The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
of
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
s that defended the waters of the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915.
History
Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history there had been different squadrons stationed in home waters. One of the earliest known
naval formations to be based at Plymouth was called the
Western Squadron which was the forerunner of the
Channel Squadron that was later known as the Channel Fleet. In 1650 Captain
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, Commander-in-Chief, was charged with guarding the Channel from Beachy Head to Lands End with six ships. This system continued following the Restoration. It was the start of what was to become a Western Squadron. From 1690 the squadron operated out of Plymouth Dockyard during wartime periods, which was for most of the 18th century and early 19th century. In 1854 The Channel Squadron, sometimes known as the Particular Service Squadron, was established. The Channel Squadron only became a permanent formation in 1858.
During the 19th century, as the French developed
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Febr ...
as a base for
steam-powered ships, the Royal Navy developed
Portland Harbour as a base for the fleet. The harbour was built between 1849 and 1872 when the Royal Navy created a breakwater made of blocks from local quarries on the
Isle of Portland
An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms.
Isle may refer to:
Geography
* Is ...
.
With the amelioration of Anglo-French relations, and the rise of German militarism towards 1900, the need for a Channel Formation diminished and the main European naval arena shifted to the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
. Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson was officially "Senior Officer in Command of the Channel Squadron" from 1901 to 1903. His subordinate flag officer in that squadron was the Second-in-Command, who commanded a division of battleships. For the period 1858 to 1903 the Channel squadron was often incorrectly referred to as the Channel Fleet.
On 17 April 1903 The Right Hon. Lord Charles Beresford was appointed Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Squadron. On 6 May 1903 Admiral Beresford was informed by the Admiralty "that for the future the Channel Squadron shall be known as the Channel Fleet." On 14 December 1904 the Channel Fleet was re-styled the '
Atlantic Fleet' and the
Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.
Before the Firs ...
became the 'Channel Fleet'.
[National Archives records]
On 24 March 1909, under a fleet re-organisation, the Channel Fleet became the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet.
Rear and Vice-Admiral, Particular Service Squadron
*Vice-Admiral Sir
Charles Napier, (1854-1856)
*Rear-Admiral,
Henry Chads, (1854-1856)
*Rear-Admiral Sir
Richard Saunders Dundas, (1856-1857)
*Rear-Admiral Sir
Michael Seymour. (1856-1857)
Senior Officers in Command of the Channel Squadron
Post holders have included:
* Vice Admiral Sir
Charles Fremantle (1859–1860)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Robert Stopford (1860–1861)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Robert Smart (1861–1863)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Sydney Dacres (1863–1866)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Hastings Yelverton (1866–1867)
* Vice Admiral
Frederick Warden (1867–1868)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Thomas Symonds (1868–1870)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Hastings Yelverton (July 1870-October 1870)
* Vice Admiral Sir
George Wellesley (1870–1871)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Geoffrey Hornby
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby GCB (10 February 1825 – 3 March 1895) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he saw action at the capture of Acre in November 1840 during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. As a capta ...
(1871–1874)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Beauchamp Seymour (1874–1877)
* Vice Admiral
Lord John Hay (1877–1879)
* Vice Admiral
Lord Hood (1880–1882)
* Vice Admiral Sir
William Dowell (1882–1883)
* Vice Admiral
The Duke of Edinburgh (1883–1884)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Algernon de Horsey (1884–1885)
* Vice Admiral
Charles Fellowes
Vice Admiral Charles Fellowes (19 October 1823 – 8 March 1886) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet.
Naval career
Fellowes joined the Royal Navy in 1836. He fought in the Second Opium War, and as ...
(1885–1886)
* Vice Admiral Sir
William Hewett
Vice-Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett, (12 August 1834 – 13 May 1888) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commo ...
