Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some 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, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

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

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 F ...

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 Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succes ...

Naval career

Waistell joined the

in 1892. He was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

when in May 1902 he was appointed to the senior staff at the torpedo school HMS ''Vernon''. He was appointed in command of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

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 t ...

in 1906. He was appointed to command 8th Submarine Flotilla 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-on- ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 the ...

on 29 September 1917. After the War, on 6 April 1920 he was appointed Director of the Torpedo Division of the Admiralty Naval Staff 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 The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (A.C.N.S.) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. History The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff was originally directly responsible to the Fir ...

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 Nation ...

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, Winc ...

, 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 ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

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