Annual Manoeuvres of 1890
From The Dreadnought Project
The Royal Navy's Annual Manoeuvres of 1890 was a typical exercise, with one fleet taking a defensive role while a second took a threatening role.
A review of the Navy List and Service Records of the men involved seems to indicate that those who received the temporary command appointments often used in manoeuvres were dated 22 July, 1890. The manoeuvres seemed to commence shortly after 29 July, with the two fleets departing Portland and to conclude around 20 August.
Order of Battle
The Times reported the structure of the exercise as follows.[1]
The first-class torpedo boats listed there were to be split evenly between the two fleets. A story from 29 July 1890 permitted their Fleet assignments to be sorted out as shown below.[2]
- Fleet Number 1 – commanded by Vice-Admiral George Tryon in flagship Invincible was to represent the English Fleet, tasked with protecting trade routes.
- Anson, Captain Bouverie Francis Clark
- Rodney, Captain John Borlase Warren
- Inflexible, Captain not indicated
- Hero, Captain William Home Chisholme St. Clair
- Inflexible, Captain Arthur Thomas Brooke
- Triumph, Captain Francis Starkie Clayton
- Hotspur, Captain Thomas Harvey Royse
- Northumberland, Captain John Fellowes
- Black Prince, Captain Alexander Plantagenet Hastings
- Galatea, Captain Swinton Colthurst Holland
- Narcissus, Captain Lewis Anthony Beaumont
- Shannon, Captain Arthur Edward Dupuis
- Iris, Captain Ernest Neville Rolfe
- Thames, Captain Wollaston Comyns Karslake
- Mersey, Captain Arthur William Moore
- Inconstant, Captain Frederick Ross Boardman
- Medusa, Captain Andrew Kennedy Bickford
- Basilisk, Commander Lewis Edmund Wintz
- Mohawk, Commander Robert Blair Maconochie
- Racoon, Commander Edward Harpur Gamble
- Speedwell, Lieutenant Edmund Arthur White
- Spider, Lieutenant The Hon. Patrick Maurice Hely-Hutchinson
- Hearty, Commander William Wilson
- T.B. 65 Lieutenant John Hercules Robertson
- T.B. 67 Lieutenant Charles FitzGerald Sowerby
- T.B. 68 Lieutenant Trevylyan Dacres Willes Napier
- T.B. 72 Lieutenant Claude William Manners Plenderleath
- T.B. 73 Lieutenant Charles Lionel Vaughan-Lee
- T.B. 74 Lieutenant The Hon. George Arthur Hardinge
- T.B. 78 Lieutenant Francis Eaton Travers
- T.B. 79 Lieutenant Arthur Cavenagh Leveson
- T.B. 80 Lieutenant Lewis Bayly
- T.B. 83 Lieutenant Edward Arthur Salwey
- T.B. 84 Lieutenant Herbert Orpen
- T.B. 85 Lieutenant William Osbert Boothby
- Fleet Number 2 – commanded by Vice-Admiral Michael Culme-Seymour was to represent the Hostile Fleet, tasked with attacking and holding those trade routes.
- Forth, Captain John Hugh Bainbridge
- Arethusa, Captain Thomas Peere Williams Nesham
- Medea, Captain George William Hill
- Barossa, Commander Henry Hart Dyke
- Serpent, Commander Harry Leith Ross
- Curlew, Commander Henry Deacon Barry
- Sandfly, Commander Paul Warner Bush
- twin screw vessel Traveller, Lieutenant Gustavus Humphry Yonge
- Ajax, Captain Robert Hornby Boyle
- Camperdown, Captain Francis Charles Bridgeman Bridgeman-Simpson
- Howe, Captain Henry Harvey Boys
- Neptune, Captain John Frederick George Grant
- Conqueror, Captain Henry John Carr
- Audacious, Captain Arthur Cecil Henry Paget
- Iron Duke, Captain Frederick Samuel Vander-Meulen
- Minotaur, Captain George Thomas Henry Boyes
- Aurora, Captain Sir William Wiseman
- Immortalité, Captain Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe
- Northampton, Captain Leicester Chantrey Keppel
- T.B. 45 Lieutenant Cunningham Robert de Clare Foot
- T.B. 51 Lieutenant Reginald Graham Gregory
- T.B. 52 Lieutenant Philip Jeston Hodges
- T.B. 54 Lieutenant Basil Reginald Hamilton Taylor
- T.B. 55 Lieutenant Arthur Trevor Dawson
- T.B. 57 Lieutenant Robert John Prendergast
- T.B. 58 Lieutenant Arthur Parkinson James
- T.B. 59 Lieutenant William Firth Slayter
- T.B. 81 Lieutenant Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee
- T.B. 82 Lieutenant Edward Francis Benedict Charlton
- T.B. 86 Lieutenant John Michael de Robeck
- T.B. 87 Lieutenant Lionel de Lautour Wells
- Fleet Number 3 – was be the Reserve Fleet of Fleet Number 1, and would have its headquarters in the Downs.
- Belleisle, Captain The Hon. Richard Hare
- Glatton, Captain John George Jones
- Gorgon, Captain Orford Churchill
- Hecate, Commander Alfred Carpenter
- Hydra, Commander Alvin Coote Corry
- Cyclops, Captain Charles Philip Giffin Hicks
- Active, Captain Armand Temple Powlett
- Hecla, Captain Edwin John Payne Gallwey
- Tartar, Commander Charles Grey Robinson
- Rattlesnake, Commander Henry Deacon Barry
- Grasshopper, Lieutenant Frederick Tower Hamilton
- Squadron 4 – was to be unattached and employed on special service. Whether it is part of one of the above Fleets is not mentioned.
- Volage, Captain William Alison Dyke Acland
- Calypso, Captain Count Frederick Cosmeto Metaxa
- Ruby, Captain Reginald Friend Hannam Henderson
Footnotes
- ↑ "Naval Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Saturday, Jul 19, 1890; pg. 12; Issue 33068.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Jul 29, 1890; pg. 10; Issue 33076.
