Title: Admirals of the British Navy
Illustrator: Francis Dodd
Release date: November 18, 2012 [eBook #41399]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Credits: E-text prepared by sp1nd, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org)
The Project Gutenberg eBook, Admirals of the British Navy, by Francis Dodd
Note: | Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See http://archive.org/details/admiralsofbritis00dodduoft |
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MCMXVII
INTRODUCTION | |
I.— | JELLICOE, ADMIRAL SIR JOHN R., G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O. |
II.— | BURNEY, ADMIRAL SIR CECIL, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., D.S.O. |
III.— | MADDEN, ADMIRAL SIR C. E., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., C.V.O. |
IV.— | PHILLIMORE, REAR-ADMIRAL R. F., C.B., M.V.O. |
V.— | BACON, VICE-ADMIRAL SIR R. H. S., K.C.B., K.C.V.O., D.S.O. |
VI.— | DE ROBECK, VICE-ADMIRAL SIR J. M., K.C.B. |
VII.— | NAPIER, VICE-ADMIRAL T. D. W., C.B., M.V.O. |
VIII.— | BROCK, REAR-ADMIRAL SIR OSMOND de B., K.C.V.O., C.B., C.M.G. |
IX.— | HALSEY, REAR-ADMIRAL LIONEL, C.B., C.M.G. |
X.— | PAKENHAM, VICE-ADMIRAL SIR W. C., K.C.B., K.C.V.O. |
XI.— | PAINE, COMMODORE GODFREY M., C.B., M.V.O. |
XII.— | TYRWHITT, COMMODORE SIR R. Y., K.C.B., D.S.O. |
IF the English are singularly incurious about their Navy, that attitude must not be thought to imply neglect. On the contrary, it is a blend of admiration, respect, and, above all, confidence, induced very largely by the Navy itself. For so long has the Navy minded its own silent business that we—otherwise so inquisitive a people—have come to look upon it as beyond examination and (normally too eager to cut open the drum and explore its resources) trustfully to leave it to its own devices, conscious that those devices are wholly in our own interests. As Matthew Arnold said in his sonnet to Shakespeare:
Others abide our question, thou art free—
so do we address the Navy. For, although it baffles curiosity and ends by eliminating it, it is only to substitute faith. We do not take for granted all the things that we cannot understand: sometimes, indeed, we deny them; but we are satisfied to take for granted the Navy. We know that it is there. Where "there" is we may have no notion; by "there" we mean probably everywhere. The Navy is not only there, the Navy is everywhere, and therefore all's well. That is our simple creed.
A further cause for this quiet and unusual acceptivity is to be found in the medium in which the Navy works—the sea itself. The sea has ever been a barrier to investigation, and the Navy and the sea are one. Public opinion is land-made, and landsmen have neither time nor inclination to cope with the riddles of the ocean, which to most of us is vague and inimical, the home of risks and discomforts which it is wiser to avoid. Well content to consider her, from a safe distance, as a Sphinx, we are very happy that to others has fallen the perilous lot of patrolling her and very full of gratitude for their courage and success.
If the Army, on the contrary, is so much under the microscope, it is largely because it has few or no mysteries. We know the rules. Armies are made up of men like ourselves (only better). They advance as we do, by putting one foot before another, on the solid earth. Their movements are followable, even if we cannot always understand them; daily bulletins are printed in the public Press. But the Navy keeps its secrets. Not only have we no notion where it is, but we should be little the wiser as to its inner purposes if, scanning the illimitable and capricious waves, it should be our fortune to descry here and there a flotilla of its dark grey hulls. Even in harbour most men pointing out a cruiser to their children say "That's a dreadnought"—a state of confusion bred and fostered by the strange, dark, dangerous element in which the Navy has its being.
So much for the causes of our odd willingness to forego one of the chief privileges of British birthright, which is to criticise, even to belittling, all that is ours. But there is justification, too, as the state of the sea to-day testifies. Thanks to the Navy there is at this moment hardly an enemy ship at large on the surface of the waters. The Kaiser's darling ironclads are idle as painted ships upon a painted ocean: not even an ocean, a canal. Our troops in millions have crossed to the Continent. We have enough to eat.
By what wonders of efficiency and discipline, machinery and co-ordination, this result has been brought about we neither know nor are concerned to enquire. Enough that it is. But when it comes to personnel, curiosity is legitimate; and this collection of portraits and brief biographies has been prepared in the belief that very many of those whose lives have been rendered secure by these efforts of the Navy would like to see what manner of men are in control of our safeguards. This is the heyday of the picture, and here are the pictures of our leading sailors—the commanders who stand between us and the foe and keep the foe at bay.
Charles Lamb (who was less of a sea-dog even than most men) confessed in old age that he once sat to an artist friend for the portraits of sixteen British Admirals. Mr. Dodd (even could a sitter of such notable companionableness be now found) would have forced himself[5] to dispense with the fun of using him, for verisimilitude's sake, because all these heads have been drawn from life and are reproduced as nearly as possible in the colours of life. Looking over the forty and more Naval heroes whom he has limned, one is struck by a generic likeness which is deeper than such superficial similarity as the service beard can confer. Most of the Admirals look like Admirals—and is there a better thing to be? Certainly there is no better word. Not only have their ability and courage and character united to lift them to high position and authority; but here, again, we discern the subtle and penetrating influence of the sea, a mistress who will allow no relaxation of vigilance or toil, so swiftly and dangerously changeable can she be. Hence the keen eyes, the level gaze, of all who would understand and cope with her, and noticeably of all this gallant company.
In the present work the emphasis is laid rather upon the illustrations than the letterpress. It is a gallery of portraits rather than a series of biographies such as "The Lives of the British Admirals," which was written by Dr. John Campbell, and, with periodical additions, so long held the field. The time for such biographies happily is not yet. But when it comes may there be some victories (already, of course, there are three or four) to record as decisive and as noble as those in Campbell's volumes!
ADMIRAL SIR JOHN RUSHWORTH JELLICOE, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O., was born on December 5th, 1859. He was educated at Rottingdean, and entered the Navy in 1872, becoming in 1880 a Lieutenant (three First Class Certificates). As a young officer he specialised in Gunnery.
During the Egyptian War, as Lieutenant of the "Agincourt," he gained the Egyptian Medal and Khedive's Bronze Star. In 1883 he received a special £80 prize at the Royal Naval College.
In May, 1886, Lieutenant Jellicoe was awarded the Board of Trade Silver Medal for having commanded a gig, manned by volunteers, which set out to rescue the crew of a steamer stranded on a sandbank near Gibraltar. A heavy sea was running and the boat capsized, but the crew, being provided with cork jackets, managed to reach the shore in safety.
Lieutenant Jellicoe was Assistant to the Director of Naval Ordnance from 1888 to 1891, on June 30th of which year he became a Commander, and was serving in the "Victoria" when she foundered off Tripoli after collision with the "Camperdown" on June 27th, 1893. At the time of the catastrophe Commander Jellicoe was suffering from Mediterranean fever. He was promoted to Captain on January 1st, 1897. During the Boxer outbreak in 1900 he was Flag-Captain in the "Centurion," and took part in Admiral Sir E. H. Seymour's International Expedition to relieve the Pekin Legations. In this Expedition he acted as Chief Staff Officer, was wounded, and afterwards received the C.B. for his services.
He was Naval Assistant to the Controller of the Navy from February,
1902, to August, 1903; Captain of the "Drake" from August, 1903,
to January, 1905; and Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes from[7]
[8]
[9]
1905 to August, 1907. In the previous March he had been made
Aide-de-Camp to the King, a post which he held until February 8th,
1907, when he became an Admiral. From August, 1907, to August, 1908,
he was Rear-Admiral in the Atlantic Fleet, becoming Third Sea Lord
and Controller of the Navy at the end of 1908. He commanded the
Atlantic Fleet in 1910, with the rank of Acting Vice-Admiral, and on
the occasion of King George V.'s Coronation he was made a K.C.B.
In 1911 he commanded the Second Division of the Home Fleet, becoming
a Vice-Admiral on September 18th of that year. On December 9th,
1912, he was appointed Second Sea Lord.
On the outbreak of war on August 4th, 1914, he was given Chief Command of the Grand Fleet, with the acting rank of Admiral. He was in supreme command at the Battle of Jutland.
In recognition of his services during the war, he received the G.C.B. on February 8th, 1915, and an Order in Council, dated November 10th, 1914, laid down that "Admiral Jellicoe on his promotion to the rank of Admiral is to retain seniority as Admiral of August 4th, 1914, while holding his present command."
On May 31st, 1916, Admiral Jellicoe received the Order of Merit.
