Difference between revisions of "George John Scott Warrender, Seventh Baronet"

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{{ViceRN}} S<small>IR</small> '''George John Scott Warrender''', 7th baronet, ([[31 July]], [[1860]] &ndash; [[8 January]], [[1917]]) was an officer of the [[Royal Navy]] in the [[First World War]].
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[[File:Admiral_Warrender_(LoC).jpg|thumb|right|300px|Vice-Admiral Sir George J. S. Warrender, Bart.]]
  
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==Early Life and Career==
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[[Vice-Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]] {{SIR}} '''George John Scott Warrender''', Seventh Baronet, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., Royal Navy (31 July, 1860 &ndash; 8 January, 1917) was an officer of the [[Royal Navy]]. He entered the Navy in 1873 and enjoyed an active sea-going career with relatively few periods of shore duty.  He served ashore in the Anglo-Zulu War, qualified in gunnery duties and served in the Pacific and on the China Station.  He commanded a Naval Brigade during the Boxer Rebellion, and later commanded the East Indies Squadron. He succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1901.  After command of a cruiser squadron he was given command of the [[Second Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)|Second Battle Squadron]], which command he held for the first year of the [[First World War]]. He was elevated to [[Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth]] in 1916, but was forced through ill-health to relinquish command and retire from the Navy in December of that year, dying early in 1917 at the age of fifty-six.
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Warrender was born at Bruntsfield House, Edinburgh, on 31 July 1860, the second son of Sir George Warrender of Lochend, sixth baronet (1825–1901), of Lochend, Haddingtonshire, and his wife, Helen (d. 1875), the only child of Sir Hugh Hume Campbell, seventh baronet, of Marchmont, Berwickshire. He entered the navy as a cadet at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1873 and as a midshipman in the corvette Boadicea was part of the naval brigade landed during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. He was in the Eshowe relief column and was present at the battle of Gingindlovu, receiving the South Africa medal and clasp. He was promoted lieutenant in 1880 with three firsts in his examinations, specialized in gunnery, and was on the staff of the gunnery school HMS Excellent (1884–5). He was promoted commander in 1893 and after further service, including three years as commander in the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, was promoted captain in 1899.
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On 6 February 1894 Warrender married Lady Ethel Maud Ashley-Cooper (1870–1945), daughter of the eighth earl of Shaftesbury. They had two sons and a daughter. Warrender's older brother, John, had died unmarried in 1894. Consequently Warrender succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in June 1901. The family connections of both Warrender and his wife gave them the entrée into society and they were well known in the London social world. In addition his eldest son, Victor Alexander (later first Baron Bruntisfield), was a godson of Queen Victoria.
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==Career==
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George John Scott Warrender was born on 31 July, 1860, the second son of Sir George Warrender, Sixth Baronet, of Lochend, Haddingtonshire, and of Helen, only child of Sir Hugh Hume-Campbell, Seventh Baronet, of Marchmont, Berwickshire.<ref>Bell.  ''Dictionary of National Biography''. p. 556.</ref>  Warrender entered the Training Ship ''Britannia'' on 15 January, 1873.<ref name=Record1383>ADM 196/39.  p. 1383.</ref>  He was rated a {{MidRN}} on 19 December, 1874<ref>''Navy List'' (June, 1875). p. 35.</ref>  and appointed to the frigate ''Raleigh'' on 1 June, 1875.<ref>''Navy List'' (June, 1875).  p. 166.</ref>  He was appointed to the corvette ''Boadicea'' on 9 July, 1878.<ref>''Navy List'' (December, 1878).  p. 199.</ref>  While in the ''Boadicea'' he landed with the Naval Brigade in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, and accompanied the Eshowe Relief Column.<ref name=TimesObit>"Death of Sir George Warrender" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 9 January, 1917.  Issue '''41371''', col B, pg. 8.</ref>  He was present at the Battle of Ginghilovo [Gingindlovu] on 2 April and received a service medal and clasp for his participation.<ref>''Who's Who, 1904''.  p. 1599.</ref>  The battle saw a Zulu ''impi'' of 11,000 men try and destroy an encamped British force of 6,000, in an attempt to repeat the Zulu success at the Battle of Isandlwana, when 1,300 British troops had been killed.  At Ginghilovo, the British lost only eleven men killed, while the Zulus lost over a thousand.  The battle allowed to raise the two-month long Siege of Eshowe by Zulu forces on 3 April.  He served ashore from 19 March to 27 May.  Another Midshipman from ''Boadicea'' who served with the column was [[Stanley Cecil James Colville|Stanley C. J. Colville]], later Admiral Sir Stanley Colville.<ref>''London Gazette'': [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/24780/pages/6314 no. 24780.  p. 6314.]  7 November, 1879.</ref>  On 31 July, 1879 he took a First Class certificate in his Seamanship examination and was promoted Acting {{SubRN}}.  From October, 1879 to May, 1880 he was appointed to [[H.M.S. Excellent (Gunnery Training School)|H.M.S. ''Excellent'']] to study for his Lieutenancy examinations at the [[Royal Naval College, Greenwich]], which he passed on 26 May, 1880.  He took three firsts and received a prize for his efforts,<ref name=Record1383/> and was promoted to the rank of {{LieutRN}} on 7 September, 1880.<ref>''London Gazette'': [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/24881/pages/4847 no. 24881.  p. 4847.]  10 September, 1880.</ref>
  
