British Admirals of the Fleet

by T A Heathcote

In little room confining mighty men,

  Mangling by starts the full course of their glory.

  Chorus to Shakespeare’s King Henry V, Act V, Epilogue.

  TA Heathcote,

  Camberley, April 2002

  INTRODUCTION

  In March 1995 an Independent Review of the Armed Forces’ Manpower, Career and Remuneration, headed by an eminent businessman, Sir Michael Betts, included in its report a finding that the ranks of admiral of the fleet, field marshal, and marshal of the Royal Air Force were unnecessary because of the reduced size of the British Armed Forces, and because these ranks were not used by close allies of the United Kingdom. The Review therefore recommended that the practice of promoting the chiefs of staff of each service to their respective “five-star” rank on completing their tenure of appointment should be discontinued. The Ministry of Defence, in accepting this recommendation (the only one put into effect without delay), added the spin that these ranks were appropriate only for those who had commanded large fleets, armies or air forces in successful operations, or had been at the head of their service in a major war. Therefore, it declared, no more promotions to this level would be made, except in these or other special (unspecified) circumstances.

  In fact, as the research undertaken in the course of preparing this volume and its companion The British Field Marshals 1736–1997 shows, such conditions had never previously been necessary for promotion to these ranks in the British services. In particular, not every British admiral of the fleet had held high command in war, there had never been any direct correlation between the number of ships or men in the Navy and the number of admirals of the fleet, nor had the Navy’s rank structure been influenced by that of Allied navies.

  THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE RANK

  The title Admiral of the Fleet originally indicated an appointment corresponding in many ways to the present-day C-in-C Fleet, rather than the permanent rank that it later became.

  The Navy of the late seventeenth century was organized to form a single fleet, divided into three squadrons. These were distinguished in order of seniority by the colours Red, White and Blue, and formed respectively the centre, van and rear of the battle line. Each squadron was organized into three divisions, commanded respectively by an admiral, vice-admiral and rear-admiral. The position and grade of each of these officers was indicated by a plain flag of the appropriate colour (red, white or blue respectively) and the masthead (main, fore or mizen) at which it was worn. All ships under a flag officer’s command, including his own flagship, wore an ensign of the appropriate colour, with the national flag in the upper canton, at their stern. The admiral commanding the Red squadron, by virtue of being the senior officer of the senior squadron, was also the admiral of the fleet and flew the national flag, rather than a red flag, at his masthead. In practice, the concept of the navy operating as a single large formation was soon overtaken by changes in strategy, requiring the deployment of several separate fleets and squadrons in different theatres at the same time. It was not until the early 1740s, however, that the number of flag officers was increased from the original establishment of nine, and from then on there was a steady increase in the number of officers in each grade. There was no admiral of the Red, by that title, until 1805, when this rank was introduced to give admirals of the White a better opportunity of promotion than that provided by the single post of admiral of the fleet. Thereafter, the distinguishing flag of admirals of the Red was red at the mainmast.

  In the early period, the post of admiral of the fleet was not invariably held by the longest-serving admiral, nor was it awarded for life. From 1718 promotion to and within the flag ranks was by seniority, according to the date of an officer’s first commission as captain. The last admiral of the fleet to be appointed for the duration of a specific campaign was James, third Earl of Berkeley, who flew his flag as such from 13 March to 15 April 1719, during a brief war against Spain. Thereafter, during the “long peace” that followed, no admiral of the fleet was appointed until February 1734, when Sir John Norris [1] was given this rank, two years before the Earl of Berkeley’s death. Norris was the first admiral of the fleet (apart from those drowned or killed in action) to retain his rank for life in the same way as field marshals of the Army, whose rank was created by George II two years later. It is therefore with Norris that the sequence of admirals of the fleet in this book begins. After 1734, with only one interval, the rank continued to be filled until the present time.

