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 F ...

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

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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

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

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court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

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,

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. He then became Commander-in-Chief, China Station: 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

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. His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.

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

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in the training ship HMS ''Illustrious'' at

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on 1 December 1858. He was appointed 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 ...

in the second-rate HMS ''Hannibal'' in the

Mediterranean Fleet 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 t ...

in 1859 and transferred to the

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HMS ''Shannon'' on the North America and West Indies Station in 1862. Promoted to

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

on 7 March 1864, he transferred to the paddle sloop HMS ''Basilisk'' on the China Station in January 1865 and, having been promoted to

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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 A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

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 Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

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 Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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 A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

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 Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

at the

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in November 1893 and was appointed a naval aide-de-camp to the Queen on 1 January 1894. Promoted to

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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

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 The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) on 25 November 1898. He visited

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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

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(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

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on 15 August 1902, the day before the fleet review held there to mark the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, 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 ...

. Noel took part in the review with the ''Revenge''. He was given the additional responsibility of Commander-in-Chief,

, with his flag again in the battleship HMS ''Alexandra'', in December 1902.Heathcote, p. 195 He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station, 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 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, ...

on 24 May 1905. Noel became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore 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 The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(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 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