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At the time of the Boxer uprising Warrender was flag captain (1899–1902) in the battleship Barfleur to Rear-Admiral Sir James Bruce, second in command of the China station. He commanded the East India station (1907–9), first as a commodore and then as a rear-admiral after his promotion in July 1908. He then commanded the 2nd cruiser squadron (1910–12), and the 2nd battle squadron (1912–15). He was created a KCVO in 1911 and a KCB in 1913. He was promoted vice-admiral in June 1913 and is remembered for the visit of his battle squadron to Germany for Kiel week in June 1914 shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. His famous though not very prophetic signal on departure was: ‘Friends in the past, friends forever’ (Goldrick, 2). A few weeks later Warrender, in the absence of the commander-in-chief, commanded the movement of the Grand Fleet from the south coast to its point of concentration at Scapa Flow.
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Warrender was promoted to the rank of {{CommRN}} on 30 June, 1893 in the half-yearly promotions, and was instructed to remain as First Lieutenant of ''Active'' until relieved.<ref name=Record1383/>  On 26 October he was appointed Secretary to a Committee advising on the defence of the Medway.  On 2 November it was confirmed that his secretarial service would "count as full service" in relation to his pay and benefits. He was superseded on 6 January, 1894.<ref name=Record1384>ADM 196/39.  p. 1384.</ref>  On 6 February, 1894 in St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, Warrender married Lady Ethel Maud Ashley-Cooper, daughter of the Eighth Earl of Shaftesbury.<ref>''The Complete Baronetage''.  '''V'''.  p. 29.</ref>  He was promptly appointed to the battleship ''Centurion'' heading for the [[China Station (Royal Navy)|China Station]] on 14 February, where he remained until he was appointed to the Royal Yacht [[H.M.Y. Victoria and Albert (1855)|''Victoria and Albert'']] on 13 May, 1896. During his service in ''Centurion'', he was described by Admiral Sir [[Edmund Robert Fremantle]] as, "A smart, energetic + efficient senior executive."  He returned to Britain on 3 June.<ref name=Record1384/>  The Warrenders' first child, Violet Helen Marie Warrender, was born on 20 November, 1896.<ref>''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage''.  '''III'''.  p. 3232.</ref>  According to historian [[Paul G. Halpern]], "The family connections of both Warrender and his wife gave them the entrée into society and they were well known in the London social world."<ref name=Halpern>Halpern.  ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''.</ref>  On 23 June, 1899 the Warrenders' second child, Victor Alexander George Anthony Warrender (later First Baron Bruntisfield), was born.<ref>''The Complete Peerage''.  '''XIV'''.  p. 751.</ref>  Queen Victoria acted as godmother.<ref>Warrender.  ''My First Sixty Years''.  p. 69.</ref>  On 13 May Warrender had been promoted to the rank of {{CaptRN}}, and on 11 July he was appointed to command the protected cruiser [[H.M.S. Brilliant (1891)|''Brilliant'']] for the annual manœuvres.<ref name=Record1384/>
  