On December 4th, 1916, he became First Sea Lord, the title "Chief of Naval Staff" being added on May 31st, 1917.
Admiral Jellicoe holds the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the Russian Order of St. George (Third Class), the Order of the First Class of the Rising Sun with Paulounia, and the Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, also the French and Belgian Croix de Guerre and the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy.
No biographical notice of Sir John Jellicoe would be complete without a mention of his father, who was, in his day, a well-known and distinguished Captain in the Merchant Service. It is pleasant to remember that Captain Jellicoe lived to see his son in command of the Grand Fleet during the greatest war in history. This close connection between the two branches of sea service is also peculiarly happy and appropriate. Admiral Patton, a great-grandfather on his mother's side, was Second Sea Lord during the Trafalgar campaign.
ADMIRAL SIR CECIL BURNEY, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., was born in 1858 and received his education at the Royal Naval Academy, Gosport; he served as a Lieutenant of the "Carysfoot" during the Egyptian war, and also in the Naval and military operations near Suakin in the Eastern Soudan. For these services he received the Egyptian Medal, Khedive's Bronze Star and Suakin Clasp.
As a Lieutenant of the "Hecate" Admiral Burney performed a singularly gallant action. His ship having gone outside Plymouth Breakwater for gun trials, a carpenter's mate engaged in some work on the outside of a turret slipped overboard, striking his head as he fell. Lieutenant Burney and Mr. Berridge, gunner, at once plunged to the rescue and succeeded in supporting the man till one of the boats, which unfortunately were stowed inboard owing to gun practice, could be got ready to go to their assistance.
In 1906-7 Admiral Burney was Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII. He was Rear-Admiral of Plymouth Home Fleet, 1909-10, a member of the Admiralty Submarine Committee, 1910-11; Rear-Admiral Commanding Fifth Cruiser Squadron, February, 1911; Acting Vice-Admiral Commanding Third Battle Squadron (formerly Atlantic Fleet), in December of the same year and Vice-Admiral in September, 1912.
In April, 1913, he became second in command in the Mediterranean and Senior Officer of the International Squadron ordered to blockade the coast of Montenegro, and in May of the same year he was appointed Chief to the Commission to administer the affairs of Scutari on behalf of the Powers.
Vice-Admiral Burney received the K.C.B. on King George's Birthday in 1913, and the K.C.M.G. in October of the same year, in which he also received the command of the Second and Third Fleets.
At the Battle of Jutland he was second in command of the Grand Fleet and was mentioned in despatches. He became a G.C.M.G. and Admiral in 1916, being decorated Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour for his war services in the same year. In 1916 he was also appointed Second Sea Lord of the Admiralty. He also holds the Order of St. Vladimir (Second Class) with swords, the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus, and the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
Admiral Burney retired from the post of Second Sea Lord in August, 1917, and in October was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the East Coast of Scotland in succession to the late Admiral Sir Frederick Hamilton.
ADMIRAL SIR CHARLES EDWARD MADDEN, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., C.V.O., became a midshipman in October, 1877. As an Acting Sub-Lieutenant of H.M.S. "Ruby," he served in the Egyptian War of 1882 and received the Egyptian Medal and the Khedive's Bronze Star. He became a Lieutenant on July 27th, 1884.
As a young officer, Admiral Madden specialized in Torpedo work, and from 1893 to 1896 was First Lieutenant and Staff Officer of the "Vernon" torpedo school ship.
On June 30th of the latter year he became Commander and was promoted Captain on the same day of the same month in 1901.
From 1902 to 1904 Captain Madden was Flag Captain to Sir Wilmot Fawkes, commanding the Cruiser Squadron in H.M.S. "Good Hope."
On February 7th, 1905, Captain Madden was appointed Naval Assistant to the Controller of the Navy, becoming on December 20th of the following year Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord.
On the occasion of King Edward's Review of the Home Fleet in the Solent on August 3rd, 1907, he received the C.V.O.
Nine days later Captain Madden became Captain of H.M.S. "Dreadnought," and Chief of Staff, Home Fleet.
On December 1st, 1908, he was appointed Private Secretary to the
First Lord of the Admiralty, and from January 25th, 1910, to December,
1911, was Fourth Sea Lord; from January, 1910, to April 12th, 1911,[15]
[16]
[17]
when he was promoted to Rear-Admiral, Captain Madden was Aide-de-Camp
to the King.
From January 5th, 1912, to December 11th of the same year, he was Rear-Admiral in the First Battle Squadron First Fleet, and from December, 1912, to December, 1913, he commanded the Third Cruiser Squadron. In the latter month he assumed the command of the Second Cruiser Squadron, which command he held till July, 1914.
On the outbreak of War Rear-Admiral Madden was appointed Chief of the Staff to Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, and was specially granted the acting rank of Vice-Admiral on June 11th, 1915. He was present at the Battle of Jutland and was appointed a K.C.M.G. for his services on that occasion.
In his despatch, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe said of Vice-Admiral Madden, "Throughout a period of twenty-one months of war his services have been of inestimable value. His good judgment, his long experience in fleets, special gift for organization, and his capacity for unlimited work, have all been of the greatest assistance to me, and have relieved me of much of the anxiety inseparable from the conduct of the Fleet during the war. In the stages leading up to the Fleet action, and during and after the action, he was always at hand to assist, and his judgment was never at fault.
"I owe him more than I can say."
Vice-Admiral Madden was made a K.C.B. on January 1st, 1916, a K.C.M.G. on May 31st, and confirmed as a Vice-Admiral on June 10th of the same year. On November 28th, 1916, he was made an Acting-Admiral and appointed in command of a portion of the Grand Fleet.
He is a Commander of the Legion of Honour, a Commander of the Military Order of Savoy, holds the Russian Order of St. Anne (First Class), with Swords, and Japanese Order of the Rising Sun (First Class).
REAR-ADMIRAL RICHARD FORTESCUE PHILLIMORE, C.B., M.V.O., entered the Navy in 1878, became a Lieutenant in 1886 and a Commander in 1899. He was Commander of the "Goliath" during the China War of 1900 (medal), and commanded H.M.S. "Mohawk" during the operations in Somaliland in 1904 (medal).
He commanded the machine guns of the Naval Brigade at the capture of Illig.
On June 30th, 1904, he was promoted to Captain.
From June, 1912, to the end of August, 1914, he was Chief of Staff in the Mediterranean Fleet, holding the rank of Commodore (Second Class) from September, 1913.
On January 1st, 1914, he was awarded the C.B.
When Sir A. Berkeley Milne hauled down his flag, Captain Phillimore remained in "Inflexible" as Captain, and commanded her in Admiral Sturdee's action off the Falkland Islands, during the bombardment of the Chanak Forts on March 18th, 1915, and during the previous operations in the Dardanelles. "Commended for service in Action."
He was principal Beach-Master at the landing in Gallipoli in 1915.
Mentioned in despatches as having performed "most valuable service," and again mentioned for Transport Services.
He was attached to the Russian Imperial Headquarters from October, 1915, to December, 1916, and holds the Order of St. Vladimir (Third Class) with Swords (awarded in November, 1915) and St. Stanislaus, First Class with swords (awarded in December, 1916).
Aide-de-Camp to the King, 1915-1916.
VICE-ADMIRAL SIR REGINALD HUGH SPENCER BACON, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., D.S.O., was born in September, 1863, and entered the Navy in 1877. In 1883 he became a Lieutenant (Five Firsts and promotion marks). In 1887 he joined the "Camperdown" as Torpedo Lieutenant. He was awarded a silver medal by the Italian Government for bravery displayed in rescuing the crew of the Indian vessel, "Utopia," wrecked in Gibraltar Bay in March, 1891. As Commander of the "Theseus," he served in the punitive Naval expedition commanded by Rear-Admiral Rawson, C.B., and took part in the landing and capture of Benin City in February, 1897. It was in connection with this campaign that he wrote "Benin, the City of Blood." As Chief of the Intelligence Department, he was mentioned in despatches, received the General African Medal, Benin Clasp, and the D.S.O.
He was the first Inspecting Captain of Submarines, and held the appointment from March, 1901, till October, 1904, being in charge of the Submarine Service during that time. He was Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord from October, 1904, to December, 1905; the first Captain of H.M.S. "Dreadnought," 1906-07, and Flag-Captain and Chief of the Staff in the Home Fleet in the latter year. From August, 1907, to December, 1909, Rear-Admiral Bacon was Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes.
On the occasion of King Edward VII.'s Review of the Home Fleet in the Solent he received the C.V.O., and was Aide-de-Camp to the King from 1908 to 1909, during which year he became a Rear-Admiral.
