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

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 Admiralty House is a substantial building at Mount Wise, Devonport, Plymouth. It is a Grade II listed building. History Military use in the 18th & 19th centuries The house was designed by James Wyatt and built between 1789 and 1793 in Plymouth ...

, 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, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

East Devon East Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is Exmouth (with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census). ...

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

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. 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, 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 opposin ...

, elements of Plymouth Command were transferred to

Western Approaches Command Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsibl ...

which was established at Derby House in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

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

, 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, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Allied Command Channel Allied Command Channel (ACCHAN) was one of three major North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commands from 1952 to 1994. Commander-in-Chief Channel was a Major NATO Commander (MNC). The Command was established in 1952 to defend the sea areas a ...

, and from 1969 to 1994, he double-hatted as

Naval Base Commander Devonport His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Ro ...

Commander Central Sub-Area The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic was based a ...

(CENTLANT) and

Commander Plymouth Sub-Area Channel Allied Command Channel (ACCHAN) was one of three major North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commands from 1952 to 1994. Commander-in-Chief Channel was a Major NATO Commander (MNC). The Command was established in 1952 to defend the sea areas a ...

(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 faciliites 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 usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

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 *1761 – 1763 Vice-Admiral

Philip Durell Vice-Admiral Philip Durell (1707 – 26 August 1766) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Port Admiral at Plymouth. Naval career Durell joined the Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman in 1721. In 1742 he was appointed post captain on and ...

*Jan 1763 – Jun 1763 Vice-Admiral Lord Colville *1763 – 1766 Vice-Admiral Sir

Thomas Pye Sir Thomas Pye ( – 26 December 1785) was an admiral of the Royal Navy who served during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the American War of Independence. He was briefly Member of Parliament for Rochester, and se ...

*1766 – 1771 Vice-Admiral Sir George Edgcumbe *1771 – 1775 Vice-Admiral Sir

Richard Spry Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Spry (1715– 25 November 1775) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, North American Station. Naval career After an education at Truro Grammar School Spry joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in ...

*1776 – 1778 Vice-Admiral John Amherst *1778 – 1783 Vice Admiral Sir

Molyneux Shuldham Admiral Molyneux Shuldham, 1st Baron Shuldham ( – 30 September 1798) was an officer of the British Royal Navy. He served for a time as colonial governor of Newfoundland. Family and early life Molyneux Shuldham was born in Ireland c. 1717, ...

*1783 – 1786 Vice Admiral

Mark Milbanke Admiral Mark Milbanke (12 April 1724 – 9 June 1805) was a British naval officer and colonial governor. Military career Milbanke was born into an aristocratic Yorkshire family with naval connections, his father was Sir Ralph Milbanke, 4th Bar ...

*1786 – 1790 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Graves *1790 – 1792 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton *1792 – 1793 Vice-Admiral

Phillips Cosby Admiral Phillips Cosby (1729 – 10 January 1808) was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Naval career Cosby joined the Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman in 1747. He was given command of a schooner at the Siege of ...

*1794 – 1796 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard King *1796 – 1799 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Onslow *1799 – 1802 Vice-Admiral Sir

Thomas Pasley Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, 1st Baronet (2 March 1734 – 29 November 1808) was a senior and highly experienced British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, who served with distinction at numerous actions of the Seven Years' War, Americ ...

*1802 – 1803 Vice-Admiral Sir James Dacres *1803 – 1804 Vice-Admiral Sir

John Colpoys Admiral Sir John Colpoys, (''c.'' 1742 – 4 April 1821) was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served in three wars but is most notable for being one of the catalysts of the Spithead Mutiny in 1797 after ordering his marines to fire ...

*1804 – 1810 Vice-Admiral Sir William Young *1810 – 1813 Admiral Sir

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career ...

*1813 – 1815 Admiral Sir William Domett *1815 – 1817 Admiral Sir John Duckworth *1817 – 1821 Admiral

Viscount Exmouth Viscount Exmouth, of Canonteign in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1816 for the prominent naval officer Edward Pellew, 1st Baron Exmouth. He had already been created a baro ...

*1821 – 1824 Admiral Sir

Alexander Cochrane Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admiral. He had previously captain ...

*1824 – 1827 Admiral Sir

James Saumarez Admiral of the Red James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras. Early life Saumarez was b ...

*1827 – 1830 Admiral Lord Northesk *1830 – 1833 Admiral Sir

Manley Dixon Admiral Sir Manley Dixon, KCB (3 January 1757; 8 February 1837) was a prominent Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Born into a military family in the late 1750s or early 1760s, Dixon joined the Navy an ...

*1833 – 1836 Admiral Sir

William Hargood Admiral of the White Sir William Hargood (6 May 1762 – 12 December 1839) was a British naval officer who served with distinction through the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, during which he g ...