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Warrender, flying his flag in the dreadnought King George V, had a squadron that enjoyed an excellent record in gunnery. He was an old friend of Admiral J. R. Jellicoe, visiting him so frequently in his flagship that Jellicoe later complained he delayed his work. Warrender enjoyed a high reputation in the navy but, as Jellicoe was slowly and reluctantly to realize, as an admiral during time of peace, not war.
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On 26 October, 1899, Warrender was appointed to command the battleship [[H.M.S. Barfleur (1892)|''Barfleur'']], again on the China Station.<ref name=Record1384/>  When the [[Boxer Rebellion]]<ref>The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion Wikipedia article] serves as a satisfactory overview of the Boxer Rebellion.</ref> broke out in May, 1900,<ref>Bacon. ''Earl Jellicoe''.  p. 93.</ref> Warrender was serving as Flag Captain to Rear-Admiral [[James Andrew Thomas Bruce|James A. T. Bruce]], second-in-command of the China Squadron.<ref>Clowes.  ''The Royal Navy''.  '''VII'''.  p. 561.</ref>  On 11 June, the day after the Commander-in-Chief, Vice-Admiral [[Edward Seymour]], had led a relief force to Peking, a 150 man contingent under Warrender's executive officer, Commander [[David Beatty, First Earl Beatty|David Beatty]], went ashore to assist in the defence of the town of Tientsin.<ref>Roskill.  ''Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty''.  p. 32.</ref>  On 25 June, Warrender, then in command off the Taku forts, ordered the destroyer [[H.M.S. Fame (1896)|''Fame'']] under Lieutenant [[Roger John Brownlow Keyes, First Baron Keyes|Roger Keyes]] to reconnoitre, who then proceeded to seize Hain Cheng fortress with 32 men.<ref>Clowes.  ''The Royal Navy''.  '''VII'''.  p. 539.</ref>  For his services during the Boxer Rebellion, Warrender was awarded a gratuity.<ref>Clowes.  ''The Royal Navy''.  '''VII'''.  p. 561.</ref>
  
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Warrender played a leading and disappointing role in the events of 16 December 1914, generally known to the British as the Scarborough raid. The British by means of their ability to intercept and decode German wireless transmissions learned of a plan for Rear-Admiral Hipper's battle cruisers to raid the north-east coast. The Admiralty planned to trap them on their return with Admiral Beatty's battle cruisers and Rear-Admiral Goodenough's light cruiser squadron. Warrender, with the six dreadnoughts of the 2nd battle squadron, screened by eight destroyers, was ordered by Jellicoe to support them at a rendezvous off the south-east corner of the Dogger Bank. Warrender was in overall command of the interception force, something some historians in retrospect consider a bad choice for, whatever his skill in fleet work, initiative was not his strongest trait. Admiralty intelligence did not know that the high sea fleet would also be out to a position roughly halfway across the North Sea in support of the German raid. Consequently Warrender was standing into danger, and the Germans, who did not know the British would be at sea, might have had an opportunity to do what they had always dreamed of, that is trap and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet with the entire high sea fleet. Warrender was saved on 16 December when in the poor visibility and squally weather the German commander Admiral Ingenohl, after his screening force of destroyers and light cruisers had clashed with Warrender's destroyers, decided he was facing the entire Grand Fleet and turned away because he did not have the Kaiser's permission for a general engagement. However, the German battle cruisers returning from their raid on the north-east coast also escaped. Goodenough made contact with a German light cruiser and destroyers screening the German battle cruisers but he failed to inform Beatty other German cruisers were in sight. This would have indicated Hipper's battle cruisers were probably behind them. Beatty therefore ordered two of Goodenough's four light cruisers to resume their position as lookouts in advance of his squadron. Unfortunately, a badly worded signal seemed to indicate that the entire squadron was to join Beatty, and Goodenough, not realizing that Beatty did not comprehend the complete situation, turned away and lost contact with the Germans. The German cruisers then passed Warrender's squadron and Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot commanding his 2nd division reported them but did not open fire, awaiting orders. Warrender, however, did not give the order to fire and merely reported the sighting and sent three armoured cruisers (which had joined from Beatty's force) in pursuit. Warrender's signal had the unfortunate effect of diverting Beatty from a course that probably would have permitted him to meet Hipper. In the end the Germans escaped.
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On return to Britain, Warrender took command of the cruiser [[H.M.S. Hawke (1891)|''Hawke'']] on 21 May, 1903, and on 5 April, 1904 assumed command of the armoured cruiser [[H.M.S. Lancaster (1902)|''Lancaster'']] and superseded on 1 March, 1905.<ref name=Record1384/>  The Warrenders' third child, Harold John Warrender, had been born on 15 November, 1903.<ref>''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage''. '''I'''.  p. 557.</ref>  On 11 May, 1905 Warrender was appointed to ''Vivid'' to take commission the new armoured cruiser [[H.M.S. Carnarvon (1903)|''Carnarvon'']], which command he retained until 1 August, 1906.  On 23 September, 1905 he was appointed to ''Excellent'' for a Gunnery Course, which he completed on 21 October. He was appointed to [[H.M.S. Vernon (Torpedo Training School)|''Vernon'']] on 17 March, 1906 for a Torpedo Course. On 1 February, 1907 he was appointed to hoist his broad pennant in [[H.M.S. Hyacinth (1898)|''Hyacinth'']] as {{Com1RN}} in command of the [[East Indies Squadron (Royal Navy)|East Indies Squadron]]. He was reappointed as Commander-in-Chief upon his promotion to {{RearRN}} on 2 July, 1908. He was superseded on 3 March, 1909.<ref name=Record1384/>
  