Having retired in 1909 to take up the post of Managing Director of the Coventry Ordnance Works, he returned to service in January, 1915, as Officer Commanding the Siege Brigade, Royal Marines, with temporary rank of Colonel Second Commandant. He served with the Expeditionary Force in France. Later in the same year Admiral Bacon was placed in command of the Dover Patrol, becoming a Vice-Admiral on July 15th, 1915, and being made a K.C.B. on January 1st, 1916.
On the occasion of the King's visit to his Army in the Field in August, 1916, Vice-Admiral Bacon received the K.C.V.O.
He became a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour in September, 1916, and was also created Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold by the King of the Belgians in November, 1916. In 1917 he received the Belgian Croix de Guerre.
VICE-ADMIRAL SIR JOHN MICHAEL de ROBECK, K.C.B., received his Naval education on board the "Britannia," and entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1875. He became a Lieutenant on September 30th, 1885, a Commander on the June 22nd, 1897, and a Captain on January 1st, 1902.
From February 15th, 1911, to December 21st of the same year he was Inspecting Captain of Boys' Training Establishments. On December 1st, 1911, he became a Rear-Admiral. From April 8th, 1912, to May 1st, 1914, he was Admiral of Patrols, being the first occupant of that post.
On the outbreak of war he commanded a Cruiser Force, and on the
retirement through illness of Vice-Admiral Carden in 1915 he was
appointed acting Vice-Admiral in Command of the British Eastern
Mediterranean Squadron at the Dardanelles, March 17th, and directed
the Naval operations carried out in March and April of that year. It
was during this period that the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force
was landed and firmly established on the Gallipoli Peninsula. In his
despatch published in the "London Gazette," July 6th, 1915, General
Sir Ian Hamilton said, "Throughout the events I have chronicled, the
Royal Navy has been father and mother to the Army. Not one of us
realises how much he owes to Vice-Admiral de Robeck." Later in the
year Sir Ian Hamilton wrote: "The sheet-anchor on which hung the
whole of these elaborate schemes was the Navy. One tiny flaw in the
mutual trust and confidence animating the two services would have
wrecked the whole enterprise. Experts at a distance may have guessed
as much: it was self-evident to the rawest private on the spot. But
with men like Vice-Admiral de Robeck, Commodore Roger Keyes,[27]
[28]
[29]
Rear-Admiral Christian, and Captain F. H. Mitchell at our backs, we
soldiers were secured against any such risk, and it will be seen how
perfect was the precision the sailors put into their job."
Vice-Admiral de Robeck also commanded the Naval Forces which took part in the evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula between November 20th, 1915, and January 9th, 1916.
He was appointed a K.C.B. on January 1st, 1916, in recognition of the services he had rendered during the war.
He is a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, and holds the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure (First Class), and the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy.
VICE-ADMIRAL TREVYLYAN DACRES WILLES NAPIER, C.B., M.V.O., entered the Navy as a cadet in 1880, becoming a midshipman two years later. He served in the Egyptian War on board the "Minotaur," receiving the Egyptian Medal and Khedive's Bronze Star.
On February 14th, 1887, he was promoted Lieutenant, becoming a Commander on January 1st, 1899. He served in command of a Destroyer Flotilla, and in the Royal Yacht and attained the rank of Captain on June 30th, 1903.
Between 1904 and 1907 he was Flag-Captain to Admiral Sir John Durnford on the Cape Station, and from 1907 to 1910 commanded the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, and commanded the "Bellerophon" from 1910 to 1912.
He was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the King on January 14th, 1913, and on July 1st of the same year was appointed Commodore in command of the Second Light Cruiser Squadron, which command he held till December 1st.
On October 24th, 1913, he became a Rear-Admiral. He has served
afloat in the war from December, 1914, to the present time, and for his
services received the C.B. on June 3rd, 1916. He was also mentioned
in despatches for his services in the Battle of Jutland, in which he
commanded the Third Light Cruiser Squadron. The Squadron had
a difficult rôle to perform throughout the battle. With the First Light
Cruiser Squadron it formed the screen of Sir David Beatty's Battle[31]
[32]
[33]
Cruiser Squadrons at the opening of the battle, and later in the day
protected the head of the line from torpedo attack by light cruisers and
destroyers. It attacked the German Battle Cruisers with torpedoes
and gun fire. "Rear-Admiral Napier deserves great credit for his
determined and effective attack."
He holds the Order of St. Stanislaus (First Class), with swords.
REAR-ADMIRAL SIR OSMOND DE BEAUVOIR BROCK, K.C.V.O., C.B., C.M.G., entered the Navy in the early 'eighties of the last century, becoming a Midshipman on August 15th, 1884. While serving in the "Raleigh" he was awarded the Royal Humane Society's Testimonial on Vellum for having jumped overboard at Simon's Bay to the assistance of John Duggan, stoker.
He was promoted to Lieutenant on February 14th, 1889, having passed the examination with five First Class Certificates, and later specialised in Gunnery. He was promoted to Commander on January 1st, 1900, and on January 1st, 1904, he became a Captain. In 1905 he was Flag Captain to Lord Charles Beresford, and in November, 1910, was appointed Assistant Director of Naval Mobilisation. From January 8th, 1912, to August 1st, 1912, he acted as Assistant Director, Mobilisation Division, Admiralty War Staff.
During the action in Heligoland Bight on August 28th, 1914,
Captain Brock commanded the "Princess Royal," and in the action off
the Dogger Bank, January 24th, 1915, he commanded the same ship.
When Sir David Beatty's flagship "Lion" was damaged he transferred
his flag to the destroyer "Attack," and later the "Princess Royal."
For his services Captain Brock was mentioned in despatches and
awarded the C.B. He commanded a Battle Cruiser Squadron in the
Battle of Jutland, was again mentioned in despatches and awarded
the C.M.G. It was on these Battle Cruiser Squadrons, as Sir John
Jellicoe remarked, that the brunt of the fighting fell, and Sir David[35]
[36]
[37]
Beatty reported the "able support" rendered him in the battle by
their commanders.
He was Aide-de-Camp to the King from October 24th, 1913, to March 5th, 1915, when he became a Rear-Admiral.
REAR-ADMIRAL LIONEL HALSEY, C.B., C.M.G., Third Sea Lord, was born in 1872, and joined H.M.S. "Britannia" in 1885. As a Naval Cadet he served in the "Agincourt," Flag-ship of Rear-Admiral the Hon. Edmund R. Fremantle, then second in command of the Channel Squadron. Becoming a Sub-Lieutenant in 1891, he subsequently served as Lieutenant and Flag-Lieutenant in several different ships.
During the South African War he took part in the defence of Ladysmith, where he had charge of the 4.7 gun in Princess Victoria Battery at Cove Hill Redoubt. He was also executive Officer to Captain Lambton (now Admiral Sir Hedworth Meux) towards the end of the siege, besides taking charge of all the Naval guns. For his services in this connection he was mentioned in despatches.
On January 1st, 1901, he was specially promoted to Commander. In 1912 he became Captain of the "New Zealand," the first capital ship built at the charge of a Dominion Government. In the following year Captain Halsey received the C.M.G. From September, 1914, till he became Rear-Admiral in April, 1917, he was Aide-de-Camp to the King.
Captain Halsey was mentioned in despatches for his services in the
actions at Heligoland and the Dogger Bank. He became Captain of
the Fleet and Commodore, First Class, in 1915. After the Battle of
Jutland, Admiral Jellicoe wrote as follows:—"My special thanks are
due to Commodore Lionel Halsey, C.M.G., the Captain of the Fleet,
who also assists me in the working of the Fleet at sea, and to whose good
organization is largely due the rapidity with which the Fleet was[39]
[40]
[41]
fuelled and replenished with ammunition on return to its bases. He
was of much assistance to me during the action."
Commodore Halsey received the C.B. on June 3rd, 1916, becoming Fourth Sea Lord in December of the same year, and Third Sea Lord in May, 1917. He is a Commander of the Legion of Honour, and holds the Russian Order of St. Vladimir (Third Class).
VICE-ADMIRAL SIR WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER PAKENHAM, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., was born in July, 1861, the second son of the late Rear-Admiral the Hon. Thomas Alexander Pakenham. In his early days in the Royal Navy he made a reputation as a swimmer, assisting in the rescue of a seaman who fell overboard at Larnaca, Cyprus, and some years later endeavouring to save a man who fell from the foreyard of the "Calypso" during drill at Kiel. He became a Captain on June 30th, 1903, and from April, 1904, to May, 1906, he was Naval Attaché at Tokyo.
