Fourth Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)
History
On 6 December, 1906, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Earl of Selborne, announced a redistribution of fleets affecting the whole Navy. The cruisers outside European waters were divided into groups: the Eastern; Cape of Good Hope; and the Western.
- The Western Group of cruisers will consist of the cruisers under the command of the Commander-in-chief of the North American and West Indian Station and the mobilized cruisers with which he will be reinforced in time of war. At present the cruisers under the command of the Commander-in-chief of the North American and West Indian Station consist of his flag-ship, a first-class protected cruiser, and certain second and third-class cruisers. The Board have decided to withdraw from the station the less effective of those ships and to add to it the ships of the new Particular Service Squadron which they have decided to constitute and of which the Commander-in-chief of this station will be given command.[1]
The situation was clarified in a further command paper on fleet dispositions, dated 15 March, 1905:
The constitution of the Particular Service Squadron under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station, composed of the Flag Ship on that Station, and the five sea-going training ships for cadets, youths, and boys. This forms the Fourth Cruiser Squadron.[2]
Further:
The Fourth Cruiser (Particular Service) Squadron which compromises the Flagship of the Vice-Admiral in command of the North America and West Indies Station, and the several seagoing training ships, will make three cruises annually in the West Indies and in Home and adjacent waters, returning home after each cruise at the dates fixed for changing the classes under training.
Under this arrangement it is estimated that the Fourth Cruiser Squadron will be cruising for 30 weeks, and will be at Home for 22 weeks.
The refit and docking of the ships, and the leave to officers and men, will take place in the course of the time spent in Home waters.[3]
From 8 February, 1907 to 8 February, 1909, Rear-Admiral Frederick S. Inglefield was in command of the squadron, flying his flag in Euryalus.[4] By this time the command-in-chief status and the allusion to the North America and West Indies Station seems to have been abandoned.[Inference] Inglefield was succeeded at Portsmouth by Rear-Admiral Arthur M. Farquhar on 8 February, 1909.[5] Rear-Admiral Edward E. Bradford was appointed in command on 8 February, 1911, and struck his flag on 8 February, 1913.[6] He was succeeded on the same day by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher G. F. M. Cradock.[7] On 1 May, 1912, the Fourth Cruiser Squadron was renamed the Training Squadron.[8] With Cradock's appointment in 1913 the Fourth Cruiser Squadron ceased to be a training squadron and became part of the First Fleet.[9] It was intended that it should be able to join the Commander-in-Chief in Home waters for manœuvres, but it was in effect permanently detached to protect British interests in Mexico.[10]
Composition
December, 1912[11]
December, 1913[12]
The West Atlantic squadron has gained a cruiser in net strength. Donegal left for an assignment I've yet to discover. New arrival Essex's point of origin is likewise a mystery.
- Suffolk
- Berwick
- Essex
- Lancaster (joined from Fifth Cruiser Squadron)
- Hermione (joined from Eleventh Cruiser Squadron)
July, 1914[13]
A light cruiser has replaced Hermione.
5 August, 1914[14]
Based in the West Atlantic, the formation was a cruiser squadron in name only, as it was comprised of:
- heavy cruiser Suffolk
- heavy cruiser Berwick
- light cruiser Bristol
- armoured cruiser Essex
- armoured cruiser Lancaster
- battleship Glory
- first class protected cruiser Niobe
- an auxiliary merchant cruiser
Rear-Admirals Commanding
Dates of appointment given:
- Rear-Admiral Frederick S. Inglefield, 8 February, 1907.[15]
- Rear-Admiral Arthur M. Farquhar, 8 February, 1909.[5]
- Rear-Admiral Edward E. Bradford, 8 February, 1911.[16]
- Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher G. F. M. Cradock, 8 February, 1913.[9]
Footnotes
- ↑ Navy—Distribution and Mobilization of the Fleet (1905). Cd. 2335. p. 3.
- ↑ Redistribution of the Fleet—Arrangements Consequent on the Redistribution of the Fleet (1905). Cd. 2430. p. 3.
- ↑ Redistribution of the Fleet—Arrangements Consequent on the Redistribution of the Fleet (1905). Cd. 2430. p. 5.
- ↑ Inglefield Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/19. f. 473.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 5 February, 1909, 1914. Issue 38875, col B, p. 7.
- ↑ Bradford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 168.
- ↑ Cradock Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 89.
- ↑ M. 11735/12. 29 March, 1912. The National Archives. ADM 1/8271. f. 2 of Admiralty letter.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 21 January, 1913. Issue 40114, col C, p. 10.
- ↑ Naval Operations. Volume I. pp. 11-13.
- ↑ Albert Francis Barclay Bridges papers at The Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum. [BRG 1/1]
- ↑ Albert Francis Barclay Bridges papers at The Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum. [BRG 1/1]
- ↑ Printed page "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad" in Albert Francis Barclay Bridges papers at The Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum. [BRG 1/1]
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 16.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Thursday, 10 January, 1907. Issue 38226, col D, p. 5.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 10 January, 1911. Issue 39478, col B, p. 4.
Bibliography
- Corbett, Sir Julian S. (1920). Naval Operations. Volume I. London: Longmans, Green and Co..