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The British made many mistakes that day and the most egregious probably were not made by Warrender. Nevertheless Warrender came in for his share of criticism and the redoubtable first sea lord Admiral Fisher called for his head, particularly for his perceived misuse of his cruiser and destroyer screen and failure to spread them properly. Jellicoe, whose retention of old friends and general kindliness was one of his faults, preserved Warrender for a year but lost confidence in him. He still regarded Warrender's experience in fleet work as ‘unique’ even though ‘I am not always quite happy with him’ (Patterson, 1.167). Nevertheless Warrender's increasing deafness and fits of absent-mindedness indicating deteriorating health led eventually to his replacement in December 1915. Jellicoe still regretted his departure, considering him ‘the soul of his squadron and the most loyal of commanders’ (ibid., 1.189). Warrender became commander-in-chief, Plymouth, in 1916 and thereby missed a role in the Grand Fleet's major action of the war, the battle of Jutland. His health continued to deteriorate and in December 1916 he asked to be placed on the retired list. He died at his home in London, 23 Great Cumberland Place, on 8 January 1917. He was cremated at Golders Green on 12 January, and his ashes were interred at the church of the Annunciation, Bryanston Street, London. Warrender remains one of the prime examples of a naval leader who, whatever his personal qualities and distinguished record in time of peace, did not rise to the very different demands of war.
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On 29 November, 1910 Warrender was appointed Rear-Admiral Commanding the [[Second Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)|Second Cruiser Squadron]]. From 15 December, 1911 to 5 January, 12 he served as a member of a Gunnery Conference at the Admiralty, attached to H.M.S. ''President''.  He struck his flag in command of the Second Cruiser Squadron on 11 December. On 16 December, he was appointed to succeed Sir John Jellicoe in command of the [[Second Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)|Second Battle Squadron]] of the [[Home Fleet (Royal Navy)|Home Fleet]] (formerly the Second Division), with the rank of Acting {{ViceRN}}.<ref name=Record=1385>ADM 196/39.  p. 1385.</ref><ref>Bacon.  ''Earl Jellicoe''.  p. 181.</ref>  He was confirmed in the rank on 4 June, 1913, vice [[Arthur Archibald Campbell Galloway|Galloway]], placed on the Retired List.<ref>''London Gazette'': [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28729/pages/4307 no. 28729.  p. 4307.]  17 June, 1913.</ref>  When the Naval Society was formed in 1913 with the intent of publishing the independent journal, ''The Naval Review'', Warrender offered financial help and was listed among those who were "very sympathetic."<ref>"The Naval Society and Review" (August, 1922).  ''Naval Review''.  p. 399.</ref>  Warrender was at Kiel when the news of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination in Belgrade was announced.  He foretold, "This crime will mean war between Serbia and Austria.  Russia will be drawn in and thus Germany and France cannot remain lookers-on."<ref>Hawkins.  ''Starvation Blockades''.  p. 7.</ref>
  
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==Commands==
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==Great War Service==
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*[[Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth]], [[20 March]], [[1916]] &ndash; [[5 December]], [[1916]].
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On 16 June, Jellicoe confided to Sir Henry Jackson that, "My Vice-Admirals are always a little shaky.  Warrender gets awfully deaf at times [a complaint Jellicoe himself suffered from] and is inclined to be absent-minded, but on the other hand he has had unique experience in command and is excellent as a squadron admiral in peace.  I am not always quite happy about him."<ref>(Jackson MSS.)  ''Jellicoe Papers''.  '''I'''.  p. 167.</ref>
  