He became a C.B. in July, 1905, and received the Order of the Rising Sun (Second Class) from H.I.M. the Emperor of Japan in 1906. In July, 1907, when in command of the "Antrim," escorting King Edward to Ireland, he was awarded the M.V.O.
From December, 1911, to December, 1913, he was a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. In June, 1913, he became Rear-Admiral, and in December was appointed to command the Third Cruiser Squadron.
Rear-Admiral Pakenham was present at the Battle of Jutland and received a K.C.B. on May 31st, 1916, for his services on that occasion.
When Admiral Sir David Beatty was given the command of the Grand Fleet in succession to Admiral Sir John Jellicoe in November, 1916, Admiral Pakenham was selected to assume the command of the Battle Cruiser Force, and was promoted to Acting Vice-Admiral on June 19th, 1917.
On the occasion of the visit of H.M. King George to the Fleet in July, 1917, Admiral Pakenham was made a K.C.V.O.
Vice-Admiral Pakenham has received the Russian Order of St. Stanislaus (Second Class), and also an Imperial Gift, graciously conferred by H.I.M. the Emperor of Japan.
COMMODORE GODFREY MARSHALL PAINE, C.B., M.V.O., was born in 1871 and entered the Navy in 1885, becoming a Lieutenant on August 23rd, 1893, after service in the Royal Yacht.
On December 31st, 1903, he became a Commander, and was in the "Renown" during the voyage of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India, October, 1905, to May, 1906. On June 30th, 1907, he became a Captain. From June, 1909, to June, 1911, he commanded the Third Torpedo Boat Destroyer Flotilla.
From August, 1911, to May, 1912, he was Captain of H.M.S. "Actæon," the Torpedo School Ship at Sheerness, then the Headquarters of the infant Naval Air Service. He gained the pilot's certificate of the Royal Aero Club in May, 1912, flying a Short biplane, and before the end of the month became first Commandant of the Central Flying School, Salisbury Plain.
This School, inaugurated in 1912, was open to both Naval and Military aviators, and was, in consequence, an institution demanding special qualifications from the Officer in command. The new experiment proved a complete success under Captain Paine.
In 1915 Captain Paine became a Commodore (First Class), and in
1917 he was appointed Director of Naval Air Service and Fifth Sea
Lord. The skill, versatility and usefulness of the Naval Air Service
have rivalled those of the military airmen. The naval airmen have
had to discover their true rôle and make their traditions. When their[47]
[48]
[49]
record can be known the success of Commodore Paine will be fully
appreciated. He received a C.B. on January 1st, 1914. He is also
a Commander of the Legion of Honour.
COMMODORE (First Class) SIR REGINALD YORKE TYRWHITT, K.C.B., D.S.O., was born in 1870 and entered the "Britannia" as a cadet in 1885, becoming a Lieutenant on August 25th, 1892.
As Lieutenant of H.M.S. "Cleopatra" in 1894 he was one of a landing party, composed of seamen and marines, under Lieutenant Colmore, who went to protect the inhabitants of Bluefields, Nicaragua. This expedition saved the lives of the inhabitants, who expressed their gratitude in a letter of thanks.
Having become a Captain on June 30th, 1908, Captain Tyrwhitt commanded the Second Flotilla from August, 1912, to November, 1913, when he was appointed Captain of the First Fleet Flotillas and was advanced to the rank of Commodore (Second Class), in April, 1914.
At the outbreak of war, Commodore Tyrwhitt was in command of the Harwich Force consisting of the First, Second, and Tenth Flotillas. He took part in the actions in the Heligoland Bight and off the Dogger Bank and in many minor actions in 1914-17.
For his services in the action in the Heligoland Bight he was awarded the C.B. The "London Gazette" stated that his attack was delivered with great skill and gallantry. Commodore Tyrwhitt also received the thanks of the Admiralty for the manner in which he lead his forces.
In December, 1914, he was advanced to Commodore (First Class). In June, 1916, he received the D.S.O., and in April, 1917, he was appointed A.D.C. to the King, and for services rendered during the War received the K.C.B. on July 25th, 1917.
Commodore Tyrwhitt is a Commander of the Legion of Honour and Chevalier of the Military Order of Savoy.
In Monthly Parts, Price 2/- net. | Parts I.-V. in Volume form, with extra matter, 15/- net. |
Parts VI.-X. in Volume form, with extra matter, 15/- net. |
Mr. Muirhead Bone's drawings are reproduced in the following form, apart from "The Western Front" publication:—
WAR DRAWINGS | ||
Size 20 by 15 inches. | Ten Plates in each part, 10/6 net. | |
MUNITION DRAWINGS | ||
Size 31½ by 22 inches. | Six Plates in portfolio, 20/- net. | |
WITH THE GRAND FLEET | ||
Size 31½ by 22 inches. | Six Plates in portfolio, 20/- net. | |
"TANKS" | ||
Size 28 by 20¼ inches. | Single Plate, 5/- net. |
The sequel to the monthly publication illustrated by Mr. Muirhead Bone will be issued under the title of "British Artists at the Front."
In size, quality of paper and style this publication will retain the characteristics of its predecessor.
The illustrations will be in colours, and will be provided by various artists who have been given facilities to make records of the War.
Further particulars of this publication will be sent on application to "Country Life," Ltd., 20, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 2.
INTRODUCTION | ||
I.— | HAIG, FIELD MARSHAL SIR DOUGLAS, K.T., G.C.B., G.C.V.O., K.C.I.E., A.D.C. | |
II.— | PLUMER, GENERAL SIR H. C. O., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., A.D.C. | |
III.— | RAWLINSON, GENERAL SIR H. S., Bart., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., K.C.V.O. | |
IV.— | GOUGH, GENERAL SIR H. De La POER, K.C.B., K.C.V.O. | |
V.— | ALLENBY, GENERAL SIR E. H., K.C.B. | |
VI.— | HORNE, GENERAL SIR H. S., K.C.B. | |
VII.— | BIRDWOOD, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR W. R., K.C.B., K.C.S.I., K.C.M.G., C.I.E., D.S.O. | |
VIII.— | BYNG, GENERAL THE HON. SIR J. H. G., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., M.V.O. | |
IX.— | CONGREVE, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR W. N., V.C., K.C.B., M.V.O. | |
X.— | HALDANE, LIEUT.-GEN. J. A. L., C.B., D.S.O. | |
XI.— | WATTS, LIEUT.-GEN. H. E., C.B., C.M.G. | |
XII.— | SMUTS, LIEUT.-GEN. THE RT. HON. JAN C., P.C., K.C., M.L.A. |
Hudson & Kearns, Ltd., Printers, Hatfield Street, London, S.E. 1.
INTRODUCTION. | |
I.— | BEATTY, ADMIRAL SIR DAVID, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., D.S.O. |
II.— | JACKSON, ADMIRAL SIR HENRY B., G.C.B., K.C.V.O., F.R.S. |
III.— | COLVILLE, ADMIRAL THE HON. SIR STANLEY C. J., G.C.V.O., K.C.B. |
IV.— | BROCK, ADMIRAL SIR F. E. E., K.C.M.G., C.B. |
V.— | GRANT, REAR-ADMIRAL HEATHCOAT S., C.B. |
VI.— | TUDOR, REAR-ADMIRAL F. C. TUDOR, C.B. |
VII.— | CALLAGHAN, ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET SIR GEORGE A., G.C.B., G.C.V.O. |
VIII.— | LEVESON, REAR-ADMIRAL A. C., C.B. |
IX.— | EVAN-THOMAS, VICE-ADMIRAL SIR H., K.C.B., M.V.O. |
X.— | BRUCE, REAR-ADMIRAL HENRY H., C.B., M.V.O. |
XI.— | ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR, REAR-ADMIRAL E. S., C.B., M.V.O. |
XII.— | KEYES, REAR-ADMIRAL SIR ROGER J. B., K.C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O., D.S.O. |
THE first thing a landlubber does when he opens his mouth about the sea or about sea power is to put his foot in it; and therefore one's sense of decency in approaching this procession of illustrious admirals, headed by Sir David Beatty, compels one to put oneself in a posture of reverent trepidation and respectful humility. The man of words in time of war ought to prostrate himself before the man of action. He ought to order himself lowly and reverently before and very much below his betters. In his case judgment or even criticism is an outrageous impertinence. He knows little about war by land and even less about war by sea. Any enlargement of his knowledge is only a microscopical diminution of his ignorance. The sea is a mystery, unveiled only to those who go down to (or in) the sea in ships.
