The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the

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 ...

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

s that defended the waters of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915.

History

Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history there had been different squadrons stationed in home waters. One of the earliest known naval formations to be based at Plymouth was called the

Western Squadron The Western Squadron was a squadron or formation of the Royal Navy based at Plymouth Dockyard. It operated in waters of the English Channel, the Western Approaches, and the North Atlantic. It defended British trade sea lanes from 1650 to 1814 and ...

which was the forerunner of the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

that was later known as the Channel Fleet. In 1650 Captain

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, Commander-in-Chief, was charged with guarding the Channel from Beachy Head to Lands End with six ships. This system continued following the Restoration. It was the start of what was to become a Western Squadron. From 1690 the squadron operated out of Plymouth Dockyard during wartime periods, which was for most of the 18th century and early 19th century. In 1854 The Channel Squadron, sometimes known as the Particular Service Squadron, was established. The Channel Squadron only became a permanent formation in 1858. During the 19th century, as the French developed Cherbourg as a base for

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...

ships, the Royal Navy developed

Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and rema ...

as a base for the fleet. The harbour was built between 1849 and 1872 when the Royal Navy created a breakwater made of blocks from local quarries on the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

. With the amelioration of Anglo-French relations, and the rise of German militarism towards 1900, the need for a Channel Formation diminished and the main European naval arena shifted to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson was officially "Senior Officer in Command of the Channel Squadron" from 1901 to 1903. His subordinate flag officer in that squadron was the Second-in-Command, who commanded a division of battleships. For the period 1858 to 1903 the Channel squadron was often incorrectly referred to as the Channel Fleet. On 17 April 1903 The Right Hon. Lord Charles Beresford was appointed Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Squadron. On 6 May 1903 Admiral Beresford was informed by the Admiralty "that for the future the Channel Squadron shall be known as the Channel Fleet." On 14 December 1904 the Channel Fleet was re-styled the ' Atlantic Fleet' and the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

became the 'Channel Fleet'.National Archives records On 24 March 1909, under a fleet re-organisation, the Channel Fleet became the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet.

Rear and Vice-Admiral, Particular Service Squadron

*Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Napier, (1854-1856) *Rear-Admiral,

Henry Chads Admiral Sir Henry Chads (27 October 1819 – 29 June 1906) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. Naval career Born the son of Admiral Sir Henry Ducie Chads, Henry Chads joined the Royal Navy in 1832 and we ...

, (1854-1856) *Rear-Admiral Sir

Richard Saunders Dundas Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Saunders Dundas, (11 April 1802 – 3 June 1861) was a Royal Navy officer. As a captain, he took part in the capture of the Bogue forts in January 1841, during the First Opium War. He was appointed to the command of the ...

, (1856-1857) *Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour. (1856-1857)

Senior Officers in Command of the Channel Squadron

Post holders have included: * Vice Admiral Sir

Charles Fremantle Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle GCB RN (1 June 1800 – 25 May 1869) was a renowned British Royal Navy officer. The city of Fremantle, Western Australia, is named after him. Early life Fremantle was the second son of Thomas Fremantle, an ...

(1859–1860) * Vice Admiral Sir

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 ...

(1860–1861) * Vice Admiral Sir

Robert Smart Admiral Sir Robert Smart, KCB, KH (September 1796 – 10 September 1874) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. Naval career Smart joined the Royal Navy and was promoted to lieutenant A lieu ...

(1861–1863) * Vice Admiral Sir Sydney Dacres (1863–1866) * Vice Admiral Sir

Hastings Yelverton Admiral Sir Hastings Reginald Yelverton, (born Hastings Reginald Henry; 21 March 1808 – 24 July 1878) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in a major action against pirates off Candia in June 1826 and was involved in prot ...

(1866–1867) * Vice Admiral

Frederick Warden Rear Admiral Frederick Warden CB (18 November 1807 – 11 November 1869) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron. Naval career Warden joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1820. He served off the coast of ...

(1867–1868) * Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Symonds (1868–1870) * Vice Admiral Sir

(July 1870-October 1870) * Vice Admiral Sir

George Wellesley Admiral Sir George Greville Wellesley (2 August 1814 – 6 April 1901) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in the capture of Acre during the Oriental Crisis in 1840 and, as Captain of in the Baltic Fleet, he took part ...

(1870–1871) * Vice Admiral Sir

Geoffrey Hornby Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby GCB (10 February 1825 – 3 March 1895) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he saw action at the capture of Acre in November 1840 during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. As a capt ...

(1871–1874) * Vice Admiral Sir

Beauchamp Seymour Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Frederick Beauchamp Paget Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester, (12 April 1821 – 30 March 1895) was a British naval commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet between 1874 and 1877 and of the Mediterranean ...