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Jellicoe wrote to Beatty on 23 November, "George Warrender is relieved by Jerram 16th December.  I shall feel his departure most keenly.  He is the soul of his squadron and the most loyal of comrades."<ref>(Beatty MSS.)  ''Jellicoe Papers''.  '''I'''.  p. 189.</ref>  Warrender struck his flag on 16 December and assumed the position of Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth on 20 March, 1916.  On 11 November he was granted six weeks leave after an attack of Pleurisy.  On the 30th he was found unfit for further service, and on 3 December he was asked whether he wanted to retire.  On 5 December, 1916 he was superseded in the Plymouth command and went on the Retired List at his own request the following day.
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Warrender died on 8 January, 1917, at his home in London, 23 Great Cumberland Place.  He was cremated at Golders Green on 12 January, and his ashes were interred at the church of the Annunciation, Bryanston Street, London.<ref name=Halpern/>  His eldest son, Victor Alexander Anthony George Warrender, succeeded to the title as Eighth Baronet.<ref name=TimesObit/>
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==Editor's Assessment==
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Halpern, in his overview of Warrender's life, concludes: "Warrender remains one of the prime examples of a naval leader who, whatever his personal qualities and distinguished record in time of peace, did not rise to the very different demands of war."<ref name=Halpern/>  By Halpern's own admission, of the mistakes made on 16 December, 1914, "the most egregious probably were not made by Warrender".  Beatty, Goodenough and other flag officers were given second chances to prove themselves.  Through no fault of his own, Warrender never received his second chance, being relieved of command afloat six months before the Battle of Jutland, when in all probability he would have led the British line of battle.  Gordon slates Jellicoe's defence of Warrender, "excellent as a squadron admiral in peace", as "incredible grounds" for keeping him in post.<ref>Gordon.  ''Rules of the Game''.  p. 565.</ref>  This editor is not convinced that Gordon has satisfactorily identified the pre-requisites for command of a Battle Squadron in war, let alone in peace, a criticism which can also be leveled at Halpern.  No doubt Gordon would have preferred a Beatty, "apt to be rash in conclusion",<ref>Jones.  ''The Making of the Royal Navy Officer Corps''.  p. 208.</ref> rather than someone perceived to be a reliable stalwart, like Warrender.<br>{{SIMON}}
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==Footnotes==
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{{reflist}}
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==Bibliography==
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<small>
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*"Death of Sir George Warrender" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 9 January, 1917.  Issue '''41371''', col B, pg. 8.
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*Bacon, Admiral Sir Reginald Hugh (1936).  ''The Life of John Rushworth Earl Jellicoe''.  London: Cassell and Company, Ltd..
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*Bell, A. C. (1927).  ''Dictionary of National Biography''.  '''Third Supplement'''.  Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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*Clowes, William Laird (1903).  ''The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present''.  '''Vol. VII'''.  London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company.
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*Hawkins, Nigel (2002).  ''The Starvation Blockades: Naval Blockades of WW1''.  Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books.  ISBN 9780850529081.
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*Jellicoe, Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth, First Earl Jellicoe (1966).  Patterson, Arthur Temple. ed. ''The Jellicoe Papers''.  '''Volume I'''.  London: Navy Records Society.
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*Jones, Mary (1999).  ''The Making of the Royal Naval Officer Corps 1860-1914''. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Exeter: University of Exeter.
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*Warrender, Lady Maud Ashley (1933).  ''My First Sixty Years''.  London: Cassell and Company Ltd..
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</small>
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==Service Record==
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*[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7917375&queryType=1&resultcount=2 ADM 196/39]
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*[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7905898&queryType=1&resultcount=2 ADM 196/20]
  
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="center"
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="center"
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| colspan="3" align="center" style="background:#CEDFF2" | '''Naval Office'''
 
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background:#CEDFF2" | '''Naval Office'''
 
|-
 
|-
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| Preceded by<br>'''[[?]]'''
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center" | Preceded by<br>'''[[John Rushworth Jellicoe, First Earl Jellicoe|Sir John Jellicoe]]'''
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| '''[[Second Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral Commanding, Second Battle Squadron]]'''<br>1912 &ndash; 1915
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center" | '''[[Second Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral Commanding, Second Battle Squadron]]'''<br>1912 &ndash; 1915
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| Succeeded by<br>'''[[Thomas Henry Martyn Jerram|Sir Martyn Jerram]]'''
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center" | Succeeded by<br>'''[[Thomas Henry Martyn Jerram|Sir Martyn Jerram]]'''
 
|-
 
|-
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| Preceded by<br>'''?'''
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center" | Preceded by<br>'''[[George Le Clerc Egerton|Sir George Egerton]]'''
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| '''[[Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth]]'''<br>1916
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center" | '''[[Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth]]'''<br>1916
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| Succeeded by<br>'''?'''
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center" | Succeeded by<br>'''[[Alexander Edward Bethell|Sir Alexander Bethell]]'''
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
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[[Category:1917 deaths|Warrender]]
 