Sailors tolerate our immeasurable ignorance, for they rejoice in the sense of humour which the sea seems to enrich and expand. It is many years since a mischievous midshipman cajoled me into climbing the mast of H.M.S. "Majestic," then flying the flag of Sir Harry Rawson. Until I went up in an aeroplane at St. Omer I never drank more deeply of the cup of terror. That midshipman, for all I know, may now be one of these grave admirals with smiles lurking at the corners of their eyes and lips. It is a far cry from the naval manœuvres of the "'nineties" to the "real thing" of 1918, but the impulse to hark back to those mimic battles is irresistible. My first and last misdemeanour was the striking of a match on the paint of a casemate. The memory of it even now makes me blush from nape to heel, and warns me that nearly everything a landlubber may say about the Navy is as the striking of a match on the wrong place at the wrong time on a Victorian man o' war.
And yet those far-off days in wardroom and gunroom, on navigating bridge and quarter-deck, helped me to drink the pure milk of the Navy word. No man who has watched a blinded battle fleet keeping station on a pitch-black night, or whose head has grown giddy in the mazes of a cruiser action, or who has seen a destroyer attack pushed home in the dark, or who has seen the drifters coming in coated with ice, can fail to feel in his bones the thrill of sea-power. To such a man there comes at all moments the salt warning, "Put not your trust only in armies. For England there is but one supreme war-faith, the creed of the sea."
There is no lack of lip-service to the sea-creed in these islands. The sea-litany and the sea-liturgy and the sea-prayers and the sea-collects and the sea-psalms and the sea-proverbs are tirelessly chanted and sung and said by high and low. Line upon line, precept upon precept, sea-bible and sea-gospel and sea-hymn—we know them all by heart. Our Newbolts, our Kiplings, our Conrads, our Hurds, our Leylands—yes, and our Mahans—they are all a great cloud of witnesses to the supreme necessity of sea-power. And yet in one's lay bones one feels that our practice falls far short of our preaching, and that we as a race are not utterly single-minded in our worship of the one power who has never betrayed us, the sea. The sea is a jealous god, and in these latter days a sure instinct leads one back to the old faith taught by Nelson and his forerunners, by the great captains and admirals whose bones are dust.
Peace is a rust that tarnishes a Navy, and, as one studies these portraits and these all too brief and bare biographies, one wonders whether "the Nelson touch" is hereditary, and whether these clear-eyed, strong-lipped admirals are all chips of the old block. One wonders, I say, and yet one does not doubt, for at every meal we eat the proof of the pudding. These admirals and their men have kept the faith and held the sea against High Seas Fleet and mine and submarine. Not for many a long day will all the wonders they have wrought be known or even suspected. Few there be who are allowed to peep into the inner shrine of admiralty. The higher secrets of sea-power are guarded and will be guarded long after Britain shall have won this war.
Herein is the true explanation of these modest memoirs which tell so little with all their camouflage of dates and decorations. Compared with a British admiral, Tacitus was a loquacious and copious blabber and babbler. If you interrogate him, he smiles and displays a long row of ribbons or a festoon of foreign orders. "The Silent Navy" is silent because it is not safe to talk or to be talked about, and also because it is not in love with the gauds of publicity. I confess I like the austere reticence of these dull and dreary lifelets of our great admirals. It warns us that we must walk by faith and not by sight when, like Peter, we take to the stormy waters.
There is, of course, the doubting Thomas, who is "hot for certainties" in the sea affair. He whispers in my ear that there is in the higher ranks a dearth of genius as compared with the lower ranks, and he tries to support his theory by asserting that all the brilliant junior officers must pass through a narrow bottle-neck before they become captains, and that the captains, after ten or twelve years of that awful solitude which is the captain's pride and peril, are apt to suffer from the ossifying brain which rejects new ideas, from the crusted conservatism which resists reform, from deskwork and paperwork, and from all the ravages of the red tapeworm.
My answer is that the sea is a giant that refreshes itself, and that your Nelson is proof against his routine, master of his groove. The long duel with the submarine is in itself evidence of the adaptability of our seamen. Where we have failed is not on the sea but in the dim region behind the sea, where the word of the sailor is no longer dominant and where other forces and factors interlock and interplay. Many and manifold are the uses of sea-power; many and manifold also are its abuses. And it is one of the qualities of sea-power that it is inarticulate, not given to polemics or dialectics or rhetoric or oratory, a thing of profound instinct and intuition, a product of the genius of race. Napoleon never understood sea-power as the German Emperor and Admiral von Tirpitz have learned to understand it, after much patient poring over the writings of Mahan. In all humility we ought not to be surprised that some of our own great ones have been and perhaps still are in the same state of pupilage as Napoleon. But war is a schoolmaster whose lessons are learned in due time by the most backward scholars.
There is a music-hall song sung in these stern days by some witless buffoon, "If you don't want to fight, join the Navy." As if the locker of Davy Jones were not fat with the valour of our seamen and our fishermen! In the bitterness of his soul a Super-Dreadnought captain said to me, "After the war I'll not be able to walk down Piccadilly without being hissed." These are extravagances of hyperbole, but they are a reflection of the folly that asks, "What is the Navy doing?" When I hear that fatuous question I retort, "What on earth and what on the sea is the Navy not doing?" It is keeping the ring for all the armies of all the Allies, and it is waiting for the last great sea-fight of Armageddon, the fight that is bound to come.
"They were dull, weary, eventless months, those months of watching and waiting of the big ships. Purposeless they surely seemed to many, but they saved England. Those far distant storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and the dominion of the world." A greater army than the Grand Army, led by chieftains hardly less renowned than Napoleon, is battering, as I write, at the gates of the Channel Ports. Whatever may befall, we know in our bones that these admirals of ours and their seamen stand between the Emperor Wilhelm and his imperial dream of world tyranny. Sir David Beatty sitting in his deck-chair is a living symbol of sea-power, and the armchair pessimist may well emulate his nonchalant vigilance, noting the wicked twinkle in his humorous eye and the sardonic curl of his sailor-mouth.
The Kaiser has chosen to sup with the sea-devil, and he has need of a very long spoon before he sees his supper, which happens to be our freedom and the freedom of all free men.
ADMIRAL SIR DAVID BEATTY, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., was born on January 17th, 1871, and entered the "Britannia" in January, 1884. He became a Lieutenant in August, 1892. During the Egyptian War he served on the Nile in cooperation with the Egyptian Army, under the late Lord Kitchener. In the course of this campaign he rendered excellent service in getting gunboats over the Cataract, and, as second in command of the Flotilla, at the forcing of the Dervish batteries at Hafir under fire.
On Commander Colville being wounded, Lieutenant Beatty took command of the Flotilla and fought the gunboats in front of the enemy batteries with great persistence and success, eventually dismounting their guns. For these services he was awarded the D.S.O. and mentioned in despatches.
He was also mentioned in despatches by the Sirdar for service with the gunboats employed during the Soudan operations on the Nile in 1898, which included the capture of Berber and the battles of Atbara and Khartoum. He subsequently accompanied Lord Kitchener in the advance to Fashoda, and was present at his meeting with Major Marchand. After the capture of Khartoum he was specially promoted to Commander.
When the Boxer outbreak occurred Admiral Beatty was Commander
in the "Barfleur," second flagship on the China Station, and served in
the Tientsin Concession throughout the siege. He showed exceptional
tenacity in attempting with 200 bluejackets to capture two Chinese guns
which were causing great trouble to the forces and inhabitants; after
being twice wounded he continued to lead his men to the attack. He
afterwards commanded the British Naval Brigade of the international
force which relieved Admiral Seymour's expedition from a critical[60]
[61]
[62]
situation in Hsikon Arsenal. Later he commanded the Naval Brigade
at the capture of Tientsin City. For these services he was specially
promoted to the rank of Captain at the early age of 29, in 1900.
From November, 1908, to January 1st, 1910, Captain Beatty was Aide-de-Camp to the King.
On January 1st, 1910, although not 39 years old, he became Rear-Admiral, and two years later was appointed Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, a post which he held until February, 1913. During the Naval Manœuvres of 1912, Rear-Admiral Beatty commanded the Sixth Cruiser Squadron, flying his flag in H.M.S. "Aboukir."
In the following year he was appointed to command the First Battle Cruiser Squadron. In June, 1914, he was made a K.C.B., and on August 3rd was promoted Acting Vice-Admiral and given command of the Cruiser Forces of the Grand Fleet.
On August 28th, 1914, he was in command of the British Forces which proceeded into the Heligoland Bight in support of a Flotilla of Destroyers which was being hard pressed. In the action which resulted, three German Light Cruisers were sunk. No British ships were lost.
