George Cuthbert Cayley

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Admiral George C. Cayley as a Rear-Admiral, 1917.
Portrait: Francis Dodd. © IWM (Art.IWM ART 1727).

Admiral George Cuthbert Cayley, C.B., Royal Navy, Retired (30 August, 1866 – 21 December, 1944) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Cayley was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 June, 1890.[1]

Cayley was appointed First Lieutenant of the Phaeton on 8 June, 1897.[2]

On 1 November, 1900, Cayley was appointed First Lieutenant of the battleship Benbow.[3]

Cayley was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1901.[4]

He was appointed to the Berwick on 9 December, 1903.[5]

On 30 June, 1904, he was appointed in command of the boys' training ship St. Vincent at Portsmouth.[6]

Captain

Cayley was promoted to the rank of Captain on 31 December, 1905.[7] On 12 January, 1906, St. Vincent paid off. He was appointed to President on 9 March for the War Course but this appointment was cancelled, and from 13 February to 31 July he was appointed to Rear-Admiral Spencer H. M. Login's Committee on Clothing, followed by an appointment to a Signal Course on 10 September. He was appointed to President for the War Course from 2 October to 25 January, 1907, and attained a First Class certificate.[8]

On 27 March, 1907, he was appointed to the Blake as Captain (D)[9] of the Home Fleet destroyer flotilla at Devonport. On 1 July, Cayley took command of the Leander, formerly of the destroyer flotilla at Chatham, which was replaced with the Blake.[10][11]

He was appointed to Terpsichore on 3 April, 1909, for service on the staff of the Royal Naval War College at Portsmouth. On 11 October he was appointed Assistant Director of Naval Mobilisation at the Admiralty. He remained there only briefly, however, being appointed on 1 January, 1910, in command of the armoured cruiser Minotaur as Flag Captain to Vice-Admiral Sir Alfred L. Winsloe, Commander-in-Chief on the China Station.[12]

Cayley served as Winsloe's Flag Captain in Minotaur during the whole of the latter's service in command of the China Station, and he gave up command on 28 February, 1913. On 20 May he was appointed to Ganges for command of the Shotley Training Establishment. In February, 1914, he went on sick leave after a bout of bronchitis. He was tried by Court-Martial on 16 April for "neglect of duty regarding supervision & counting of public money at Shotley" and was sentenced to be reprimanded. The Board of Admiralty considered, however, that Cayley's "career should not be seriously prejudiced by sentence."[13]

Great War

Cayley was appointed Commodore, Second Class on 3 September, 1914. He was designated Commodore-in-Charge, Harwich, as of 10 March, 1915.[14] In the King's Birthday Honours of 3 June, 1916, he was appointed an Additional Member of the Third Class, or Companion, of the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.).[15] He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 28 April, 1917.[16] and was designated Rear-Admiral-in-Charge, Harwich, from 2 July. He ceased service as Senior Naval Officer, Harwich, on 31 March, 1918.[17] He was appointed an Area Commander in the Royal Air Force on 1 April with the temporary rank of Major-General.[18]

Post-War

Cayley ceased duty as General Officer Commanding North Western Area of the Royal Air Force on 4 April, 1919, and relinquished his temporary commission on the same day.[19] He was placed on the Retired List of the Royal Navy, at his own request, on 18 July.[20] He was advanced to the rank of Vice-Admiral on the Retired List on 3 May, 1922,[21] and to the rank of Admiral on the Retired List on 8 November, 1926.[22]

He died on 21 December, 1944, at Horncliffe House, Berwick-on-Tweed.[23] Cause of death was registered as myocarditis, arterio sclerosis, and old age.[24]

Bibliography

  • "Admiral G. C. Cayley" (Obituaries). The Times. Saturday, 23 December, 1944. Issue 50024, col F, p. 7.
  • Responsibility of Commanding Officers for cash in Establishments under their control. Captain G.C. Cayley R.N. and others. The National Archives. ADM 156/11

Service Records

  • The National Archives. ADM 196/88. Volume 3. f. 109.
  • The National Archives. ADM 196/42. Book 4, f. 428. Book 19, f. 204.

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Bentinck J. D. Yelverton
Captain of Training Ship H.M.S. St. Vincent
30 Jun, 1904[25] – 12 Jan, 1906[Citation needed]
Succeeded by
Command Abolished
Preceded by
Albert S. Lafone
Captain of H.M.S. Blake
27 Mar, 1907[26] – 1 Jul, 1907[27]
Succeeded by
John S. Luard
Preceded by
John S. Luard
Captain of H.M.S. Leander
1 Jul, 1907[28] – 3 Apr, 1909[29]
Succeeded by
Herbert E. Holmes-à-Court
Preceded by
Hugh H. D. Tothill
Captain of H.M.S. Minotaur
1 Jan, 1910[30][31] – 10 Jan, 1913[32]
Succeeded by
Edward B. Kiddle
Preceded by
Cecil S. Hickley
In Command, Shotley Training Establishment
20 May, 1913[33] – 31 Mar, 1918
Succeeded by
Francis G. St. John
Preceded by
?
Senior Naval Officer, Harwich
3 Sep, 1914[34] – 31 Mar, 1918
Succeeded by
Cecil S. Hickley
 

Footnotes

  1. The London Gazette: no. 26080. p. 4537. 19 August, 1890.
  2. "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Wednesday, 12 May, 1897. Issue 35201, col E, p. 13.
  3. "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 29 October, 1900. Issue 36285, col G, p. 7.
  4. The London Gazette: no. 27335. p. 4780. 19 July, 1901.
  5. "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 24 November, 1903. Issue 37246, col B, p. 7.
  6. "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 2 July, 1904. Issue 37436, col E, p. 12.
  7. The London Gazette: no. 27870. p. 25. 2 January, 1906.
  8. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  9. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 29 March, 1907. Issue 38293, col C, p. 5.
  10. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Wednesday, 26 June, 1907. Issue 38369, col A, p. 13.
  11. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 8 July, 1907. Issue 38379, col A, p. 12.
  12. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  13. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  14. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  15. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29608. p. 5553. 2 June, 1916.
  16. The London Gazette: no. 30042. p. 4095. 1 May, 1917,
  17. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  18. The London Gazette: no. 30668. p. 5365. 3 May, 1918.
  19. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  20. The London Gazette: no. 31486. p. 9863. 1 August, 1919.
  21. The London Gazette: no. 32695. p. 3626. 9 May, 1922.
  22. The London Gazette: no. 33222. p. 7477. 19 November, 1926.
  23. "Admiral G. C. Cayley" (Obituaries). The Times. Saturday, 23 December, 1944. Issue 50024, col F, p. 7.
  24. ADM 196/42. f. 204.
  25. "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 2 July, 1904. Issue 37436, col E, p. 12.
  26. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 29 March, 1907. Issue 38293, col C, p. 5.
  27. Cayley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  28. Cayley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  29. Cayley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  30. Cayley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  31. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 345. Date given here is 4 Jan.
  32. Cayley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  33. Cayley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 428.
  34. Cayley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 428.