[[Category:1917 deaths|Warrender]]
 
[[Category:Personalities|Warrender]]
 
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[[Category:Vice-Admirals Commanding, Second Battle Squadron|Warrender]]
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[[Category:15 January, 1873 H.M.S. Britannia Entrants|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Royal Navy Gunnery Officers|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Captains of H.M.S. Brilliant (1891)|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Captains of H.M.S. Barfleur (1892)|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Captains of H.M.S. Hawke (1891)|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Captains of H.M.S. Lancaster (1902)|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Captains of H.M.S. Carnarvon (1903)|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Commanders-in-Chief on the East Indies Station|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Rear-Admirals Commanding, Second Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)|Warrender]]
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[[Category:Vice-Admirals Commanding, Second Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)|Warrender]]
 
[[Category:Commanders-in-Chief, Plymouth|Warrender]]
 
[[Category:Commanders-in-Chief, Plymouth|Warrender]]
 
[[Category:Royal Navy Vice-Admirals|Warrender]]
 
[[Category:Royal Navy Vice-Admirals|Warrender]]
 
[[Category:Royal Navy Flag Officers|Warrender]]
 
[[Category:Royal Navy Flag Officers|Warrender]]

Revision as of 17:14, 24 August 2009

Vice-Admiral Sir George J. S. Warrender, Bart.

Vice-Admiral SIR George John Scott Warrender, Seventh Baronet, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., Royal Navy (31 July, 1860 – 8 January, 1917) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He entered the Navy in 1873 and enjoyed an active sea-going career with relatively few periods of shore duty. He served ashore in the Anglo-Zulu War, qualified in gunnery duties and served in the Pacific and on the China Station. He commanded a Naval Brigade during the Boxer Rebellion, and later commanded the East Indies Squadron. He succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1901. After command of a cruiser squadron he was given command of the Second Battle Squadron, which command he held for the first year of the First World War. He was elevated to Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in 1916, but was forced through ill-health to relinquish command and retire from the Navy in December of that year, dying early in 1917 at the age of fifty-six.

Career

George John Scott Warrender was born on 31 July, 1860, the second son of Sir George Warrender, Sixth Baronet, of Lochend, Haddingtonshire, and of Helen, only child of Sir Hugh Hume-Campbell, Seventh Baronet, of Marchmont, Berwickshire.[1] Warrender entered the Training Ship Britannia on 15 January, 1873.[2] He was rated a Midshipman on 19 December, 1874[3] and appointed to the frigate Raleigh on 1 June, 1875.[4] He was appointed to the corvette Boadicea on 9 July, 1878.[5] While in the Boadicea he landed with the Naval Brigade in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, and accompanied the Eshowe Relief Column.[6] He was present at the Battle of Ginghilovo [Gingindlovu] on 2 April and received a service medal and clasp for his participation.[7] The battle saw a Zulu impi of 11,000 men try and destroy an encamped British force of 6,000, in an attempt to repeat the Zulu success at the Battle of Isandlwana, when 1,300 British troops had been killed. At Ginghilovo, the British lost only eleven men killed, while the Zulus lost over a thousand. The battle allowed to raise the two-month long Siege of Eshowe by Zulu forces on 3 April. He served ashore from 19 March to 27 May. Another Midshipman from Boadicea who served with the column was Stanley C. J. Colville, later Admiral Sir Stanley Colville.[8] On 31 July, 1879 he took a First Class certificate in his Seamanship examination and was promoted Acting Sub-Lieutenant. From October, 1879 to May, 1880 he was appointed to H.M.S. Excellent to study for his Lieutenancy examinations at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, which he passed on 26 May, 1880. He took three firsts and received a prize for his efforts,[2] and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 7 September, 1880.[9]

Warrender was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1893 in the half-yearly promotions, and was instructed to remain as First Lieutenant of Active until relieved.[2] On 26 October he was appointed Secretary to a Committee advising on the defence of the Medway. On 2 November it was confirmed that his secretarial service would "count as full service" in relation to his pay and benefits. He was superseded on 6 January, 1894.[10] On 6 February, 1894 in St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, Warrender married Lady Ethel Maud Ashley-Cooper, daughter of the Eighth Earl of Shaftesbury.[11] He was promptly appointed to the battleship Centurion heading for the China Station on 14 February, where he remained until he was appointed to the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert on 13 May, 1896. During his service in Centurion, he was described by Admiral Sir Edmund Robert Fremantle as, "A smart, energetic + efficient senior executive." He returned to Britain on 3 June.[10] The Warrenders' first child, Violet Helen Marie Warrender, was born on 20 November, 1896.[12] According to historian Paul G. Halpern, "The family connections of both Warrender and his wife gave them the entrée into society and they were well known in the London social world."[13] On 23 June, 1899 the Warrenders' second child, Victor Alexander George Anthony Warrender (later First Baron Bruntisfield), was born.[14] Queen Victoria acted as godmother.[15] On 13 May Warrender had been promoted to the rank of Captain, and on 11 July he was appointed to command the protected cruiser Brilliant for the annual manœuvres.[10]

