The Commander-in-Chief, Africa was the last title of 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 ...

's formation commander located in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

from 1795 to 1939. Under varying titles, it was one of the longest-lived formations of the

. It was also often known as the Cape of Good Hope Station.

History

From 1750 to 1779 the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

became strategically important due to the increasing competition between France and Great Britain for control of the seas. In 1780 Holland joined the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

in alliance with France and Spain against Great Britain; the British Government were aware of the consequences should the Cape of Good Hope fall and the impact it would have on its trade links with India and put a plan into place to capture the Cape and circumvent its use by the enemy. The first attempt was subject to prolonged delays and the fact that the French were able to reinforce their defences enabled them to successfully defend it from the British attack. From 1781 to 1791 various attempts were made to capture the station: all failed and it remained under the control of France and the French were successful in attacking and disrupting the trade cargo of the East India Company's ships that were travelling between Asian subcontinent and Europe. In 1792 hostilities temporarily ceased and by 1793 the Directors of the East India Company expressed their concern about the cape being retained by the French. The

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

and the Admiralty decided to act and successfully retook it in 1795: the first Naval base was established at

Table Bay Table Bay ( Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was name ...

. In 1802 the British government agreed to restore the Cape to the Dutch control but this was not finalized until 1803 and lasted until 1806, when a new British Administration under William Pitt cancelled the agreement between both countries and re-took the Cape once more in 1806, which effectively from this point on remained under British control. In 1811 the Royal Navy decided it wanted to move from its current base to a new base at

Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern sid ...

bay; however the initial facilities took approximately three years to complete and were not ready until 1814. From 1815 to 1849 the base was mainly used for re-fitting and repair work on vessels and acted as a port of call for nautical surveyors who were mapping the region. During the 1850s and 1860s improvements were made to the dockyard facilities with some being re-built in order to accommodate larger ships. On 17 January 1865, it was combined with the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' wa ...

to form the East Indies and Cape of Good Hope Station; however, the station was recreated as a separate station on 29 July 1867. From 1870, it absorbed the former

West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliame ...

. By the start of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in 1899 a long period of relative peace had existed; the station became the main base for British Forces disembarking and embarking during the war and for supplies and equipment being shipped from Britain for the duration of the conflict.

First World War

In 1910 a new East Dock was built together with a dry dock facility which proved timely in the event of the breakout of the

First World War 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 fighti ...

. From 1914 to 1919 its primary tasks was to seek out and destroy German commerce raiders. HMS ''Pegasus'' remained as part of the Cape Station on the outbreak of the

. As the likelihood of war with Germany increased, the Commander-in-Chief on the Cape Station, Rear Admiral Herbert King-Hall, deployed his ships in order to counter the threat posed by the German light cruiser , based at

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over ...

. On 31 July 1914, ''Pegasus'' sighted ''Königsberg'' leaving Dar es Salaam, but was unable to keep track of the faster German cruiser. King-Hall recognised that ''Königsberg'' outclassed ''Pegasus'' and intended that ''Pegasus'' should operate with the cruiser while his flagship operated independently to protect the trade routes around the Cape, but on 12 August, the Admiralty ordered ''Astraea'' to join ''Hyacinth'' off the Cape to escort troop convoys, leaving ''Pegasus'' unsupported at

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small isla ...

. On 23 August ''Pegasus'' sailed to the port of

Bagamoyo Bagamoyo, is a historic coastal town founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much older (8th century) Swahili settlement, Kaole. It was chosen as the capital of German East Africa by the German colonial administrat ...

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozamb ...

with the intention of forcing a truce so that the port would take no further part in the war. Similar agreements had previously been made with the authorities of Dar es Salaam and Tanga. When the port authorities refused to agree to such a truce, ''Pegasus'' shelled the port's Customs House. During the interwar period the Cape Station resumed the work of maintaining and refitting vessels stationed there and those travelling en route to Asia. In 1939, at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the base played an early prominent role in the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockad ...

, and the hunt for the

German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee ''Admiral Graf Spee'' was a "''Panzerschiff''" (armored ship), nicknamed a "pocket battleship" by the British, which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The vessel was named after World War I Admiral Maximilian ...

, that led to the

Battle of the River Plate The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, comman ...

. After the conclusion of that engagement the station ceased as a command operations center with the senior naval staff moving to the newly formed South Atlantic station headquartered at Freetown. The naval base remained as part of that command until 1957. In 1958 the British government handed over the facility to the

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prote ...

Commanders-in-Chief

The commanders-in-chief were:
= died in post

Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope

*Vice-Admiral

George Keith Elphinstone George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith (7 January 1746 – 10 March 1823), was a British naval officer active throughout the Napoleonic Wars. Career Early service George Elphinstone was the fourth son of Charles Elphinstone, 10th ...

, (1795–96) *Rear-Admiral

Thomas Pringle Thomas Pringle (5 January 1789 – 5 December 1834) was a Scottish writer, poet and abolitionist. Known as the father of South African poetry, he was the first successful English language poet and author to describe South Africa's scenery, nati ...

