George Alexander Ballard
Admiral George Alexander Ballard, C.B., Royal Navy, Retired (7 March, 1862 – 16 September, 1948) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the First World War, as well as a noted historian.
Contents
Life & Career
On 31 December, 1897 he was promoted to the rank of Commander.[1]
Captain
Ballard was promoted to the rank of Captain on 31 December, 1903.[2]
Ballard assumed the duties of Admiral of Patrols on 1 May, 1914, with the rank of Commodore, First Class.[3]
Great War
On 27 August, 1914, Ballard was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, vice Carden.[4] On 12 October, a new command was carved out of his, that of the Dover Patrol under Rear-Admiral The Hon. Horace L. A. Hood.[5]
An interesting perspective on Ballard is offered by Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry F. Oliver, who became Chief of the Admiralty War Staff at the end of 1914:
We had a useless R.A. on the East Coast of England and I could not get him shifted. When the Germans bombarded Scarborough and Hartlepool we knew from Room 40 the afternoon before that something was intended but not enough to know what. He had definite orders to send out 2 submarines from Hartlepool to be at gun range, according to visibility, off the harbour at dawn. He failed to send them out the night before and they did not start out till after the bombardment began[,] one was crossing the bar while the shells were falling. We lost a fine chance of laming a battle cruiser and perhaps bringing on an engagement if her consorts delayed retiring to help her. I could not get him shifted for that so I took bits of his command away at the north and south ends till there was none left.[6]
N. A. M. Rodger has witlessly opined that, "His reputation may have suffered from the German raids of 1914 and 1916; certainly there was no vacancy in the naval war staff under Sir Henry Jackson for so clever and independent an officer." Quite apart from the slur this statement casts on Sir Henry Jackson, it also denigrates the men already on the War Staff.
On 1 May, 1916, Ballard was succeeded as Rear-Admiral Commanding, East Coast of England by Stuart Nicholson. On 24 September he was appointed Senior Officer in Charge at Malta and Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard,[7] and assumed command on 28 September.[8]
Post-War
He was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 11 February, 1919, he left Malta in September. He was placed on the Retired List on 15 June, 1921 at his own request "in order to facilitate the promotion of younger officers."[9] On 3 March, 1924 he was advanced to the rank of Admiral on the Retired List.[10]
He died suddenly on 16 September, 1948, aged eighty-six, at his home, Hill House, Downton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire.[11]
Footnotes
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 26924. p. 7854. 31 December, 1897.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27632. p. 25. 1 January, 1904.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 1 May, 1914. Issue 40512, col B, pg. 6.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28881. p. 6794. 28 August, 1914.
- ↑ Corbett. Naval Operations. I. p. 224.
- ↑ Oliver. II. ff. 117-118.
- ↑ Ballard Service Record. p. 65.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List (June, 1918). p. 8.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 32384. p. 5486. 8 July, 1921.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 32919. p. 2323. 18 March, 1924.
- ↑ "Deaths" (Deaths). The Times. Saturday, 18 September, 1948. Issue 51180, col A, pg. 1.
Bibliography
Papers
- Unfinished memoirs in the possession of the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth. 1988.89.
Service Records
- The National Archives. ADM 196/42.
- The National Archives. ADM 196/20.
| Naval Offices | ||
| Preceded by John M. de Robeck |
Admiral of Patrols 1914 – 1915 |
Succeeded by Title Changed |
| Preceded by New Position |
Rear-Admiral Commanding, East Coast of England 1915 – 1916 |
Succeeded by Stuart Nicholson |
| Preceded by Sir Arthur H. Limpus |
Senior Naval Officer and Admiral Superintendent, Malta 1916 – 1918 |
Succeeded by Brian H. F. Barttelot |