  Promotion to this rank was thereafter normally (though not invariably) by seniority, through the lists of each squadron in turn. Thus the senior rear-admiral of the Red, when a vacancy occurred in the next higher rank, would become the junior vice-admiral of the Blue and so on up to the rank of admiral of the fleet, of whom there was, until 1821, only one at a time. This arrangement, and the titles that went with it, remained in existence until 1864, when the system of dividing flag officers between coloured squadrons was abolished. The admiral of the fleet’s flag remained the national flag (the Union flag) worn at the mainmast. That of all other admirals was thereafter a white flag with the red cross of St George, differenced in the case of vice-admirals and rear-admirals by one or two red roundels respectively. At the same time all ships of the Navy adopted the white ensign, which from then on was allotted solely to warships, and the blue ensign was allotted to other vessels operated by the government. The red ensign, previously the national flag of all British ships except those in the White or Blue squadrons, was reserved for British-registered merchantmen, fishing boats and privately-owned vessels of all kinds.

  As long as promotion was by seniority, and no provision was made for compulsory retirement on grounds of age or fitness, officers became admirals of the fleet at an advanced age. Nevertheless, some clung tenaciously to life and office. Sir John Noms [1], appointed at the age of seventy-four, lived to be eighty-nine. The Honourable John Forbes [8] was admiral of the fleet for fifteen years until his death in 1796 at the age of eighty-two. Sir Peter Parker [10], appointed in 1799, was seventy-eight when he died in 1811. On Parker’s death, the vacancy thereby created was given to William, Duke of Clarence [11], admiral of the White and third son of George III. Clarence was only forty-six years old and in good health, so that a promotion blockage immediately resulted.

  Not until the coronation of George IV (Prince Regent when his naval brother became admiral of the fleet) ten years later was this problem addressed. In the celebrations marking his accession, the two senior generals in the Army were promoted to field marshal, and the second senior officer in the Navy, the Earl of St Vincent [12], admiral of the Red, was made an admiral of the fleet on 19 July 1821. St Vincent’s death two years later left Clarence once more the sole admiral of the fleet until his accession as William IV in June 1830. The new king then gave up his naval rank, but appointed three new admirals of the fleet, William Williams Freeman [13], Lord Gambier [14] and Sir Charles Pole [15], who died in 1832, 1833 and 1830 (three months after being promoted) respectively. In subsequent years, there were usually two admirals of the fleet in the Navy List, though at times the figure dropped to one, as it did on the death of Sir George Cockburn [20] in 1853. After Sir Thomas Martin [19] died in 1854, the rank was left vacant until 1857, when Sir Charles Ogle [21] was promoted. The reason for this interregnum appears to have been that the next senior officer to Martin was Admiral Thomas Gosselin, who had not been to sea since 1809 and was in poor mental health. The latter circumstance was held to disqualify him from being appointed head of his Service, but the Admiralty was reluctant to pass over him, so the post was left vacant for three years until his death in 1857.

  The naval reforms of 1851, introducing a system of compulsory retirement for officers, stipulated that the number of active flag officers was to be gradually reduced to 99 exclusive of admirals of the fleet, for which no number was specified (there were in fact two in post at that time). In 1863 an establishment of three was authorized and, after 1870, all admirals of the fleet were
required to retire on half-pay on reaching the age of 70, or (if earlier) ten years after last hauling down their flag. Admirals on the active list in 1870 could, if they so chose, be promoted to admiral of the fleet and placed permanently on half-pay, supernumerary to the three on the establishment, when they reached the normal retirement age of their rank. In some cases these rules resulted in admirals who elected for permanent half-pay being promoted to admirals of the fleet ahead of those senior to them who, though on half-pay, remained on the active list held against established posts. Thus Sir Henry Keppel [36], who was six years junior to Sir Provo Wallis [37] as an admiral, became an admiral of the fleet before him because Keppel was promoted on electing for permanent half-pay, and was held supernumerary to the three established posts, whereas Wallis chose to remain on the establishment.