(1874–1877) * Vice Admiral Lord John Hay (1877–1879) * Vice Admiral Lord Hood (1880–1882) * Vice Admiral Sir William Dowell (1882–1883) * Vice Admiral The Duke of Edinburgh (1883–1884) * Vice Admiral Sir

Algernon de Horsey Admiral Sir Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey (25 July 1827 – 22 October 1922) was a Royal Navy officer, appointed aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria. He distinguished himself in Canada during the Fenian raids, and was thanked in Parliament for s ...

(1884–1885) * Vice Admiral Charles Fellowes (1885–1886) * Vice Admiral Sir William Hewett (1886–1888) * Vice Admiral Sir John Baird (1888–1890) * Vice Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour (1890–1892) * Vice Admiral Sir Henry Fairfax (1892–1894) * Vice Admiral Sir

Robert Fitzroy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...

(1894–1895) * Vice Admiral

Lord Walter Kerr Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Talbot Kerr, (28 September 1839 – 12 May 1927) was a Royal Navy officer. After taking part in the Crimean War and then the Indian Mutiny, he supervised the handover of Ulcinj to Montenegro to allow Montenegro ...

(1895–1897) * Vice Admiral Sir

Henry Stephenson Henry Stephenson (born Harry Stephenson Garraway; 16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He portrayed friendly and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in ''Mutiny on the Bou ...

(1897–1898) * Vice Admiral Sir

Harry Rawson Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, (5 November 1843 – 3 November 1910) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy. He is chiefly remembered for overseeing the Benin Expedition of 1897, a British punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Benin ...

(1898–1901) * Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson (1901–1903) * Vice-Admiral Lord Charles Beresford (1903-4)

Second-in-Command Channel Squadron

Post holders included: * Rear-Admiral

, 1 October 1869. * Rear-Admiral William M. Dowell, 1877 * Rear-Admiral Henry Boys, 1878 * Rear-Admiral The Hon.

Henry C. Glyn Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, 20 June 1881. * Rear-Admiral Sir Francis W. Sullivan, 14 August 1882 * Rear-Admiral

John C. Wilson John C. Wilson (August 19, 1899 – October 29, 1961) was an American theatre director and producer. Early life Born in Trenton, New Jersey Wilson started out his working life as a stockbroker. He married Natalia Pavlovna Paley on September 8, 193 ...

, 1 April 1883 * Rear-Admiral

William H. Whyte William Hollingsworth "Holly" Whyte Jr. (July 11, 1917 – July 11, 1999) was an American urbanist, sociologist, organizational analyst, journalist and people-watcher. He identified the elements that create vibrant public spaces within the city ...

, 13 May 1884 * Rear-Admiral Algernon C. F. Heneage, 3 July 1885 – 7 August 1886 * Rear-Admiral The Hon. Edmund R. Fremantle , 9 August 1886 * Rear-Admiral

Charles J. Rowley Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, 18 August 1887 * Rear-Admiral

St. George Caulfield d′Arcy-Irvine ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

, 1 September 1888 * Rear-Admiral Richard E. Tracey, 12 September 1889 * Rear-Admiral

Loftus F. Jones Loftus may refer to: People * Loftus (surname), a list of people with the surname * Loftus (given name), a list of people with the given name Places * Loftus, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Loftus, North Yorkshire, a town in Red ...

, 12 September 1890 * Rear-Admiral Edward S. Adeane, 15 September 1891 * Rear-Admiral Edward H. Seymour, 16 September 1892 – 25 April 1894 * Rear-Admiral

Alfred T. Dale Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

, 25 April 1894 – 20 April 1895 * Rear-Admiral

Arthur H. Alington Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

, 1 May 1895 * Rear-Admiral

Armand T. Powlett Armand refer to: People * Armand (name), list of people with this name *Armand (photographer) (1901–1963), Armenian photographer *Armand (singer) (1946–2015), Dutch protest singer *Sean Armand (born 1991), American basketball player *Armand, ...

, 1 May 1896 – 19 May 1897 * Rear-Admiral John Fellowes, 19 May 1897 * Rear-Admiral John W. Brackenbury, 1 June 1898 * Rear-Admiral Arthur D. Fanshawe, 1 June 1899 – 31 May 1900 * Rear-Admiral

Albert B. Jenkings Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

, 1 June 1900 - 5 June 1901 * Rear-Admiral Sir William A. D. Acland, Bart., 5 June 1901 – September 1901

Commanders-in-Chief Channel Fleet

* Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson 14 December 1904 * Admiral Lord Charles Beresford (1907–1909) ''Note Channel Fleet is re-named Atlantic Fleet 1909-1914'' * Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly (August, 1914- 17 January 1915) * Vice Admiral The Hon. Sir. Alexander E. Bethell (17 January 1915)

