The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the

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 ...

for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this office was renamed Commander-in-Chief, Devonport. The Commanders-in-Chief were based in what is now Hamoaze House,

Devonport, Plymouth Devonport ( ), formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889. Devonport was originally one o ...

, from 1809 to 1934 and then at Admiralty House, Mount Wise, Devonport, from 1934 until 1996.

History

The post dates back to around 1743. It extended along the South Coast from

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St M ...

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. In 1845, this office was renamed as Commander-in-Chief, Devonport, until 1896, when it was altered back to its original name. In 1941, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, elements of Plymouth Command were transferred to Western Approaches Command which was established at Derby House in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Meanwhile, Plymouth Command occupied a new combined Headquarters, known as the ''Maritime Headquarters'', at Mount Wise. The post of Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was merged with that of

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 ...

, in 1969, to form Naval Home Command. Between 1952 and 1969, the Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, double-hatted as Plymouth Sub-Area Channel Command (PLYMCHAN) commander in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

's Allied Command Channel, and from 1969 to 1994, he double-hatted as Naval Base Commander Devonport,

Commander Central Sub-Area (CENTLANT) and Commander Plymouth Sub-Area Channel (PLYMCHAN). After 1969, Admiralty House and the Maritime Headquarters became the home of the

Flag Officer, Plymouth The Flag Officer Plymouth was a senior Royal Navy appointment first established in July 1969. The office holder was responsible for the administration of the facilities of the two major Royal Navy at Plymouth and Portsmouth. The appointment conti ...

, until that post was also disbanded in 1996. At around the same time the nearby RN Dockyard and

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

were reconstituted as HM Naval Base Devonport and placed under the command of a Commodore.

Office holders

Commanders-in-Chief and Flag Officers have included:
= died in post *Jul 1747 – Aug 1747 Rear-Admiral Edward Hawke *Jun 1756 – Jul 1756 Captain George Brydges Rodney *1761 – 1763 Vice-Admiral Philip Durell *Jan 1763 – Jun 1763 Vice-Admiral Lord Colville *1763 – 1766 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Pye *1766 – 1770 Vice-Admiral Sir George Edgcumbe *1771 – 1774 Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Spry *1774 – 1778 Vice-Admiral John Amherst *1778 – 1783 Vice Admiral Sir Molyneux Shuldham *1783 – 1786 Vice Admiral Mark Milbanke *1786 – 1790 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Graves *1790 – 1792 Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton *1792 – 1793 Rear-Admiral Phillips Cosby *1793 – 1794 Vice-Admiral Rowland Cotton *1794 – 1796 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard King *1796 – 1799 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Onslow *1799 – 1801 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley *1802 – 1803 Vice-Admiral Sir James Dacres *1803 – 1804 Vice-Admiral Sir John Colpoys *1804 – 1810 Vice-Admiral Sir William Young *1810 – 1813 Admiral Sir Robert Calder *1813 – 1815 Vice-Admiral William Domett *1815 – 1817 Admiral Sir John Duckworth *1817 – 1821 Admiral Viscount Exmouth *1821 – 1824 Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane *1824 – 1827 Admiral Sir James Saumarez *1827 – 1830 Admiral Lord Northesk *1830 – 1833 Admiral Sir Manley Dixon *1833 – 1836 Admiral Sir William Hargood *1836 – 1839 Admiral Lord Amelius Beauclerk *1839 – 1842 Admiral Sir Graham Moore *1842 – 1845 Admiral Sir David Milne :Office is renamed Commander-in-Chief, Devonport *1900 – 1902 Vice-Admiral Lord Charles Montagu Douglas Scott *1902 – 1908 Vice-Admiral Sir Lewis Beaumont *1908 – 1911 Vice-Admiral Sir Wilmot Fawkes *1911 – 1913 Vice-Admiral Sir William May *1913 – 1916 Vice-Admiral Sir George Egerton *Mar 1916 – Dec 1916 Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender *1916 – 1918 Admiral Sir Alexander Bethell *1918 – 1920 Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Thursby *1920 – 1923 Admiral Sir Montague Browning *1923 – 1926 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Phillimore *1926 – 1929 Vice-Admiral Sir Rudolph Bentinck *1929 – 1932 Vice-Admiral Sir Hubert Brand *1932 – 1935 Vice-Admiral Sir Eric Fullerton *1935 – 1938 Admiral Sir Reginald Drax *1938 – 1941 Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith *1941 – 1943 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Forbes *1943 – 1945 Vice-Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham *1945 – 1947 Admiral Sir Henry Pridham-Wippell *1947 – 1950 Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Burnett *1950 – 1951 Vice-Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor *1951 – 1953 Vice-Admiral Sir Maurice Mansergh *1953 – 1955 Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Madden *1955 – 1958 Vice Admiral Sir Charles Pizey *1958 – 1961 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Onslow *1961 – 1962 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Madden *1962 – 1965 Vice-Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson *1965 – 1967 Vice-Admiral Sir Fitzroy Talbot *1967 – 1969 Vice-Admiral Sir

Charles Mills Charles, Charlie or Chuck Mills may refer to: Academics * C. Wright Mills (Charles Wright Mills) (1916–1962), American academic sociologist * Charles Henry Mills Charles Henry Mills (January 29, 1873 – July 23, 1937) was an England, En ...

Post 1969 period

On 30 December 1970, Vice-Admiral J R McKaig CBE was appointed as Port Admiral, Her Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport, and

. On 5 September 1971, all Flag Officers of the Royal Navy holding positions of Admiral Superintendents at Royal Dockyards were restyled as Port Admirals.

References

{{Royal Navy fleets P Military units and formations disestablished in 1969 Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II Military history of the English Channel

History

Office holders

Post 1969 period

See also

References