appointments of more senior flag officers.^[4]

The squadron stayed in Newfoundland for approximately four to six months annually. How long they remained depended on the orders they received from the Admiralty, according to the ships' condition. The fleet usually arrived off Newfoundland in July and August, generally returning to England, via the Lisbon Station, towards the end of October. Bypassing the horrendous weather conditions prevalent in the Atlantic at that time of year and escorting the British fishing vessels were important considerations in when the squadron returned. In spite of these problems, the naval administration continued to grow throughout the 18th century. By 1818, the Newfoundland Colony had a sufficiently large permanent population to warrant having a full-time resident governor. The station's responsibilities were merged into the North America Station in 1825 when a full-time civilian governor was appointed.^[5]

Commanders

List of Commanders in Chief, Newfoundland Station
Rank	Name	From	Until	Notes	Ref.
Commodore	Henry Osborn	1729	1730		^[4]
Commodore	George Clinton	1731	1731
Commodore	Edward Falkingham	1732	1732
Commodore	Robert Muskerry	1733	1734
Commodore	FitzRoy Henry Lee	1735	1737
Commodore	Philip Vanbrugh	1738	1738
Commodore	Henry Medley	1739	1740
Commodore	Thomas Smith	1741	1741
Commodore	John Byng	1742	1742
Commodore	Thomas Smith	1743	1743
Commodore	Charles Hardy	1744	1744
Commodore	Richard Edwards	1745	1745
Commodore	Sir James Douglas	1746	1746
Commodore	Charles Watson	1748	1748
Commodore	George Rodney	1749	1749
Commodore	Francis William Drake	1750	1752
Commodore	Hugh Bonfoy	1753	1754
Commodore	Richard Dorrill	1755	1756
Commodore	Richard Edwards	1757	1759
Commodore	James Webb	1760	1761	Died in post
Commodore	Thomas Graves	1761	1763
Commodore	Hugh Palliser	1764	1768
Commodore	John Byron	1769	1771
Commodore	Molyneux Shuldham	1772	1774
Commodore	Robert Duff	1775	1775
Vice-Admiral	John Montagu	1776	1778	Titled Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Newfoundland	^[4]^[6]^[1]
Rear-Admiral	Richard Edwards	1779	1781		^[4]
Vice-Admiral	John Campbell	1782	1786
Rear-Admiral	John Elliot	1786	1788
Vice-Admiral	Mark Milbanke	1789	1791		^[4]^[7]
Rear-Admiral	Sir Richard King	1792	1793		^[4]
Rear-Admiral	Sir James Wallace	1794	1796
Vice-Admiral	William Waldegrave	1797	1799
Rear-Admiral	Charles Pole	1800	1801
Vice-Admiral	James Gambier	1802	1803
Vice-Admiral	Sir Erasmus Gower	1804	1806		^[4]^[8]
Vice-Admiral	John Holloway	1807	1809		^[4]
Admiral	Sir John Duckworth	1810	1812
Vice-Admiral	Sir Richard Keats	1813	1816
Vice-Admiral	Francis Pickmore	1817	1818	Died in post
Captain	John Bowker	1818	1818	Temporary
Vice-Admiral	Sir Charles Hamilton	1818	1825

Notes

1 2 Bannister 2003, p. 68.
↑ Malcomson, Thomas (2016). Order and Disorder in the British Navy, 1793-1815: Control, Resistance, Flogging and Hanging. Boydell & Brewer. p. 11. ISBN 9781783271191.
↑ Bannister 2003, p. 64.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Haydn, Joseph (13 Jun 2008). The Book of Dignities: Containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Together with the Sovereigns and Rulers of Europe, from the Foundation of Their Respective States; the Peerage of England and Great Britain Original 1851 Digitized by the University of Michigan. Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 279.
↑ Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. "Naval Governors, 1729-1824". Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
↑ "Montagu, John (1719-1795)".
↑ Marshall, John (2010). Royal Naval Biography: Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-Officers, Superannuated Rear-Admirals, Retired-Captains, Post-Captains, and Commanders. Cambridge University Press. p. 545. ISBN 9781108022675.
↑ "Biography: GOWER, Sir ERASMUS, naval officer and governor of Newfoundland". Dictionary of Canadian Biography,Volume V (1801-1820), 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.

References

Bannister, Jerry (2003). The rule of the admirals : law, custom, and naval government in Newfoundland, 1699-1832. Toronto: Published for the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802086136.
Miller, Nathan. Broadsides: The Age of Fighting Sail, 1775-1815 . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2000.
Rodger, N.A.M. The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815. New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004.

External links

http://morethannelson.com/Royal Navy Stations

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[FOOTNOTEBannister200368-1] 1 2 Bannister 2003, p. 68.

[2] Malcomson, Thomas (2016). Order and Disorder in the British Navy, 1793-1815: Control, Resistance, Flogging and Hanging. Boydell & Brewer. p. 11. ISBN 9781783271191.

[FOOTNOTEBannister200364-3] Bannister 2003, p. 64.

[haydn-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Haydn, Joseph (13 Jun 2008). The Book of Dignities: Containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Together with the Sovereigns and Rulers of Europe, from the Foundation of Their Respective States; the Peerage of England and Great Britain Original 1851 Digitized by the University of Michigan. Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 279.

[5] Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. "Naval Governors, 1729-1824". Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 26 November 2016.

[6] "Montagu, John (1719-1795)".

[7] Marshall, John (2010). Royal Naval Biography: Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-Officers, Superannuated Rear-Admirals, Retired-Captains, Post-Captains, and Commanders. Cambridge University Press. p. 545. ISBN 9781108022675.

[8] "Biography: GOWER, Sir ERASMUS, naval officer and governor of Newfoundland". Dictionary of Canadian Biography,Volume V (1801-1820), 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.

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