Admiral Sir George Edwin Patey, (24 February 1859 – 5 February 1935) was a senior officer in 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 ...

Early years

Patey was born on 24 February 1859 at Montpellier, near Plymouth, United Kingdom. His father, also named George Edwin Patey, was a Royal Navy officer. Patey entered the Royal Navy as a cadet on 15 January 1872, aged 12. Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 7 February 1935, p.12 (Obituary).

Naval career

Patey served as a midshipman aboard as part of the British Pacific Squadron under Admiral de Horsey during the

Battle of Pacocha The Battle of Pacocha was a naval battle that took place on 29 May 1877 between the rebel-held Peruvian monitor ''Huáscar'' and the British ships and . The vessels did not inflict significant damage on each other, however the battle is notab ...

, an action in company with the corvette on 29 May 1877 with the

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

armoured turret ship ''

Huáscar Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Q ...

'' which had been taken over by rebels opposed to the Peruvian Government and, it was feared, could be used to attack British shipping. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 21 March 1878, and while upon the voyage home HMS ''Shah'' was diverted to South Africa to assist in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, cou ...

. Patey served in the naval brigade which was formed to fight ashore, for which he received the South Africa Medal. 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 10 August 1881, he went to gunnery school at between February 1889 and February 1892. Assigned to naval intelligence, he was promoted to commander on 31 December 1894 and became Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence. Serving upon as part of the

British Mediterranean Squadron 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 ...

, he participated in the Allied occupation of Candia,

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

on 15 February 1897, and was part of the International Squadron blockading Crete during the Cretan Christian uprising against the rule of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

there in 1897–1898. After being promoted to captain on 1 January 1900, he returned in March that year to the ''Excellent'' for senior officers' gunnery course. He went on to serve as Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence. As such he was assistant to the Director,

Reginald Custance Admiral Sir Reginald Neville Custance, (20 September 1847 – 30 August 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the eldest son of General William Neville Custance CB. Naval career Custance joined the Royal Navy in 1860. Promoted to captain on ...

, who asked Patey to join him when he was appointed second in command of the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1902. Patey was therefore appointed in command of the battleship on 12 November 1902, for her first commission after completion, as second flagship on the Mediterranean Station. In command of the ''Venerable'', he was appointed a

Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(MVO) by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

during his visit to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on 23 April 1903, and was awarded the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

from

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

King of Greece The Kingdom of Greece was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach between 1832 and 1862 and by the House of Glücksburg from 1863 to 1924, temporarily abolished during the Second Hellenic Republic, and from 1935 to 1973, when it was once more abolishe ...

the same year. Later he went on to command between 1905 and 1907. He was awarded the Cross of the Order of the Naval Merit and Cross of the Order of Military Merit from

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...

, King of Spain. On 22 March 1908, he became a Naval Aide-de-camp to King Edward VII. On 2 January 1909, he was promoted to rear admiral in the

British 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 ...

and was commander of the

2nd Battle Squadron The 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, ...

until 1911. In 1913, he was loaned from the Royal Navy to be the first Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet and was awarded a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on his flagship , when

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

visited the Australian Fleet at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

on 30 June 1913 to review the fleet and watch them depart for Australia. He was promoted to vice admiral on 21 September 1914. At the outbreak of

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 ...

, Patey commanded the Australian naval squadron as part of the New Zealand Samoa Expeditionary Force that captured

German Samoa German Samoa (german: Deutsch-Samoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1920, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state of Samoa, formerly ''Western Samoa''. Samoa was the las ...

and the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force that captured

German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...

. He sailed with HMAS ''Australia'' to join the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron at

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

, Scotland and on 8 February 1915, ''Australia'' became the flagship of the squadron.Stevens, in ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 37 Patey was appointed Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station from March 1915. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1916. On 22 September 1916, he transferred to another ship of the Royal Navy and command of His Majesty's Australian Fleet was transferred to Rear Admiral William Pakenham. He died on 5 February 1935.

Notes

References

* The Sydney Morning Herald. – Thursday 7 February 1935 p. 12 (Obituary). * Burt, R. A. ''British Battleships 1889–1904''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1988. . *

External links

The Sydney Morning Herald. – Thursday 7 February 1935
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Patey 1859 births 1935 deaths Military personnel from Devon Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Navy admirals of World War I Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War Crosses of Military Merit People educated at Stubbington House School