Admiral of the Fleet Sir Gerard Henry Uctred Noel, (5 March 1845 – 23 May 1918) 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 ...

officer. As a junior officer he commanded a naval brigade which took part in the capture of

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

in February 1874 during the Second Anglo-Ashanti War. Noel went on to be Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet: during this tour, following the murder of the British vice-consul in

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

and an attack on the Customs House there, Noel landed a force in

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to court-martial the terrorists and generally restore order. After that he became Admiral Superintendent of Naval Reserves and was given the additional responsibility of Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. He then became Commander-in-Chief,

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

: at the time relations between the United Kingdom and Russia were strained as the United Kingdom expressed its considerable dissatisfaction in relation to Russian aggression at the start of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. His last appointment was as

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the T ...

Early career

Born the son of the Reverend Augustus William Noel and Lucy Noel (née Tonge), Noel was educated at All Saints' School, Bloxham. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS ''Illustrious'' at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 1 December 1858. He was appointed a midshipman in the

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer gun ...

HMS ''Hannibal'' in the Mediterranean Fleet in 1859 and transferred to the frigate HMS ''Shannon'' on the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...

in 1862. Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 7 March 1864, he transferred to the paddle sloop HMS ''Basilisk'' on the

in January 1865 and, having been promoted to

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 ...

on 21 April 1866, he transferred again to the sloop HMS ''Rattler'' which was wrecked in September 1868.Heathcote, p. 193 He attended the gunnery school HMS ''Excellent'' in 1870 and then became gunnery officer in the armoured ship HMS ''Minotaur'', flagship of the Commander-in-Chief,

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, in February 1871. He joined the corvette HMS ''Active'' on the West Coast of Africa Station in late 1873 and commanded a naval brigade which took part in the capture of

in February 1874 during the Second Anglo-Ashanti War. HMSVictoriasinking1893

Promoted to commander on 31 March 1874, Noel became Executive Officer in the frigate HMS ''Immortalité'' at

in 1874 and, having been awarded the gold medal of the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

for his work on naval tactics in 1875, he became Executive Officer aboard the Royal Yacht HMY ''Victoria and Albert'', also based at Portsmouth, in 1878. Promoted to captain on 11 January 1881, he became commanding officer of the corvette HMS ''Rover'' in the Training Squadron in September 1885, commanding officer of the battleship HMS ''Temeraire'' in the Mediterranean Fleet in October 1889 and commanding officer of the battleship HMS ''Nile'' in the Mediterranean Fleet in June 1891.Heathcote, p. 194 In the dreadful accident of June 1893, when the battleships HMS ''Victoria'' and HMS ''Camperdown'' collided, HMS ''Nile'' was next astern and it was only through the skilful manoeuvring of Noel that his ship was not also involved in the collision.

Senior Command

Noel became Junior Naval Lord at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

in November 1893 and was appointed a naval aide-de-camp to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

on 1 January 1894. Promoted to rear admiral on 8 May 1896, he became Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, with his flag in the battleship ''HMS Revenge'', in January 1898. During this tour, following the murder of the British vice-consul in

and an attack on the Customs House there, Noel landed a force in

in September 1898 to court-martial the terrorists and generally restore order. He completed this task successfully and was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) on 25 November 1898. He visited

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in March 1900. Noel became Admiral Superintendent of Naval Reserves in May 1900, and hoisted his flag on board the battleship HMS ''Alexandra''. In April the following year he transferred to HMS ''Revenge'', and on 5 November 1901 he was promoted to vice admiral. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) in the

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on 26 June 1902, and received the insignia in an investiture on board the royal yacht ''Victoria and Albert'' outside Cowes on 15 August 1902, the day before the

fleet review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

held there to mark the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

. Noel took part in the review with the ''Revenge''. He was given the additional responsibility of Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, with his flag again in the battleship HMS ''Alexandra'', in December 1902.Heathcote, p. 195 He went on to be Commander-in-Chief,

, with his flag in the battleship HMS ''Glory'', in January 1904. At the time relations between the United Kingdom and Russia were strained as the United Kingdom expressed its considerable dissatisfaction in relation to Russian aggression at the start of the

. He was promoted to full admiral on 24 May 1905. Noel became

in January 1907, was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 2 December 1908 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) on 1 January 1913. He was not employed during 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 fightin ...

and retired from the Navy in March 1915. He died at

Fincham Fincham is a village and civil parish the English county of Norfolk. The village is located south of King's Lynn and west of Norwich, along the A1122 between Outwell and Swaffham. History Fincham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives fro ...

in Norfolk on 23 May 1918 and was buried in the churchyard of St Martin's Church at Fincham two days later.Funerals, Saturday 25 May 1918, The Times

Family

In 1875 Noel married Charlotte Rachel Frederica Cresswell; they went on to have two daughters and one son.

References

Sources

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Gerard 1845 births 1918 deaths Burials in Norfolk People from King's Lynn and West Norfolk (district) Royal Navy admirals of the fleet Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British military personnel of the 1898 Occupation of Crete Royal Navy officers of World War I 19th-century Royal Navy personnel Military personnel from Norfolk Lords of the Admiralty