, (1796–98) *Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian, (1798) *Vice-Admiral Sir Roger Curtis, (1799-03) ''Note: from 1803-06 a Dutch colony'' *Commodore Sir Home Riggs Popham, (1806–07) *Rear-Admiral Charles Stirling, (1807–08) *Commodore

Josias Rowley Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet, (1765 – 10 January 1842), known as "The Sweeper of the Seas", was an Anglo-Irish naval officer who commanded the campaign that captured the French Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius in 1810 ...

, (1808) *Vice-Admiral Sir Albemarle Bertie, (1808–10) *Rear-Admiral

Robert Stopford Robert Wright Stopford, (20 February 1901 – 13 August 1976) was a British Anglican bishop. Early life and education Stopford was born in Garston, Merseyside (then in Lancashire), and educated at Coatham School in Redcar and Liverpool Coll ...

, (1810–12) *Rear-Admiral Charles Tyler, (1812–14) *Rear-Admiral

George Cockburn Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a British Royal Navy officer. As a captain he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars an ...

, (1815–16) *Rear-Admiral Robert Plampin, (1816–20) *Rear-Admiral Robert Lambert, (1820–21) *Commodore James Lillicrap, (1821–22) *Commodore Joseph Nourse, (1822–24) *Commodore

Robert Moorsom Admiral Sir Robert Moorsom KCB (8 June 1760 – 14 April 1835) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. His very active service career was especial ...

, (1825) *Commodore Hood Hanway Christian, (1825–27) *Commodore William Skipsey, (1827–28) *Commodore Charles Marsh Schomberg, (1828–31) *Rear-Admiral

Frederick Warren Frederick Warren (March 1775 – 22 March 1848) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the Gunboat War, rising to the rank of vice-admiral. Life Born in March 1775, he was son of R ...

, (1831–34) *Rear-Admiral Patrick Campbell, (1834–37) *Rear-Admiral George Elliot, (1837–40) *Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Durnford King, (1840–41) *Rear-Admiral Josceline Percy, (1841–46) *Rear-Admiral James Dacres, (1846) *Rear-Admiral Barrington Reynolds, (1848–52) ''Note:Incomplete list of commanders from 1853 to 1857''

Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station and West Africa Station

*Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Grey (1857-1860) *Rear Admiral Sir Henry Keppel (1860) *Rear Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker (1861-1865)

Commander-in-Chief, East Indies & Cape of Good Hope Station

* Commodore Frederick Montresor (1865) * Commodore Charles Hillyar (1865–1867)

Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station and West Africa Station

*Commodore Sir William Dowell (1867-1871) *Commodore Sir John Commerell (1871-1873) *Commodore Sir William Hewett (1873-1876) *Commodore Sir Francis Sullivan (1876-1879) *Commodore Sir Frederick Richards (1879-1882) *Rear Admiral Sir Nowell Salmon (1882-1885) *Rear Admiral Sir Walter Hunt-Grubbe (1885-1888) *Rear Admiral Sir Richard Wells (1888-1890) *Rear Admiral Sir Henry Nicholson (1890-1892) *Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford (1892-1895) *Rear Admiral Sir Harry Rawson (1895-1898) *Rear Admiral Sir Robert Harris (1898-1900) *Rear Admiral Sir Arthur Moore (1901-1903) *Rear Admiral Sir John Durnford (1904-1907) *Rear Admiral Sir Edmund Poë (1907-1908) *Rear Admiral Sir George Egerton (1908-1910) *Rear Admiral Sir Paul Bush (1910-1913) *Vice Admiral Sir Herbert King-Hall (1913-1916) *Vice Admiral Sir Edward Charlton (1916-1918) *Vice Admiral Sir Edward Fitzherbert (1918-1920)

Commander-in-Chief, Africa Station

*Vice Admiral Sir William Goodenough (1920-1922) *Vice Admiral Sir Rudolph Bentinck (1922-1924) *Vice Admiral Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice (1924-1926) *Vice Admiral Sir David Anderson (1926-1929) *Vice Admiral Sir Rudolf Burmester (1929-1931) *Vice Admiral Sir Hugh Tweedie (1931-1933) *Vice Admiral Sir Edward Evans (1933-1935) *Vice Admiral Sir Francis Tottenham (1935-1938) *Vice Admiral Sir George Lyon (1938-1939), who then became

Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic The Commander-in-Chief South Atlantic was an operational commander of the Royal Navy from 1939. The South American area was added to his responsibilities in 1960, and the post disestablished in 1967. Immediately before the outbreak of the Sec ...

, 1939-40.

References

Sources

* * *Rodger, N.A.M. ''The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815''. New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004. *

History

First World War

Commanders-in-Chief

Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope

Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station and West Africa Station

Commander-in-Chief, East Indies & Cape of Good Hope Station

Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station and West Africa Station

Commander-in-Chief, Africa Station

See also

References

Sources

Further reading