Second-in-Command Channel Fleet

Post holders included: * Rear-Admiral the Hon. Assheton G. Curzon-Howe: September 1901, - 5 June 1903 * Rear-Admiral the Hon. Hedworth Lambton: 5 June 1903 - 25 June 1904 * Rear-Admiral Francis C. B. Bridgeman: 25 June 1904 - May, 1905 * Rear-Admiral Charles J. Barlow: May, 1905 - December, 1905 * Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur W. Moore: December, 1905 - 5 December 1906 * Vice-Admiral the Hon. Assheton G. Curzon-Howe: 5 December 1906 - 23 February 1907 * Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald N. Custance: 23 February 1907 - 12 June 1908 * Vice-Admiral Sir A. Berkeley Milne: 12 June 1908

Rear-Admirals in the Channel Fleet

Post holders included: * Rear-Admiral Sir

Richard Poore Richard Poore or Poor (died 15 April 1237) was a medieval English bishop best known for his role in the establishment of Salisbury Cathedral and the City of Salisbury, moved from the nearby fortress of Old Sarum. He served as Bishop of Chic ...

, : February, 1905 - 16 November 1905 * Rear-Admiral Robert L. Groome: 16 November 1905 - 16 November 1906 * Rear-Admiral George A. Callaghan: 16 November 1906 - 5, April 1907 * Rear-Admiral Robert S. Lowry: 5, April, 1907 - 1 October 1907 * Rear-Admiral Francis J. Foley: 1 October 1907 - 1 October 1908 * Rear-Admiral James Startin: 1 October 1908 - 9 October 1909

Components

1895

:Distribution of the Fleet first included:

1901 to 1904

:Distribution of the Fleet first included: Of note:''As the Channel Squadron - renamed The Channel Fleet, September, 1901''.

1905 to 1907

:Distribution of the Fleet first included:

1907 to 1909

:Distribution of the Fleet first included:

1914 to 1915

Of note: On 8 August 1914, ships from the pre-war

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

and

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

Fleets were organised into the Channel Fleet. :Distribution of the Fleet first included:

In literature

The Channel Fleet features in several historical novels about the Royal Navy, notably ''

Hornblower and the Hotspur ''Hornblower and the Hotspur'' (published 1962) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. It is the third book in the series chronologically, but the tenth by order of publication, and serves as the basis for one of the episodes ...

'' by C. S. Forester, in which Forester's fictional hero becomes a favourite of the real Channel Fleet commander, Admiral

William Cornwallis Admiral of the Red Sir William Cornwallis, (10 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a n ...

. The fleet also features in several of the Aubrey–Maturin novels by

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and cent ...

. The novel '' Billy Budd'' by

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

is set on board ships of the Channel Fleet, in the immediate aftermath of the

Spithead and Nore mutinies The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World. Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies d ...

of 1797. In the novel ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'', the Channel Fleet protects the huge mass of refugee shipping escaping from the Essex coast in the face of the Martian onslaught. The initial heroic fight of and the subsequent general engagement, is detailed in the chapter entitled "The Thunderchild".

References

Footnotes

Sources

* Annal, David; Collins, Audrey (2012). Birth, Marriage and Death Records: A Guide for Family Historians. Casemate Publishers. . * Archives, The National. (1859-1910) "Admiralty: Channel Squadron and Fleet: Correspondence". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives UK. ADM 144. * Black, Jeremy, (2011) "THE ROYAL NAVY AND THE FRENCH WARS: THE LONG-TERM BACKGROUND: University of Exeter" (PDF). napoleonicsociety.com. The Napoleonic Society. * Davis, Peter. "The Times newspaper on the Channel Squadron, 1858-1862". www.pdavis.nl. Peter Davis. * Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2018
"Channel Fleet (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project".
www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell. * Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2017
"Channel Squadron (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project".
www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley & Lovell. * Loney, William. RN. "Channel Squadron, the Naval Intelligence column of the Times newspaper refer to the activities of the Squadron in the period 1858-1862". www.pdavis.nl/Channel.php. William Loney. * Mackesy, Piers (1964). The War for America: 1775-1783. Lincoln, Nebraska, USA: U of Nebraska Press. . * Mackie, Colin. (2017) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. * Ranft, Bryan (1995). The Oxford illustrated history of the Royal Navy. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. . * Royal Museums Greenwich. "Royal Navy Dockyards: Plymouth". (2017). rmg.co.uk. Royal Museums Greenwich. * Saunders, Andrew (1997). Book of Channel defences. London: Batsford .a.. * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900-1914". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914-1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. * Whitaker's Almanacks (1900 - 1909). * Weigley, Russell F. (2004). The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo. Indiana University Press. .

History

Rear and Vice-Admiral, Particular Service Squadron

Senior Officers in Command of the Channel Squadron

Second-in-Command Channel Squadron

Commanders-in-Chief Channel Fleet

Second-in-Command Channel Fleet

Rear-Admirals in the Channel Fleet

Components

1895

1901 to 1904

1905 to 1907

1907 to 1909

1914 to 1915

In literature

References

Footnotes

Sources

Further reading