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 George Fowler King–Hall (14 August 1850 – 10 September 1939) was a senior officer 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 ...

Early life

King-Hall was born on 14 August 1850 as the second surviving son of Admiral

William King-Hall Admiral Sir William King-Hall, (11 March 1816 – 29 July 1886) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore from 1877 to 1879. Naval career King-Hall joined the Royal Navy in 1829, and took part in operations off the ...

and Louisa Forman. His younger brother was Admiral Sir

Herbert King-Hall Admiral Sir Herbert Goodenough King-Hall, (15 March 1862 – 20 October 1936) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station. Naval career Born the son of Admiral Sir William King-Hall, Herbert King-Hal ...

Military career

He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1864 and during his time as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

served aboard from 1866 to 1867. King-Hall was promoted to commander in 1885, and was captain of the sloop from 1877 to 1889, during which time the ship was responsible for securing the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

as a British protectorate, and acted against slave traders in eastern African waters. In 1891, during his time in command of , King-Hall supervised the salvaging of the French warship ''Seiguelay'', which had run aground off

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

. From December 1899 until March 1900, he was in command of the battleship , on the Mediterranean station. From March 1900 to 1902, King-Hall served as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

Sir John Fisher John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet. With more than sixty years in the Royal Navy, his efforts to reform the service helped t ...

during the latter's time as Commander in Chief of the

Mediterranean Station 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 ...

, based on . On 1 October 1902 he was posted to the battleship HMS ''Revenge'', flagship of the

Admiral Superintendent, Naval Reserves N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

, where he served as assistant to the Admiral. He was the Senior Officer, Coast of Ireland Station, from 1906 to 1908. George King-Hall & George Patey

King-Hall was later promoted to

flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

, and in 1911, was assigned as Commander in Chief of the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

. During his two years in command, King-Hall helped to generate public support for the fledgling

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

(RAN), and to prepare the RAN for the 1913 transfer of responsibility for Australia's naval defence. King-Hall concluded his duties in Australia in October 1913, after which the office of Commander of the Australia Station was made redundant by the RAN position of

Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet Fleet Command is responsible for the command, operations, readiness, training and force generation of all ships, submarines, aircraft squadrons, diving teams, and shore establishments of the Royal Australian Navy. Fleet Command is headquartered a ...

. He was knighted KCB in the

1911 Coronation Honours The Coronation Honours 1911 for the British Empire were announced on 19 June 1911, to celebrate the coronation of George V which was held on 22 June 1911. The honours were covered in the press at the time, including in ''The Times'' on 20 June 19 ...

Later life

King-Hall retired shortly after returning to England. He died on 13 September 1939. He fathered two sons and two daughters. His eldest son was

Stephen King-Hall William Stephen Richard King-Hall, Baron King-Hall of Headley (21 January 1893 – 2 June 1966) was a British naval officer, writer, politician and playwright who served as the member of parliament for Ormskirk from 1939 to 1945. Early life and ...

, who served in the Royal Navy before becoming a politician. His daughters,

Magdalen King-Hall Magdalen King-Hall (22 July 1904 – 1 January 1971) was an English novelist, journalist and children's fiction writer. Her novel ''Life And Death of the Wicked Lady Skelton'' was made into a film twice, ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945), starring Marg ...

and Louisa "Lou" King-Hall, were writers.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:King-Hall, Stephen 1850 births 1939 deaths Royal Navy admirals People educated at Stubbington House School Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order People from Weymouth, Dorset Military personnel from Dorset