Difference between revisions of "Admiral of Patrols"

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<blockquote>We had an old Cruiser for Flagship[,] 'St. George' &hellip;  but we were very seldom in her except when John de Robeck wanted to give a dinner-party.  We soon learnt to combine business with pleasure - we were both very fond of playing golf and hunting the FOX.<ref>Cowan Memoirs.  f. 252.</ref></blockquote>
 
<blockquote>We had an old Cruiser for Flagship[,] 'St. George' &hellip;  but we were very seldom in her except when John de Robeck wanted to give a dinner-party.  We soon learnt to combine business with pleasure - we were both very fond of playing golf and hunting the FOX.<ref>Cowan Memoirs.  f. 252.</ref></blockquote>
 
  
 
==Admirals of Patrols==
 
==Admirals of Patrols==

Revision as of 15:28, 4 May 2015

Rear-Admiral John M. de Robeck was appointed Admiral of Patrols on 8 April, 1912.

The Patrol Flotillas

On 1 May, 1912 de Robeck hoisted his flag in the St. George at Harwich upon taking command of the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Destroyer Flotillas, formerly the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Flotillas of the Third and Fourth Divisions of the Home Fleet.[1] It was publicly announced on 16 April that the office of the Admiral of Patrols would be at the Admiralty.[2]

In the words of de Robeck's assistant, Captain (later Admiral Sir) Walter H. Cowan:

We had an old Cruiser for Flagship[,] 'St. George' … but we were very seldom in her except when John de Robeck wanted to give a dinner-party. We soon learnt to combine business with pleasure - we were both very fond of playing golf and hunting the FOX.[3]

Admirals of Patrols

Assistants to Admiral of Patrols

The Auxiliary Patrols

In 1914, the Board of Admiralty ordered the Admiralty War Staff to devise, in Dr. Nicholas Lambert's words, a "different organisation" for the patrol flotillas on the East Coast of Great Britain. The First Sea Lord, Prince Louis of Battenberg, directed that the doctrine of patrol was to be replaced by that of coast defence. The War Staff contemplated the use of fifty aeroplanes, equipped with W/T equipment, capable of searching up to one hundred miles distant from their bases. Rear-Admiral de Robeck was replaced by the architect of the new doctrine, Captain George A. Ballard.[10] Ballard assumed the duties of Admiral of Patrols on 1 May, 1914, with the rank of Commodore, First Class.[11]

On 20 December, 1914 new patrol areas were establishing encompassing all of the coastal waters of the UK. There were 21 to 23 of these areas, depending on source or definition, all under the Admiral of Patrols. They included trawlers, drifters, etc. as well as destroyers. By about August 1915, these patrols became known as the Auxiliary Patrols.[12][13]

Auxiliary Patrol Areas

Auxiliary Patrol Area I

Auxiliary Patrol Area II

Auxiliary Patrol Area III

Auxiliary Patrol Area IV

Auxiliary Patrol Area V

Auxiliary Patrol Area VI

Auxiliary Patrol Area VII

Auxiliary Patrol Area VIII

Auxiliary Patrol Area IX

Auxiliary Patrol Area X

Auxiliary Patrol Area XI

Auxiliary Patrol Area XII

Auxiliary Patrol Area XIII

Auxiliary Patrol Area XIV

Auxiliary Patrol Area XV

Auxiliary Patrol Area XVI

Auxiliary Patrol Area XVII

Auxiliary Patrol Area XVIII

Auxiliary Patrol Area XIX

Auxiliary Patrol Area XX

Auxiliary Patrol Area XXI

Auxiliary Patrol Area XXII

Auxiliary Patrol Area XXIII

Footnotes

  1. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Wednesday, 17 April, 1912. Issue 39875, col A, p. 17.
  2. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 16 April, 1912. Issue 39874, col C, p. 4.
  3. Cowan Memoirs. f. 252.
  4. de Robeck Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 128.
  5. de Robeck Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 128.
  6. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 1 May, 1914. Issue 40512, col B, p. 6.
  7. Cowan Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 249.
  8. Cowan Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 249.
  9. The Navy List. (March, 1914). p. 359.
  10. Lambert. Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution. p. 286.
  11. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 1 May, 1914. Issue 40512, col B, p. 6.
  12. Naval Operations. Volume II. pp. 18-9, 133-4.
  13. Thanks to Keith Allen for contributing to this section.
  14. Carpendale Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 443.
  15. Carpendale Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 443.

Bibliography

  • Lambert, Nicholas A. (1999). Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1570032777.