Difference between revisions of "Arthur Lindesay Cay"

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He took four Firsts in his Lieutenancy exams, being promoted to that rank on 14 August, 1891.<ref>Cay Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}}  f. 66.</ref>
 
He took four Firsts in his Lieutenancy exams, being promoted to that rank on 14 August, 1891.<ref>Cay Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}}  f. 66.</ref>
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Cay commanded the {{UK-TB85}} in the [[Annual Manoeuvres of 1894]] and once again created the sort of impression that so distinguished him from the pack, inspiring Captain [[Basil Edward Cochrane|Cochrane]] to rhapsodize, "Lieut. Cay is a dashing officer & would, I think, make a first rate Torpedo officer in war."<ref>Cay Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}}  f. 66.</ref>
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After the manoeuvres ended in August, Cay was appointed to the {{UK-1Ruby|f=t}}, and served in her through 9 September, 1895.  Captain [[John Ferris]] described one  of Cay's heroic exploits while in the ship, as recorded in Cay's Service Record.
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This officer drops into the cutter, which was under the Ruby's counter in considerable danger & by his zeal, example, & physical strength in shoving her out, prevented a loss of cutter, anchor, & probably some life, which was otherwise almost certain.
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Cay was promoted to the rank of {{CommRN}} on 26 June, 1902.{{GazSup|27448|4198|26 June, 1902}}
 
Cay was promoted to the rank of {{CommRN}} on 26 June, 1902.{{GazSup|27448|4198|26 June, 1902}}

Revision as of 12:51, 9 April 2021

Captain Arthur Lindesay Cay, Royal Navy (31 January, 1869 – 31 May, 1916) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the First World War. In command of H.M.S. Invincible at the Battle of Jutland, he was killed when his ship sank.

Life & Career

Born in Penzance the son of retired Captain R. B. Cay, Arthur Cay entered the Navy in July 1882. He generally impressed his superiour officers as his career developed, and must have been an attractive and likeable man, as his evaluations seem more florid and fawning than average. Captain Lake of H.M.S. Nelson, under whom Cay served from October 1884 to April 1888 described the Midshipman as a "tall strong youth. Slow at school but promises well as an officer & seaman." Later evaluations described Cay as "very powerful", "athletic", and "a very smart fine young fellow."[1]

He took four Firsts in his Lieutenancy exams, being promoted to that rank on 14 August, 1891.[2]

Cay commanded the T.B. 85 in the Annual Manoeuvres of 1894 and once again created the sort of impression that so distinguished him from the pack, inspiring Captain Cochrane to rhapsodize, "Lieut. Cay is a dashing officer & would, I think, make a first rate Torpedo officer in war."[3]

After the manoeuvres ended in August, Cay was appointed to the corvette Ruby, and served in her through 9 September, 1895. Captain John Ferris described one of Cay's heroic exploits while in the ship, as recorded in Cay's Service Record.

This officer drops into the cutter, which was under the Ruby's counter in considerable danger & by his zeal, example, & physical strength in shoving her out, prevented a loss of cutter, anchor, & probably some life, which was otherwise almost certain.

Cay was promoted to the rank of Commander on 26 June, 1902.[4]

As Commander, Cay joined H.M.S. King Edward VII to commission her at Portsmouth in January 1905, and left on 4 March, 1907.

Captain

He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 30 June, 1907.[5]

He was appointed in command of the battleship Prince George on 15 November, 1907.[6]

He served as captain of the armoured cruiser Leviathan from April 1909 until February of 1911.

On 11 April, 1911 Cay was appointed to Impregnable as Flag Captain to Sir William May, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, and was superseded on 30 March, 1913.

On 19 April he was appointed to command the armoured cruiser Achilles in the Second Cruiser Squadron.[7] A lieutenant in Achilles later described him: "a very upright six foot three, sparsely built with the expression of a bulldozer, it would never occur to anyone to gainsay him; a widower living a spartan life except for golf, and saving anything possible for his children."[8]

He was appointed in command of the battlecruiser Invincible on 19 February, 1915, losing his life aboard her at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May, 1916.

Service Record

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Thomas L. Barnardiston 		Captain of H.M. T.B. 85
18 Jul, 1894 		Succeeded by
Arthur W. Lowis
Preceded by
The Hon. Robert F. Boyle 		Captain of H.M.S. Prince George
15 Nov, 1907[9] – 16 Nov, 1908[10] 		Succeeded by
Herbert J. Savill
Preceded by
Edward M. Phillpotts 		Captain of H.M.S. Euryalus
8 Feb, 1909[11] – 20 Apr, 1909[12] 		Succeeded by
Charles W. Keighly-Peach
Preceded by
Charles W. Keighly-Peach 		Captain of H.M.S. Leviathan
20 Apr, 1909[13][14] – 8 Jul, 1911[15] 		Succeeded by
Eric P. C. Back
Preceded by
Herbert W. Savory 		Captain of Training Ship H.M.S. Impregnable
11 Apr, 1911[16] 		Succeeded by
Laurence R. Oliphant
Preceded by
Lionel Halsey 		Flag Captain, Plymouth Station
11 Apr, 1911[17] 		Succeeded by
Eric P. C. Back
Preceded by
Herbert A. S. Fyler 		Captain of H.M.S. Euryalus
2 Jul, 1912[18] 		Succeeded by
Herbert A. S. Fyler
Preceded by
The Hon. Stanhope Hawke 		Captain of H.M.S. Achilles
19 Apr, 1913[19] – 19 Feb, 1915[20] 		Succeeded by
Francis M. Leake
Preceded by
Percy T. H. Beamish 		Captain of H.M.S. Invincible
19 Feb, 1915[21] – 31 May, 1916 		Succeeded by
Vessel Lost
 

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  2. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  3. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 27448. p. 4198. 26 June, 1902.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28034. p. 4433. 28 June, 1907.
  6. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  7. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  8. ↑ "A View Through the Wake." p. 458.
  9. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  10. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  11. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  12. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  13. ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1910). p. 340.
  14. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  15. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  16. ↑ The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 330.
  17. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  18. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  19. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  20. ↑ Cay Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 66.
  21. ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 395b.

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