On 26 October, 1899, Warrender was appointed to command the battleship Barfleur, again on the China Station.[10] When the Boxer Rebellion[16] broke out in May, 1900,[17] Warrender was serving as Flag Captain to Rear-Admiral James A. T. Bruce, second-in-command of the China Squadron.[18] On 11 June, the day after the Commander-in-Chief, Vice-Admiral Edward Seymour, had led a relief force to Peking, a 150 man contingent under Warrender's executive officer, Commander David Beatty, went ashore to assist in the defence of the town of Tientsin.[19] On 25 June, Warrender, then in command off the Taku forts, ordered the destroyer Fame under Lieutenant Roger Keyes to reconnoitre, who then proceeded to seize Hain Cheng fortress with 32 men.[20] For his services during the Boxer Rebellion, Warrender was awarded a gratuity.[21]

On return to Britain, Warrender took command of the cruiser Hawke on 21 May, 1903, and on 5 April, 1904 assumed command of the armoured cruiser Lancaster and superseded on 1 March, 1905.[10] The Warrenders' third child, Harold John Warrender, had been born on 15 November, 1903.[22] On 11 May, 1905 Warrender was appointed to Vivid to take commission the new armoured cruiser Carnarvon, which command he retained until 1 August, 1906. On 23 September, 1905 he was appointed to Excellent for a Gunnery Course, which he completed on 21 October. He was appointed to Vernon on 17 March, 1906 for a Torpedo Course. On 1 February, 1907 he was appointed to hoist his broad pennant in Hyacinth as Commodore, First Class in command of the East Indies Squadron. He was reappointed as Commander-in-Chief upon his promotion to Rear-Admiral on 2 July, 1908. He was superseded on 3 March, 1909.[10]

On 29 November, 1910 Warrender was appointed Rear-Admiral Commanding the Second Cruiser Squadron. From 15 December, 1911 to 5 January, 12 he served as a member of a Gunnery Conference at the Admiralty, attached to H.M.S. President. He struck his flag in command of the Second Cruiser Squadron on 11 December. On 16 December, he was appointed to succeed Sir John Jellicoe in command of the Second Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet (formerly the Second Division), with the rank of Acting Vice-Admiral.[23][24] He was confirmed in the rank on 4 June, 1913, vice Galloway, placed on the Retired List.[25] When the Naval Society was formed in 1913 with the intent of publishing the independent journal, The Naval Review, Warrender offered financial help and was listed among those who were "very sympathetic."[26] Warrender was at Kiel when the news of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination in Belgrade was announced. He foretold, "This crime will mean war between Serbia and Austria. Russia will be drawn in and thus Germany and France cannot remain lookers-on."[27]

Great War Service

On 16 June, Jellicoe confided to Sir Henry Jackson that, "My Vice-Admirals are always a little shaky. Warrender gets awfully deaf at times [a complaint Jellicoe himself suffered from] and is inclined to be absent-minded, but on the other hand he has had unique experience in command and is excellent as a squadron admiral in peace. I am not always quite happy about him."[28]

Jellicoe wrote to Beatty on 23 November, "George Warrender is relieved by Jerram 16th December. I shall feel his departure most keenly. He is the soul of his squadron and the most loyal of comrades."[29] Warrender struck his flag on 16 December and assumed the position of Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth on 20 March, 1916. On 11 November he was granted six weeks leave after an attack of Pleurisy. On the 30th he was found unfit for further service, and on 3 December he was asked whether he wanted to retire. On 5 December, 1916 he was superseded in the Plymouth command and went on the Retired List at his own request the following day.