(1886–1888)
* Vice Admiral Sir
John Baird (1888–1890)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Michael Culme-Seymour (1890–1892)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Henry Fairfax (1892–1894)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Robert Fitzroy (1894–1895)
* Vice Admiral
Lord Walter Kerr (1895–1897)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Henry Stephenson (1897–1898)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Harry Rawson (1898–1901)
* Vice Admiral Sir
Arthur Wilson (1901–1903)
* Vice-Admiral
Lord Charles Beresford
Admiral Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford, (10 February 1846 – 6 September 1919), styled Lord Charles Beresford between 1859 and 1916, was a British admiral and Member of Parliament.
Beresford was the second son of ...
(1903-4)
Second-in-Command Channel Squadron
Post holders included:
* Rear-Admiral
Henry Chads, 1 October 1869.
* Rear-Admiral
William M. Dowell, 1877
* Rear-Admiral
Henry Boys, 1878
* Rear-Admiral The Hon.
Henry C. Glyn, 20 June 1881.
* Rear-Admiral
Sir Francis W. Sullivan, 14 August 1882
* Rear-Admiral
John C. Wilson, 1 April 1883
* Rear-Admiral
William H. Whyte, 13 May 1884
* Rear-Admiral
Algernon C. F. Heneage, 3 July 1885 – 7 August 1886
* Rear-Admiral The Hon.
Edmund R. Fremantle , 9 August 1886
* Rear-Admiral
Charles J. Rowley, 18 August 1887
* Rear-Admiral
St. George Caulfield d′Arcy-Irvine, 1 September 1888
* Rear-Admiral
Richard E. Tracey, 12 September 1889
* Rear-Admiral
Loftus F. Jones, 12 September 1890
* Rear-Admiral
Edward S. Adeane, 15 September 1891
* Rear-Admiral
Edward H. Seymour, 16 September 1892 – 25 April 1894
* Rear-Admiral
Alfred T. Dale, 25 April 1894 – 20 April 1895
* Rear-Admiral
Arthur H. Alington, 1 May 1895
* Rear-Admiral
Armand T. Powlett, 1 May 1896 – 19 May 1897
* Rear-Admiral
John Fellowes, 19 May 1897
* Rear-Admiral
John W. Brackenbury, 1 June 1898
* Rear-Admiral
Arthur D. Fanshawe, 1 June 1899 – 31 May 1900
* Rear-Admiral
Albert B. Jenkings, 1 June 1900 - 5 June 1901
* Rear-Admiral
Sir William A. D. Acland, Bart., 5 June 1901 – September 1901
Commanders-in-Chief Channel Fleet
* Admiral Sir
Arthur Wilson 14 December 1904
* Admiral
Lord Charles Beresford
Admiral Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford, (10 February 1846 – 6 September 1919), styled Lord Charles Beresford between 1859 and 1916, was a British admiral and Member of Parliament.
Beresford was the second son of ...
(1907–1909)
''Note Channel Fleet is re-named Atlantic Fleet 1909-1914''
* Vice Admiral
Sir Lewis Bayly (August, 1914- 17 January 1915)
* Vice Admiral The Hon. Sir.
Alexander E. Bethell (17 January 1915)
Second-in-Command Channel Fleet
Post holders included:
* Rear-Admiral the Hon.
Assheton G. Curzon-Howe: September 1901, - 5 June 1903
* Rear-Admiral the Hon.
Hedworth Lambton: 5 June 1903 - 25 June 1904
* Rear-Admiral
Francis C. B. Bridgeman: 25 June 1904 - May, 1905
* Rear-Admiral
Charles J. Barlow: May, 1905 - December, 1905
* Vice-Admiral Sir
Arthur W. Moore: December, 1905 - 5 December 1906
* Vice-Admiral the Hon.