In January, 1915, he commanded the British Forces in the action off the Dogger Bank, which resulted in the sinking of the "Blucher." His flagship, "Lion," was severely damaged at a critical moment of the action and was towed back to port.
He was subsequently appointed to command the Battle Cruiser Fleet.
At the Battle of Jutland he succeeded, after very severe fighting, in drawing the enemy's fleet towards the British Battle Fleet and establishing touch between them.
For his services he was mentioned in despatches and received the G.C.B.
In November, 1916, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, with the acting rank of Admiral.
He is a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, Grand Officer of the Military Order of Savoy, and holds the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, and the Russian Military Order of St. George (Fourth Class).
ADMIRAL SIR HENRY BRADWARDINE JACKSON, G.C.B., K.C.V.O., entered the Royal Navy in 1868, became a Lieutenant on October 27th, 1877, a Commander on January 1st, 1890, and a Captain on June 30th, 1896.
As Lieutenant of the "Active" he took part in the Zulu War in 1878-9, and for his services was awarded the South African Medal.
In 1882 he received the Royal Naval College prize when qualifying for Torpedo Lieutenant. He served as Senior Staff Officer of the "Vernon" from 1886 until promoted to Commander. As a Captain he was Naval Attaché from 1897-1899. In May, 1901, he was nominated a Fellow of the Royal Society for his researches in electrical physics. In February, 1902, he was appointed Assistant Director of Torpedoes, and, after further services at sea, Controller of the Navy in February, 1905.
From September 12th, 1905, to October 18th, 1906, he was Aide-de-Camp to the King, being promoted Rear-Admiral on the latter date.
On November 9th, 1906, he received the K.C.V.O., and from October 16th, 1908, to October 10th, 1910, he was in command of the Third, afterwards known as the Sixth, Cruiser Squadron.
On June 23rd, 1910, he became a K.C.B., and on the 21st December of the same year was Admiralty representative at the International Conference on Aerial Navigation at Paris.
He was in command of the Royal Naval War College from February, 1911, to January, 1913, becoming a Vice-Admiral on March 15th of the first mentioned year.
During the Naval Manœuvres in July, 1912, he temporarily commanded the Seventh Squadron, hoisting his flag in H.M.S. "Illustrious." He was Chief of the War Staff in January, 1913, and was promoted to Admiral on February 10th, 1914.
He was nominated Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean in August, 1914, but on the outbreak of war was retained for special service at the Admiralty.
He was First Sea Lord from May 27th, 1915, to December 3rd, 1916, and was then appointed President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
He became a G.C.B. on December 4th, 1916, and First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King on April 2nd, 1917.
ADMIRAL THE HONOURABLE SIR STANLEY CECIL JAMES COLVILLE, G.C.V.O., K.C.B., became a Midshipman on October 21st, 1876, a Lieutenant on November 18th, 1882, a Commander on August 25th, 1892, and a Captain on October 31st, 1896.
As a Midshipman of the "Boadicea" he landed with the Naval Brigade during the Zulu War and accompanied the Ekowe Relief Column. He was present at the battle of Ginghilovo, April 2nd, 1879, and accompanied the Brigade to Port Durnford. He received the South African Medal and clasp. As Sub-Lieutenant of the "Alexandra," during the Egyptian War, he was awarded the Egyptian Medal and Khedive's Bronze Star.
As Lieutenant of the "Alexandra" he served with the Naval Brigade landed for service in the Sudan and with the Nile Expedition for the relief of General Gordon at Khartum, 1884-5, receiving the Nile Medal and clasp.
Employed on the Nile and in the Sudan in co-operation with the Egyptian Army under the Sirdar (the late Lord Kitchener), he rendered excellent service in connection with the construction of gunboats. He commanded the Flotilla on the advance of the Egyptian Army on Dongola, at the forcing of the passage of Hafir on September 19th, 1896, when he was severely wounded, and at the taking of Dongola.
For these services he was mentioned in despatches, promoted to Captain, and made a C.B.
He was Naval Adviser to the Inspector General of Fortifications in 1897 and 1898; Chief of Staff, Mediterranean Station, May 1st, 1902, on June 6th of which year he received the C.V.O.
From December 4th, 1905, to November 11th, 1906, he was Aide-de-Camp to the King, being promoted Rear-Admiral on the latter date. From January, 1908, to January, 1909, he was in command of the Nore division, Home Fleet, and from February, 1909, to March, 1911, he was in command of the First Cruiser Squadron.
On April 12th, 1911, he became a Vice-Admiral, and was made a K.C.B. on June 14th of the following year.
From June 22nd, 1912, to June 22nd, 1914, he was Vice-Admiral commanding the First Battle Squadron, and on September 5th, 1914, he was appointed for special service. On September 14th, 1914, he became Admiral. In December, 1914, he was temporarily in command of the First Battle Squadron, Grand Fleet. He received the G.C.V.O. on July 9th, 1915, and was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, on February 17th, 1916.
ADMIRAL SIR FREDERIC EDWARD ERRINGTON BROCK, K.C.M.G., C.B., was born on October 15th, 1854. He entered the Navy in 1868 and became Lieutenant on December 8th, 1879, Commander on January 1st, 1893, and Captain on June 30th, 1898.
From 1907 to 1908 he was Aide-de-Camp to the King, and became in the latter year a Rear-Admiral. From 1909 to 1910 he was in command of the Portsmouth Division of the Home Fleet, and from September, 1912, to October, 1915, he was Senior Officer at Gibraltar, being in 1913 promoted to Vice-Admiral. He was awarded the C.B. (Civil) on September 27th, 1912.
On January 1st, 1916, Vice-Admiral Brock was made a K.C.M.G.—"In recognition of services rendered in connection with Naval operations of the War."
He became an Admiral on April 2nd, 1917.
He is a Commander of the Legion of Honour.
REAR-ADMIRAL HEATHCOAT SALUSBURY GRANT, C.B., born in 1864, was educated at Stubbington School, Fareham, and entered the Navy in 1877.
He has commanded H.M.S. "Diana," "Kent," "Black Prince," and "Canopus," having been in command of the latter as Guardship at Port Stanley at the time of Admiral Sturdee's action off the Falkland Islands.
He was Naval Attaché at Washington from June, 1912, to June, 1914. Rear-Admiral Grant holds the Royal Humane Society's Testimonial on Vellum for rescuing a young lad, Jervis Tylee by name, at Inverness on September 14th, 1894. While the steamer "Glengarry" was passing through Gairlochy Lochs on that date, Tylee, who was a passenger, while walking ashore, slipped into the canal. Immediately the accident was observed, Lieutenant Grant, who happened to be a fellow passenger, plunged into the canal to the rescue, and seizing hold of the lad swam with him to the side and held him up till assistance was forthcoming to help them both on shore.
As Captain of the "Diana" in 1907, Rear-Admiral Grant received the Cross of the Order of Naval and Military Merit (Second Class) from the King of Spain.
For his services in action during the operations in Gallipoli from April, 1915, to May, 1916 (being then a Captain), he received high commendation and was made a C.B.
He became a Rear-Admiral on June 4th, 1916, having been awarded a Good Service Pension in the previous year.
Since June, 1917, he has been Senior Officer, and in charge of all H.M. Naval Establishments at Gibraltar.
REAR-ADMIRAL FREDERICK CHARLES TUDOR TUDOR, C.B., is especially well known for his thorough knowledge of the limitations and capabilities of ordnance as applied to the strategical and tactical problems of modern warfare. In this particular line indeed he is an expert of undisputed authority where knowledge, besides being fortified by mental attainments of an unusually brilliant kind, is based upon a profound study of the science of gunnery, in which, it should be added, Rear-Admiral Tudor specialized during the early part of his career.
Navigation was originally the particular branch of naval knowledge to which the Admiralty directed him to devote himself, but early realising the immense part which heavy artillery was to play in modern warfare, Admiral Tudor, as a young man, eventually devoted his entire attention to the study of guns and gunnery. At no time in the history of armaments has such an important development of power, of rapidity of firing and of reliability of guns of all calibre, been known, and this being so, Officers like Rear-Admiral Tudor, who are experts in such matters, are absolutely invaluable to the British Navy.
From the very beginning of his career Rear-Admiral Tudor was recognised as an Officer possessing intelligence of a very high order.
From 1892 for two years he acted as Experimental Officer, and for a further two years as a Senior Staff Officer of H.M.S. "Excellent," passing to the Department of the Director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty in January, 1896, where he remained until May, 1898. In 1902 he became a Captain, and from September, 1906, to May, 1909, he was Assistant Director of Naval Ordnance.
