Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Arthur Kipling Waistell KCB (30 March 1873 – 26 October 1953) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who went on to be

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Thomas Williams (Royal Navy officer), Si ...

Naval career

Waistell joined the

in 1892. He was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

when in May 1902 he was appointed to the senior staff at the torpedo school HMS ''Vernon'', and from 1 January 1903 he was in command of the HMS ''Devastation'', serving as tender to the ''Vernon''. He was appointed in command of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

HMS ''Stag'' in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

in 1906. He was appointed to command

8th Submarine Flotilla The 8th Submarine Flotilla was a flotilla of the British Royal Navy consisting of submarines and their supporting depot ships and destroyers. It was established as part of the Home Fleet in 1912. The flotilla brought together the newer, longer ran ...

and HMS ''Maidstone'', the depot ship for the flotilla, on 1 September 1913. This was based at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as the main offensive submarine flotilla in UK waters. The flotilla became the 9th Submarine Flotilla on 9 August 1916. He transferred to command of the battleship HMS ''Benbow'' in the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from th ...

on 29 September 1917. After the War, on 6 April 1920 he was appointed Director of the Torpedo Division of the

Admiralty Naval Staff The Admiralty Naval Staff was the former senior command, operational planning, policy and strategy department within the British Admiralty. It was established in 1917 and existed until 1964 when the department of the Admiralty was abolished. It was ...

until April 1922. His next appointment was as Rear Admiral (D), commanding Destroyer Flotillas Atlantic Fleet from 15 July 1922 to 19 April 1923. He was Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff from 1923 and went on to be Commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron from 1924. He was appointed Commander in Chief, China Station in 1928 and

in 1931; he retired in 1934.HMS Nelson
Canberra Times, 15 January 1934 In retirement, Waistell lived in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

where he was especially involved with the affairs of the

Royal Hampshire County Hospital The Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester is a District General Hospital serving much of central Hampshire. It is owned and run by the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It is commonly abbreviated to RHCH, or alternatively, Winch ...

, for some time being a member of its Court of Governors.Isle of Wight County Press, 31 October 1953 His wife died in 1948 and so, being an invalid, he moved to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

where a sister was able to look after him. He died on 26 October 1953; during the morning of Friday 30 October his funeral service took place at Yarmouth Parish Church, Isle of Wight. Immediately following this service his coffin was borne to the motor torpedo boat ''Pathfinder'' and then, in Yarmouth Roads, transferred to the destroyer ''Finisterre''. His remains were taken to Southampton and later that day he was buried beside his wife in Magdalen Hill Cemetery,

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Waistell, Arthur 1873 births 1953 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Lords of the Admiralty People educated at Stubbington House School 19th-century Royal Navy personnel Royal Navy officers of World War I Burials in Hampshire