  Wallis’s promotion arose from a special proviso allowing captains who had commanded a major (or “rated”) combatant vessel, prior to the end of hostilities in 1815, to retain their existing right to be promoted by seniority, as vacancies occurred, up to admiral of the fleet. These officers were allowed to remain on the active list, irrespective of age, held against the posts established for their rank. As was the case with all other commissioned officers of the Navy at this time, they were placed on half-pay unless actually employed. Wallis became an admiral of the fleet in 1877 at the age of 86 and lived to the age of 101, blocking the promotion of his juniors in the meanwhile.

  Retired admirals otherwise qualified for promotion to the rank could be promoted to admiral of the fleet on the retired list, subject to a maximum of three in this category at any one time. Promotion by special Order in Council allowed admirals, whose services in a particular post were required after they reached the age of sixty-five, to be promoted to admiral of the fleet in excess of the establishment, so that they could remain on the active list until the age of seventy. Both Lord Walter Kerr [56] and Lord Fisher [58] were promoted in this way

  By 1914 there were three active and six retired admirals of the fleet. In addition, the King, George V [64], was an admiral of the fleet, and there were three honorary admirals of the fleet, viz, the Emperor Nicholas II of Russia [60], the German Emperor William II [47] and the latter’s brother, Grand Admiral Prince Henry of Prussia [62]. Of these, the two Germans disclaimed their British appointments on the outbreak of war with the United Kingdom in August 1914 and the Emperor of Russia was murdered by the Bolsheviks in July 1918. With the promotion of Jellicoe [68] and Beatty [69] in April 1919, the number of admirals of the fleet on the active list was increased to five. On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, there were five active and five retired admirals of the fleet. The Duke of Windsor [84], who had become an admiral of the fleet at the beginning of his brief reign as Edward VIII, was included among the five on the active list. His brother and successor, George VI [86], was also an admiral of the fleet, but listed separately. The five retired admirals of the fleet were then restored to the active list, where they and all their successors remained for life, in the same way as had always been the custom for field marshals in the Army and marshals of the Royal Air Force. At the end of the war there were eleven admirals of the fleet, among them George VI and the Duke of Windsor. In 1995, at the time of the Betts Report, there were nine officers in this rank, including the royal consort, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh [99], but none were in actual employment.

  Of the 115 British admirals of the fleet, three, namely the Emperor Nicholas II of Russia [60], the German Emperor William II [47] and the latter’s brother, Prince Henry of Prussia [62] (a Grand Admiral in the Imperial German Navy) held honorary rank. Another three, though they had been full-time naval officers (two of them taking part in major battles at sea), only became admirals of the fleet when royal duties obliged them to give up the sea. These were George V [64] and George VI [86], both of whom were younger sons who had not been expected to succeed to the throne, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh [99], consort of Elizabeth II. Edward VII [44] was made an honorary admiral of the fleet when Prince of Wales, and his grandson Edward VIII [84] served briefly as a cadet at the Royal Naval College. The only British sovereign to become an admiral of the fleet before becoming heir to the throne was William IV (Duke of Clarence) [11]. Including this prince, but excluding the remainder of those listed above, there were 107 admirals of the fleet who reached their rank through the normal course of promotion in the period covered by this book, and it is only these 107 who are included in the analysis given below.