Assheton G. Curzon-Howe: 5 December 1906 - 23 February 1907
* Vice-Admiral Sir
Reginald N. Custance: 23 February 1907 - 12 June 1908
* Vice-Admiral Sir
A. Berkeley Milne: 12 June 1908
Rear-Admirals in the Channel Fleet
Post holders included:
* Rear-Admiral Sir
Richard Poore, : February, 1905 - 16 November 1905
* Rear-Admiral
Robert L. Groome: 16 November 1905 - 16 November 1906
* Rear-Admiral
George A. Callaghan: 16 November 1906 - 5, April 1907
* Rear-Admiral
Robert S. Lowry: 5, April, 1907 - 1 October 1907
* Rear-Admiral
Francis J. Foley: 1 October 1907 - 1 October 1908
* Rear-Admiral
James Startin
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
: 1 October 1908 - 9 October 1909
Components
1895
:Distribution of the Fleet first included:
1901 to 1904
:Distribution of the Fleet first included:
Of note:''As the Channel Squadron - renamed The Channel Fleet, September, 1901''.
1905 to 1907
:Distribution of the Fleet first included:
1907 to 1909
:Distribution of the Fleet first included:
1914 to 1915
Of note: On 8 August 1914, ships from the pre-war
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...
and
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
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* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hi ...
Fleets were organised into the Channel Fleet.
:Distribution of the Fleet first included:
In literature
The Channel Fleet features in several historical novels about the Royal Navy, notably ''
Hornblower and the Hotspur
''Hornblower and the Hotspur'' (published 1962) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester.
It is the third book in the series chronologically, but the tenth by order of publication, and serves as the basis for one of the episodes ...
'' by
C. S. Forester, in which Forester's fictional hero becomes a favourite of the real Channel Fleet commander, Admiral
William Cornwallis. The fleet also features in several of the
Aubrey–Maturin novels by
Patrick O'Brian.
The novel ''
Billy Budd'' by
Herman Melville
Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are '' Moby-Dick'' (1851); '' Typee'' (1846), a ...
is set on board ships of the Channel Fleet, in the immediate aftermath of the
Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797.
In the novel ''
The War of the Worlds'', the Channel Fleet protects the huge mass of refugee shipping escaping from the Essex coast in the face of the Martian onslaught. The initial heroic fight of and the subsequent general engagement, is detailed in the chapter entitled "The Thunderchild".
References
Footnotes
Sources
* Annal, David; Collins, Audrey (2012). Birth, Marriage and Death Records: A Guide for Family Historians. Casemate Publishers. .
* Archives, The National. (1859-1910) "Admiralty: Channel Squadron and Fleet: Correspondence". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives UK. ADM 144.
* Black, Jeremy, (2011) "THE ROYAL NAVY AND THE FRENCH WARS: THE LONG-TERM BACKGROUND: University of Exeter" (PDF). napoleonicsociety.com. The Napoleonic Society.
* Davis, Peter. "The Times newspaper on the Channel Squadron, 1858-1862". www.pdavis.nl. Peter Davis.
* Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2018
"Channel Fleet (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project".www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell.
* Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2017
"Channel Squadron (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project".www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley & Lovell.
* Loney, William. RN. "Channel Squadron, the Naval Intelligence column of the Times newspaper refer to the activities of the Squadron in the period 1858-1862". www.pdavis.nl/Channel.php. William Loney.
* Mackesy, Piers (1964). The War for America: 1775-1783. Lincoln, Nebraska, USA: U of Nebraska Press. .
* Mackie, Colin. (2017) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie.
* Ranft, Bryan (1995). The Oxford illustrated history of the Royal Navy. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. .
* Royal Museums Greenwich. "Royal Navy Dockyards: Plymouth". (2017). rmg.co.uk. Royal Museums Greenwich.
* Saunders, Andrew (1997). Book of Channel defences. London: Batsford
.a..
* Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900-1914". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
* Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914-1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
* Whitaker's Almanacks (1900 - 1909).
* Weigley, Russell F. (2004). The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo. Indiana University Press. .
Further reading
*
{{Squadrons of the Royal Navy, state=collapsed
Fleets of the Royal Navy
Military history of the English Channel
Military units and formations established in 1858
Military units and formations disestablished in 1909
1858 establishments in England