As Captain of the "Excellent," to which ship he was appointed in August, 1910, Rear-Admiral Tudor did much to promote that proficiency in gunnery which is so vitally essential to the success of all modern naval operations. He held the post for nearly two years, and during that period impressed everyone who came in contact with him with the firm idea that he was the right man in the right place.
From April 12th, 1911, to January 14th, 1913, he was Aide-de-Camp to the King, on which latter date he was promoted to Rear-Admiral.
On June 12th, 1912, Rear-Admiral Tudor was appointed Director of Naval Ordnance, and on King George's birthday in 1913 he received the C.B.
He was Third Sea Lord on the Board of Admiralty from August 11th, 1914, to May 31st, 1917, being mainly responsible for new construction during this period of immense expansion of the Fleet under war conditions.
ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET, SIR GEORGE ASTLEY CALLAGHAN, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., was born on December 21st, 1852. He was in command of the "Endymion" during the operations in China in 1900; commanded the Naval Brigade during the advance with the Allied Forces for the relief of the Legations at Peking; mentioned in despatches, and received the C.B. for this service in November, 1900. He was Aide-de-Camp to the King from March 15th, 1904, to July 5th, 1905, and became a Rear-Admiral on July 1st, 1905, and was appointed Rear-Admiral in the Channel Fleet on November 16th, 1906. On April 5th, 1907, Admiral Callaghan became Rear-Admiral Commanding the 5th Cruiser Squadron, and on August 3rd of that year, on the occasion of the Review in the Solent of the Home Fleet by King Edward VII., he received the C.V.O. From November, 1908, to August, 1910, he was second in command of the Mediterranean Fleet, and was made a K.C.V.O. on April 24th, 1909, the occasion of the visit of King Edward and Queen Alexandra to Malta in the "Victoria and Albert." He was promoted Vice-Admiral on April 27th, 1910, and made a K.C.B. on June 24th the same year. He commanded the Second Division of the Home Fleet from August, 1910, to December, 1911, and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet on December 5th, 1911, which appointment he held until August 4th, 1914.
Admiral Callaghan was in command of the Home Fleet assembled for inspection at Weymouth Bay by King George V in May, 1912, and received the following message from His Majesty:—
"Before leaving I wish to express to you my satisfaction at finding the Fleet under your command in such a high state of efficiency. I was glad to have the opportunity of inspecting vessels of the latest type, and of witnessing squadron firing, an attack by submarines, and flights by aeroplanes. Will you express to the officers and men the pleasure it has given me to be again with them during the last few days?"
Admiral Callaghan received the G.C.V.O. on this occasion; his tenure of appointment as Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets, extended to three years.
He was promoted Admiral on May 17th, 1913, and on June 23rd of the same year he received from President Poincaré the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour. Was in command of the Fleets assembled at Spithead in July, 1914, for inspection by H.M. The King. On August 4th, 1914, he was appointed to the Admiralty War Staff. He became Commander-in-Chief at the Nore on January 1st, 1915, and was made a G.C.B. in the Birthday Honours of 1916. On September 11th, 1914, Admiral Callaghan was appointed first and principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King, and promoted Admiral of the Fleet on April 2nd, 1917.
For services after the Messina earthquake in December, 1908, Admiral Callaghan was made Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy and received the Italian Silver Medal.
REAR-ADMIRAL ARTHUR CAVENAGH LEVESON, C.B. (Civil), C.B. (Military), was born in 1868, and after going to a private school, began his Naval education on board the "Britannia." As a young man he gained Five Firsts, the Beaufort Testimonial and Goodenough Medal.
He qualified in gunnery.
He served as Gunnery Lieutenant in the "Victoria" in 1893, and was on board when she sank after collision with the "Camperdown" off Tripoli.
He was 1st Gunnery Officer at Whale Island (H.M.S. "Excellent"), and Brigade Major to the Naval Brigade in London on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee, 1897, for which he received the Jubilee Medal.
He was promoted to Commander from Whale Island, and became a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
He served as Commander for the whole of the first commission of the "Canopus," and was promoted to Captain on July 1st, 1903.
From August, 1903, to February, 1905, he was Naval Assistant to the Controller of the Navy.
He served as Flag Captain to Admiral Sir William May, Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, and took part in 1905 in the original initiation of the Entente Cordiale at Brest and in Paris, for which he received the Croix d'Officier of the Legion of Honour.
He subsequently commanded H.M. Battleship "Africa" and H.M. Battle-Cruiser "Indefatigable," and received the Coronation Medal of H.M. King George V. in 1911.
In 1912 he was made a C.B. (Civil) in the first batch of Naval officers to whom the award of this honour was extended.
In 1913 he was made Aide-de-Camp to H.M. King George V., and in the same year was Commodore (First Class) on the staff of Admiral of the Fleet Sir William May, Umpire-in-Chief during the Naval Manœuvres which took place during July and August.
He became Rear-Admiral on December 1st, 1913, and Director of Operations Divisions of the Admiralty War Staff on May 1st, 1914, and served as such for the first six months of the War.
He was then appointed Rear-Admiral, Second in Command of the Second Battle Squadron, and was present at the battle of Jutland on May 31st, 1916, for which he was mentioned in despatches and received the C.B. (Military). He has also received the Order of St. Stanislaus (First Class) with swords, and the Order of the Rising Sun (Second Class).
VICE-ADMIRAL SIR HUGH EVAN-THOMAS, K.C.B., M.V.O., was born in 1862 and entered the Royal Navy in 1876. He became a Lieutenant on December 31st, 1884, a Commander on January 1st, 1897, and a Captain on June 26th, 1902.
He was Flag Captain in the Channel Fleet, 1903-5, and Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty from 1905-08. Commanded H.M.S. "Bellerophon" 1908-1910.
From July, 1910, to August, 1912, he was in command of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and from February, 1911, to July 9th, 1912, Aide-de-Camp to the King, being promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on July 9th, 1912.
He was Rear-Admiral, First Battle Squadron, 1913-15, and was in command of the Fifth Battle Squadron with his Flag in H.M.S. "Barham" at the Battle of Jutland, May 31st, 1916, being mentioned in despatches. He received the C.B. on June 3rd of that year, and on September 15th, 1916, he was made a K.C.B. for his services during the Battle of Jutland. In the same month he was decorated Commander of the Legion of Honour by the President of the French Republic for his services in the war.
He also holds the Order of St. Anne (First Class) with swords, is a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy, and has received the Order of the Rising Sun (Second Class).
He became a Rear-Admiral on April 27th, 1917.
Assumed the rank of Acting Vice-Admiral, July 9th, 1917.
He was Aide-de-Camp to the King from December 6th, 1916, until promoted, and was awarded a Good Service Pension on January 10th, 1916.
He received the Civil C.B. on June 4th, 1917.
REAR-ADMIRAL HENRY HARVEY BRUCE, C.B., M.V.O., was born in 1862, and in the early 'eighties of the last century served as a Midshipman of the "Monarch" during the Egyptian War. For his services during that campaign he received the Egyptian Medal and Khedive's Bronze Star.
As a Midshipman in the "Monarch" Rear-Admiral Bruce had a very narrow escape of losing his life by an accident. This occurred during torpedo exercises, in the course of which a steam pinnace having come alongside the ship, a light charge of a fish torpedo suddenly exploded.
The result of this mishap was that a Lieutenant was killed on the spot, while several of the crew were severely hurt. Among the latter was Mr. Bruce, whose eyes sustained injuries which happily did not turn out to be as serious as was at first anticipated.
In 1911-12 he was Captain of the "Defence" in the detached Squadron which escorted the "Medina" to India for the Durbar; he received the M.V.O. (Fourth Class) on February 4th, 1912.
He was Captain of H.M.S. "Hercules" in the Grand Fleet when war broke out in August, 1914.
On June 1st, 1915, he was appointed Commodore Superintendent at Rosyth, being the first occupant of this post.
REAR-ADMIRAL EDWYN S. ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR OF FRESWICK, C.B., M.V.O., joined the "Britannia" in 1879 as a Cadet, becoming a Midshipman two and a-half years later. He acted as Flag-Lieutenant to a number of Admirals and was promoted to Commander on the January 11th, 1901.
From February, 1902, to January, 1904, he was in command of the Destroyer "Albatross," being afterwards placed in command of the "Surprise" until 1905, when he became a Captain.
He commanded the Royal Naval College at Osborne for three years, and in 1908 received the M.V.O.
Commodore Alexander-Sinclair was in command of H.M.S. "Galatea" when that ship assisted in the destruction of Zeppelin L7 off the Schleswig coast on May 4th, 1916, and received a C.B. (military) on the 3rd of the following month.