Warrender died on 8 January, 1917, at his home in London, 23 Great Cumberland Place. He was cremated at Golders Green on 12 January, and his ashes were interred at the church of the Annunciation, Bryanston Street, London.[13] His eldest son, Victor Alexander Anthony George Warrender, succeeded to the title as Eighth Baronet.[6]

Editor's Assessment

Halpern, in his overview of Warrender's life, concludes: "Warrender remains one of the prime examples of a naval leader who, whatever his personal qualities and distinguished record in time of peace, did not rise to the very different demands of war."[13] By Halpern's own admission, of the mistakes made on 16 December, 1914, "the most egregious probably were not made by Warrender". Beatty, Goodenough and other flag officers were given second chances to prove themselves. Through no fault of his own, Warrender never received his second chance, being relieved of command afloat six months before the Battle of Jutland, when in all probability he would have led the British line of battle. Gordon slates Jellicoe's defence of Warrender, "excellent as a squadron admiral in peace", as "incredible grounds" for keeping him in post.[30] This editor is not convinced that Gordon has satisfactorily identified the pre-requisites for command of a Battle Squadron in war, let alone in peace, a criticism which can also be leveled at Halpern. No doubt Gordon would have preferred a Beatty, "apt to be rash in conclusion",[31] rather than someone perceived to be a reliable stalwart, like Warrender.
— SIMON HARLEY, Co-editor.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Bell. Dictionary of National Biography. p. 556.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 ADM 196/39. p. 1383.
  3. ↑ Navy List (June, 1875). p. 35.
  4. ↑ Navy List (June, 1875). p. 166.
  5. ↑ Navy List (December, 1878). p. 199.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Death of Sir George Warrender" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 9 January, 1917. Issue 41371, col B, pg. 8.
  7. ↑ Who's Who, 1904. p. 1599.
  8. ↑ London Gazette: no. 24780. p. 6314. 7 November, 1879.
  9. ↑ London Gazette: no. 24881. p. 4847. 10 September, 1880.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 ADM 196/39. p. 1384.
  11. ↑ The Complete Baronetage. V. p. 29.
  12. ↑ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. III. p. 3232.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Halpern. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
  14. ↑ The Complete Peerage. XIV. p. 751.
  15. ↑ Warrender. My First Sixty Years. p. 69.
  16. ↑ The Wikipedia article serves as a satisfactory overview of the Boxer Rebellion.
  17. ↑ Bacon. Earl Jellicoe. p. 93.
  18. ↑ Clowes. The Royal Navy. VII. p. 561.
  19. ↑ Roskill. Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty. p. 32.
  20. ↑ Clowes. The Royal Navy. VII. p. 539.
  21. ↑ Clowes. The Royal Navy. VII. p. 561.
  22. ↑ Burke's Peerage and Baronetage. I. p. 557.
  23. ↑ ADM 196/39. p. 1385.
  24. ↑ Bacon. Earl Jellicoe. p. 181.
  25. ↑ London Gazette: no. 28729. p. 4307. 17 June, 1913.
  26. ↑ "The Naval Society and Review" (August, 1922). Naval Review. p. 399.
  27. ↑ Hawkins. Starvation Blockades. p. 7.
  28. ↑ (Jackson MSS.) Jellicoe Papers. I. p. 167.
  29. ↑ (Beatty MSS.) Jellicoe Papers. I. p. 189.
  30. ↑ Gordon. Rules of the Game. p. 565.
  31. ↑ Jones. The Making of the Royal Navy Officer Corps. p. 208.

Bibliography

  • "Death of Sir George Warrender" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 9 January, 1917. Issue 41371, col B, pg. 8.
  • Bacon, Admiral Sir Reginald Hugh (1936). The Life of John Rushworth Earl Jellicoe. London: Cassell and Company, Ltd..
  • Bell, A. C. (1927). Dictionary of National Biography. Third Supplement. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Clowes, William Laird (1903). The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present. Vol. VII. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company.
  • Hawkins, Nigel (2002). The Starvation Blockades: Naval Blockades of WW1. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 9780850529081.
  • Jellicoe, Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth, First Earl Jellicoe (1966). Patterson, Arthur Temple. ed. The Jellicoe Papers. Volume I. London: Navy Records Society.
  • Jones, Mary (1999). The Making of the Royal Naval Officer Corps 1860-1914. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Exeter: University of Exeter.
  • Warrender, Lady Maud Ashley (1933). My First Sixty Years. London: Cassell and Company Ltd..

Service Record

Naval Office
Preceded by
Sir John Jellicoe 		Vice-Admiral Commanding, Second Battle Squadron
1912 – 1915 		Succeeded by
Sir Martyn Jerram
Preceded by
Sir George Egerton 		Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
1916 		Succeeded by
Sir Alexander Bethell
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