  THE PATH TO PROMOTION

  It is a truism that in any profession it is necessary to stay alive in order to achieve promotion, though this is never as easy for a sea officer as for a landsman. He is equally subject to the ordinary hazards of existence in the time at which he lives, with all the additional risks arising from the perils of the sea and the violence of the enemy. It is impossible to calculate how many potential admirals of the fleet never survived storm, battle or unhealthy climates to outlive or outperform their contemporaries. Of those that did, seven were in ships lost by storm, one in a ship lost by collision, and four in ships lost as the result of enemy action, including Sir Philip Vian [98], who had two ships sunk under him by air attack in the Second World War. At least ten suffered from illnesses serious enough to be recorded. About ninety were in combat either on land or at sea (some many times and several in both elements), and eighteen were wounded (eleven while serving ashore). Several became prisoners of war, though most of these were soon either rescued or released in accordance with the civilized practice of former times, by which captured officers were exchanged with those of equal rank. Ashore, they fought in naval brigades or landing parties in a list including China, the Crimea, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, the Sudan and the United States. Six took part in the relief of the International Legations at Peking (Beijing) in 1900. Afloat, they were present at most major engagements in the history of the Navy, though there was only one future admiral of the fleet at Trafalgar, compared with fifteen at Jutland. Of those that saw combat, three were awarded the Victoria Cross, four the Distinguished Service Cross, twelve the Distinguished Service Order, and thirty-six were mentioned in despatches, some more than once, with the record being held by Sir George Cockburn, who was mentioned eleven times. Out of combat, three received awards from the Royal Humane Society for courage in saving life at sea.

  Until the reforms of the mid-nineteenth century all that a captain had to do to become an admiral of the fleet was to outlive his contemporaries. Because promotion to the flag ranks was by seniority, it was demonstrably an advantage to become a captain at a young age. This was quite feasible in the period when promotion up to the rank of captain was by selection regardless of seniority. Of the first thirty admirals of the fleet, who reached this rank in the period between 1734 to 1868, the average age on promotion to lieutenant was eighteen years and eight months and, to captain, twenty years and six months. The youngest to become a lieutenant was Peter Parker [10], promoted not merely to lieutenant but also to commander at the age of fourteen, and the oldest was John Norris [1], promoted at the age of twenty-nine. Norris was also the oldest on promotion to captain, at the age of thirty-three, and it was only his remarkable longevity that brought him to the rank of admiral of the fleet some forty-four years later. The youngest to become a captain was Thomas Cochrane [28], who was then aged nineteen. Of the next thirty, who became admirals of the fleet between 1869 and 1913, the average age on promotion to lieutenant was twenty years and six months, and on promotion to captain twenty-nine years and six months. The final members of this group had become captains in the 1870s and 1880s, by which time their average age on promotion had risen to 35.

  As long as this system was in force, not even the greatest achievements could bring promotion to admiral of the fleet. The reader will search these pages in vain for such major figures as Barham, Collingwood, Duncan or Rodney. Even Nelson would have had to survive another twenty-nine years after Trafalgar and reach the
age of 86 before succeeding Sir Charles Nugent [16] in 1844. At all periods the limited establishment prevented the promotion of many deserving officers. So it is that several distinguished admirals of the Second World War period do not appear in this book, while many lesser-known ones, as well those British and foreign royal personages who were made admirals of the fleet for dynastic reasons, are included.

  The Navy was some two hundred years ahead of the Army (where until 1870 only artillery and engineer officers were actually required to have any formal professional training) in demanding some evidence of technical competence in its officers. The requirement for midshipmen to have spent a specified period at sea and to have passed an Examination Board before becoming eligible for promotion to lieutenant dated back to the reforms introduced by Samuel Pepys. Even though it was possible for a well-connected individual to evade the letter of these regulations, or to count on the indulgence of his examiners, there was general agreement that ships and, more especially, fleets were too valuable to be entrusted to incompetents. As there were always fewer commands than there were officers qualified to fill them, it was not difficult for the Admiralty to select capable men to fill them, but the system of promotion by seniority meant that failure to be appointed to a ship or a squadron did not prevent an officer from continuing to rise in rank.

  AIDS TO SELECTION

  In all professions, patronage or “net-working” brings an advantage. Forty-four admirals of the fleet were the sons, grandsons or nephews (sometimes all three) of flag officers or captains, and twenty-eight stood in the same relationships to peers or baronets. Six were connected with the Royal Family. Of their wives, twenty-one were related to peers or baronets and ten were the daughters, granddaughters or nieces of captains or flag officers, with many falling into both categories. Several others came from wealthy families or had fortunes of their own.