Admiral of Patrols
Rear-Admiral John M. de Robeck was appointed Admiral of Patrols on 8 April, 1912.
Contents
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
- Rear-Admiral John M. de Robeck, 8 April, 1912[4] – 1 May, 1914[5]
- Commodore, First Class George A. Ballard, 1 May, 1914[6]
Assistants to Admiral of Patrols
- Captain Walter H. Cowan, 1 May, 1912[7] – 7 February, 1914[8]
- Captain Edward G. Lowther-Crofton, 7 February, 1914[9] – 1 February, 1915[10]
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.[11] Ballard assumed the duties of Admiral of Patrols on 1 May, 1914, with the rank of Commodore, First Class.[12]
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.[13][14]
Auxiliary Patrol Areas
Auxiliary Patrol Area I (Hebrides and the Minch, based at Loch Ewe and Stornoway)
Auxiliary Patrol Area II (Shetlands, base at Longhope)
Auxiliary Patrol Area III (the Orkneys, base at Longhope)
Auxiliary Patrol Area IV (Moray Firth, base at Cromarty)
- Captain (acting) Henry L. Dicks, 19 January, 1915[Fact Check][15] – after 1 December, 1918[16]
Auxiliary Patrol Area V (off Rattray Head, base at Peterhead)
Auxiliary Patrol Area VI (Forth to Rattray Head, base at Rosyth)
Auxiliary Patrol Area VII (Seaward of the Forth, base at Granton)
Auxiliary Patrol Area VIII (the Tyne, based at Tyne)
Auxiliary Patrol Area IX (Humber, based at Grimsby)
Auxiliary Patrol Area X (off East Anglian coast, bases in Yarmouth and Harwich)
Auxiliary Patrol Area XI (Dover Straits, based in Dover)
Auxiliary Patrol Area XII (East Channel, based in Portsmouth)
Auxiliary Patrol Area XIII (Mid-Channel, based at Portland)
- Rear-Admiral Vivian H. G. Bernard, 27 November, 1917[17]
Auxiliary Patrol Area XIV (Western Approach, based in Devonport)
- Captain V. E. B. Phillimore, 15 April, 1915[18] – May, 1916[19]
Auxiliary Patrol Area XV (St. George's and Bristol Channel, based at Milford with sub-base at Rosslare)
Auxiliary Patrol Area XVI (Irish Channel, based at Liverpool, Kingstown and Belfast)
- Captain Henry D. Wilkin, before March, 1915[20]
- Captain (retired) Henry F. Aplin, ? – 4 June, 1916[21][22]
- Rear-Admiral Herbert Chatterton, 4 June, 1916[23] – 10 May, 1917[24]
- Commodore, First Class R.N.R. John Denison, before 1 December, 1917[25] – after 1 December, 1918[26]
Auxiliary Patrol Area XVII (North Coast of Ireland, based at Lough Larne)
- Captain R.N.R. (temporary) Charles J. Barlow, 20 February, 1915[27] – 2 April, 1915[28]
- Commodore, First Class R.N.R. Sir Alfred W. Paget, before June, 1916[29] – after 1 December, 1916[30]
- Captain R.N.R. Robert S. D. Cuming, 24 January, 1917[31] – 1 March, 1918[32] (as Commodore, Second Class)
- Captain Charles D. Carpendale, March, 1918[33] – 21 February, 1919[34]
Auxiliary Patrol Area XVIII (North-west Coast of Ireland, based at Lough Swilly)
- Captain Herbert Chatterton, 6 June, 1915[35] – 4 June, 1916[36]
Auxiliary Patrol Area XIX (West Coast of Ireland, based at Blacksod Bay)
- Captain Arthur P. James, before 1 December, 1915[37] – after December 1916[38]
Auxiliary Patrol Area XX (West Coast of Ireland, based at Galway Bay)
Auxiliary Patrol Area XXI (South and South-west Coast of Ireland, based at Queenstown and Berehaven)
- Captain Charles T. Hardy, 3 July, 1915[39] – 9 February, 1916[40]
Auxiliary Patrol Area XXII (?)
- Captain (retired) Arthur R. Raby, 11 July, 1915[41] – after June 1916[42]
- Captain Henry F. Aplin, before 1 September, 1916[43] – before 1 December, 1916[44]
- Captain R.N.R. (temporary) Herbert C. C. Da Costa, 1 April, 1917[45] – 6 June, 1918[46]
Auxiliary Patrol Area XXIII (?)
Footnotes
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Wednesday, 17 April, 1912. Issue 39875, col A, p. 17.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 16 April, 1912. Issue 39874, col C, p. 4.
- ↑ Cowan Memoirs. f. 252.
- ↑ de Robeck Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 128.
- ↑ de Robeck Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 128.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 1 May, 1914. Issue 40512, col B, p. 6.
- ↑ Cowan Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 249.
- ↑ Cowan Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 249.
- ↑ Lowther-Crofton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/316. f.347.
- ↑ Lowther-Crofton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/316. f.347.
- ↑ Lambert. Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution. p. 286.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 1 May, 1914. Issue 40512, col B, p. 6.
- ↑ Naval Operations. Volume II. pp. 18-9, 133-4.
- ↑ Thanks to Keith Allen for contributing to this section.
- ↑ Dicks Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 145.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 8.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (November, 1918). p. 2.
- ↑ Phillimore Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/511. f. 511.
- ↑ Phillimore Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/511. f. 511.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (March, 1915). p. 9.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (June, 1916). p. 9.
- ↑ Chatterton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 170.
- ↑ Chatterton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 170.
- ↑ Chatterton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 170.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (December, 1917). p. 9.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 8.
- ↑ Barlow Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 31.
- ↑ Barlow Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 31.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (June, 1916). p. 9.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 9.
- ↑ Cuming Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 280.
- ↑ Cuming Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 280.
- ↑ Carpendale Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 443.
- ↑ Carpendale Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 443.
- ↑ Chatterton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 170.
- ↑ Chatterton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 170.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (December, 1915). p. 9.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 9.
- ↑ Hardy Service Record The National Archives. ADM 196/44/316. f. 355.
- ↑ Hardy Service Record The National Archives. ADM 196/44/316. f. 355.
- ↑ Raby Service Record. The National Archives. 196/43. f. 51.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (June, 1916). p. 9.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (September, 1916). p. 9.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 9.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 30008. p. 3206. 3 April, 1917.
- ↑ Da Costa Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 266.
Bibliography
- Lambert, Nicholas A. (1999). Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1570032777.
