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, ...

Cecil Minet Staveley, CB, CMG (3 April 1874 – 27 May 1934) 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 became Commander of the 1st Battle Squadron.

Naval career

Staveley was born the son of General Sir Charles Staveley, but did not follow his father and joined the Royal Navy. While serving as 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 ...

, he was in September 1902 posted to the Naval School of

Telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

HMS Victory HMS ''Victory'' is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, ordered in 1758, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is best known for her role as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. She ...

, for a signals course, then the following month to the torpedo school at HMS ''Vernon'' for a short gunnery and torpedo course. He was re-assigned to the new

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

HMS ''Drake'' on 13 January 1903, as she took up her first commission in the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

. Staveley served in

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 ...

becoming commanding officer of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

HMS ''Endymion'' in January 1916 and Chief of Staff, The Nore in April 1918. He went on to be commanding officer of the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

HMS ''Conqueror'' in November 1920, commanding officer of the battleship HMS ''Valiant'' in April 1921 and Chief Staff Officer for the Reserves in March 1923. He was made a CB in the 1924 Birthday Honours. His last appointment was as commander of the 1st Battle Squadron in March 1926. He was promoted to vice-admiral on 25 May 1929 and put on the Retired list the following day. He was promoted to

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, ...

on the Retired list in September 1933. Staveley was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

(FRGS) in December 1902.

Family

In 1919 Staveley married Margaret Adela Sturdee, daughter of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Doveton Sturdee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staveley, Cecil 1874 births 1934 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Navy admirals