*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 Admiral Lord Charles Thomas Montagu Douglas Scott, (20 October 1839 – 21 August 1911) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. Naval career Born the fourth son of Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch ...

*1902 – 1908 Vice-Admiral Sir

Lewis Beaumont Admiral Sir Lewis Anthony Beaumont, (19 May 1847 – 20 June 1922) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. Naval career Beaumont joined the Royal Navy as a boy in 1860 and was engaged in operations in Malaya by ...

*1908 – 1911 Vice-Admiral Sir

Wilmot Fawkes Admiral Sir Wilmot Hawksworth Fawkes, (22 December 1846 – 29 May 1926) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. Naval career Fawkes joined the Royal Navy in 1860 and by 1867 had been promoted to lieutenant. He ...

*1911 – 1913 Vice-Admiral Sir William May *1913 – 1916 Vice-Admiral Sir

George Egerton Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright (born Mary Elizabeth Annie Dunne; 14 December 1859 – 12 August 1945), better known by her pen name George Egerton (pronounced Edg'er-ton), was a writer of short stories, novels, plays and translations, noted for ...

*Mar 1916 – Dec 1916 Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender *1916 – 1918 Admiral Sir Alexander Bethell *1918 – 1920 Vice-Admiral Sir

Cecil Thursby Admiral Sir Cecil Fiennes Thursby, (17 January 1861 – 28 May 1936) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, after serving in World War I mainly in the Mediterranean Sea. Family Thursby was born in Warwick ...

*1920 – 1923 Admiral Sir

Montague Browning Admiral Sir Montague Edward Browning, (18 January 1863 – 4 November 1947) was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel. Military career Browning joined the Royal Navy in 1876. He served in the A ...

*1923 – 1926 Vice-Admiral Sir

Richard Phillimore Admiral Sir Richard Fortescue Phillimore, (23 December 1864 – 8 November 1940) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth from 1923 to 1926. Naval career Phillimore was born at Boconnoc in Cornwall on 23 December 1864 ...

*1926 – 1929 Vice-Admiral Sir

Rudolph Bentinck Admiral Sir Rudolph Walter Bentinck, (20 March 1869 – 31 March 1947) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth from 1926 to 1929. Early life Rudolph was the second son of Walter Theodore Edward Bentinck, 13th Baron ...

*1929 – 1932 Vice-Admiral Sir

Hubert Brand Admiral Sir Hubert George Brand, (20 May 1870 – 14 December 1955) was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel. Background Brand was the second son of Henry Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden, Governor ...

*1932 – 1935 Vice-Admiral Sir Eric Fullerton *1935 – 1938 Admiral Sir

Reginald Drax Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, KCB, DSO, JP, DL ( Plunkett; 28 August 1880 – 16 October 1967), commonly known as Reginald Plunkett or Reginald Drax, was an Anglo-Irish admiral. The younger son of the 17th Ba ...

*1938 – 1941 Admiral Sir

Martin Dunbar-Nasmith Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith, (1 April 1883 – 29 June 1965) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth force ...

*1941 – 1943 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Forbes *1943 – 1945 Vice-Admiral Sir

Ralph Leatham Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham KCB (3 March 1888 – 10 March 1954) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth during World War II. Naval career Leatham joined the Royal Navy in 1900 as a cadet on the training ship Brita ...

*1945 – 1947 Admiral Sir

Henry Pridham-Wippell Admiral Sir Henry Daniel Pridham-Wippell, (12 August 1885 – 2 April 1952) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the First and Second World Wars. Early life Educated at The Limes, Greenwich, and at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Henry Daniel ...

*1947 – 1950 Vice-Admiral Sir

Robert Burnett Admiral Sir Robert Lindsay Burnett, (22 July 1887 – 2 July 1959) was an officer in the Royal Navy. Naval career Educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy and Bedford School, Burnett joined the Royal Navy in 1902. He served on the China St ...

*1950 – 1951 Vice-Admiral Sir

Rhoderick McGrigor Admiral of the Fleet Sir Rhoderick Robert McGrigor (12 April 1893 – 3 December 1959) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He fought in the First World War and saw action during the Gallipoli Campaign and then the Battle of Jutland. He also serv ...

*1951 – 1953 Vice-Admiral Sir

Maurice Mansergh Admiral Sir Maurice James Mansergh KCB CBE (14 October 1896 – 29 September 1966) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. Early life and education Mansergh was born in Ealing, Essex, the second son of civil en ...

*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 Admiral Sir Nigel Stuart Henderson, (1 August 1909 – 2 August 1993) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1968 to 1971. Naval career Henderson joined the Royal Navy in 1927.

*1965 – 1967 Vice-Admiral Sir

Fitzroy Talbot Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Allison Fitzroy Talbot KBE CB DSO & Bar DL (22 October 1909 – 16 June 1998) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. Naval career Educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Fitz ...

*1967 – 1969 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Mills

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