Commanding a Light Cruiser Squadron at the Battle of Jutland, he was first to gain touch with the enemy. He was mentioned in Despatches and would have been recommended for an honour had he not received one shortly before the battle. Sir David Beatty in his report to the Commander-in-Chief referred specially to Commodore Edwyn S. Alexander-Sinclair and a few others, saying that these officers anticipated his wishes and used their forces to the best possible effect.
After Jutland Commodore Alexander-Sinclair received the Russian Order of St. Vladimir (Third Class) with swords.
From December 18th, 1914, until promoted Rear-Admiral, he was Aide-de-Camp to the King. He has also held a Good Service pension.
REAR-ADMIRAL SIR ROGER JOHN BROWNLOW KEYES, K.C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O., D.S.O., was born in 1872 and entered the Royal Navy in 1885, became a Lieutenant on August 28th, 1893, a Commander on November 9th, 1900, and a Captain on June 30th, 1905.
In 1890 he served in the Naval Brigade which took part in the punitive expedition against the Sultan of Vitu in East Africa. For this he received the General African Medal, Vitu, 1890, and Clasp.
As Lieutenant-Commander of the "Fame" in 1900, he received the Bronze Medal of the Royal Humane Society for having jumped into the Peiho River, China, and saving Midshipman R. C. Mayne, who had accidentally been swept overboard by a coil of rope.
Whilst in command of the "Fame" during the Boxer Rising in the same year, he did good service, especially in the capture of four Chinese Destroyers at Tongku, for which he received from the Admiralty "the expression of Their Lordships' thorough approbation."
He was mentioned in despatches by General Gaselee on January 17th, 1901, and promoted Commander for his services in China.
He was Naval Attaché at Rome, Vienna, Athens, and Constantinople from 1905-7.
On April 24th, 1906, he received the M.V.O., and in the same year he also received the Order of the Crown of Italy (Third Class).
He became Inspecting Captain of Submarines on November 14th, 1910, and Commodore (S) in charge of the Submarine Service on August 31st, 1912, which post he held until 1915.
At the coronation of King George V. he was made a C.B. (Military).
As Commodore, Rear Admiral Keyes commanded the Submarine Flotilla in operations in the Heligoland Bight on August 28th, 1914. On the morning of the day in question, in company with the "Firedrake," he searched the area to the southward of the Battle Cruisers for the enemy's submarines, and, having been detached, was present at the sinking of the German Cruiser "Mainz," when he gallantly proceeded alongside her in the "Lurcher" and rescued 220 of her crew, many of whom were wounded. Subsequently, he escorted the "Laurel" and the "Liberty" out of action and kept them company till Rear-Admiral Campbell's cruisers were sighted.
He commanded the submarines co-operating in the air reconnaissance of the Heligoland Bight on December 25th, 1914, and received the "expression of Their Lordships' appreciation" for this service.
He was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the King on September 15th, 1914, and in 1915 became Chief of the Staff to Vice-Admiral Sir J. M. de Robeck, commanding the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, holding that post during both the landing on and the evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula, for which he was commended in despatches, and on January 1st, 1916, he was awarded the C.M.G. for his services during the war.
In further recognition of these services he also received the D.S.O. on June 3rd of the same year, on April 7th of which he had been decorated Commander of the Legion of Honour by the President of the French Republic.
He was appointed to the command at Dover on January 1st, 1918, being given acting Vice-Admiral's rank. He was in command of the units that carried out the attack on Zeebrugge and Ostend on April 23rd, flying his flag in H.M. Destroyer "North Star." On April 24th His Majesty the King signified his approval of the promotion of Vice-Admiral Keyes to be a member of the Second Class, or Knight[107] Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (Military Division), "in recognition of his distinguished service in Command of the operations against Zeebrugge and Ostend on Tuesday, April 23rd, 1918."
Rear-Admiral Keyes in addition to the above-named honours holds the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus of Italy, and the Order of the Redeemer (Third Class) of Greece.
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WAR DRAWINGS | ||
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MUNITION DRAWINGS | ||
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The sequel to the monthly publication illustrated by Mr. Muirhead Bone is issued under the title of "British Artists at the Front." The illustrations are in colours.
I.— | C. R. W. NEVINSON. |
II.— | SIR JOHN LAVERY, A.R.A. |
III.— | PAUL NASH. |
IV.— | ERIC KENNINGTON (in progress). |
V.— | JAMES McBEY (in progress). |
Further particulars of this publication will be sent on application to "Country Life," Ltd., 20, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 2.
INTRODUCTION. | |
I.— | JELLICOE, ADMIRAL LORD, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O. |
II.— | BURNEY, ADMIRAL SIR CECIL, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., D.S.O. |
III.— | MADDEN, ADMIRAL SIR C. E., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., C.V.O. |
IV.— | PHILLIMORE, REAR-ADMIRAL SIR R. F., C.B., M.V.O. |
V.— | BACON, VICE-ADMIRAL SIR R. H. S., K.C.B., K.C.V.O., D.S.O. |
VI.— | DE ROBECK, VICE-ADMIRAL SIR J. M., K.C.B. |
VII.— | NAPIER, VICE-ADMIRAL T. D. W., C.B., M.V.O. |
VIII.— | BROCK, VICE-ADMIRAL SIR OSMOND de B., K.C.V.O., C.B., C.M.G. |
IX.— | HALSEY, REAR-ADMIRAL LIONEL, C.B., C.M.G. |
X.— | PAKENHAM, VICE-ADMIRAL SIR W. C., K.C.B., K.C.V.O. |
XI.— | PAINE, COMMODORE SIR GODFREY M., C.B., M.V.O. |
XII.— | TYRWHITT, REAR-ADMIRAL SIR R. Y., K.C.B., D.S.O. |
INTRODUCTION. | |
I.— | HAIG, FIELD-MARSHAL SIR DOUGLAS, K.T., G.C.B., G.C.V.O., K.C.I.E., A.D.C. |
II.— | PLUMER, GENERAL SIR H. C. O., G.C.B., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., A.D.C. |
III.— | RAWLINSON, GENERAL SIR H. S., Bart., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., K.C.V.O. |
IV.— | GOUGH, GENERAL SIR H. DE LA POER, K.C.B., K.C.V.O. |
V.— | ALLENBY, GENERAL SIR E. H., K.C.B. |
VI.— | HORNE, GENERAL SIR H. S., K.C.B. |
VII.— | BIRDWOOD, GENERAL SIR W. R., K.C.B., K.C.S.I., K.C.M.G., C.I.E., D.S.O. |
VIII.— | BYNG, GENERAL THE HON. SIR J. H. G., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., M.V.O. |
IX.— | CONGREVE, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR W. N., V.C., K.C.B., M.V.O. |
X.— | HALDANE, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR J. A. L., K.C.B., D.S.O. |
XI.— | WATTS, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR H. E., K.C.M.G., C.M.G. |
XII.— | SMUTS, LIEUT.-GEN. The Rt. Hon. JAN C., P.C., K.C., M.L.A. |
INTRODUCTION. | |
I.— | FRENCH, FIELD-MARSHAL VISCOUNT, K.P., G.C.B., O.M. |
II.— | PULTENEY, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR WILLIAM, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O. |
III.— | HAKING, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR R. C. B., K.C.B. |
IV.— | FERGUSSON, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR CHARLES, Bart., K.C.B., M.V.O., D.S.O. |
V.— | FOWKE, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR GEORGE H., K.C.B., K.C.M.G. |
VI.— | HUNTER-WESTON, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR A., K.C.B., D.S.O. |
VII.— | JACOB, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR C. W., K.C.B. |
VIII.— | HOLLAND, MAJOR-GEN. SIR A. E. A., K.C.B., M.V.O., D.S.O. |
IX.— | MAXSE, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR IVOR, K.C.B., C.V.O., D.S.O. |
X.— | MORLAND, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR T. L. N., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O. |
XI.— | TRENCHARD, MAJOR-GEN. SIR H. M., K.C.B., D.S.O. |
XII.— | FANSHAWE, LIEUT.-GEN. SIR E. A., K.C.B. |
Large Reproductions of some of these Portraits may be obtained, price 2/6 each.
Hudson & Kearns, Ltd., Printers, Hatfield Street, London, S.E. 1.
Transcriber's Notes:
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise inconsistencies were unchanged. Simple typographical errors were corrected; most were retained.
In Advertisements, Black Letter honorific abbreviations are shown here in boldface.
When originally published, the Tables of Content were on the back covers. In this eBook, each has been moved to the beginning of the Part it references.