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 John Frederick Ernest Green, (8 August 1866 – 30 October 1948) 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 of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He saw service in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

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 ...

(including the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

), and the

North Russia Intervention The North Russia intervention, also known as the Northern Russian expedition, the Archangel campaign, and the Murman deployment, was part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The intervention brought ...

in the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

. Late in his career, he became Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland.

Birth

Green was born in

Lee, Kent Plumstead (1855–1894) and then Lee (1894–1900) was a local government district within the metropolitan area of London from 1855 to 1900. It was formed as the Plumstead district by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 and was governed ...

, England, on 8 August 1866. He was the son of Henry Green.

Naval career

Early career

Green took the examination for naval cadetships successfully in July 1879, and joined the

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 ...

in 1882.Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945
/ref> He was 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 sub ...

on 1 January 1890 and went on to command the gunboat during the

in 1900, for which role he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and received a special promotion 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 1 January 1901. He was appointed in command of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

on 13 June 1901, and used her as his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

when he was in charge of the

Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...

Instructional Flotilla. In May 1902 he transferred with all officers and men of ''Mermaid'' to the destroyer , which was commissioned for the instructional flotilla. In 1903, 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 ...

demanded that he explain why he had never conducted

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

practice while in command of the flotilla and was unimpressed by his explanation. 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 30 June 1906, Green received a commendation in 1907 for efforts he made in helping to salvage the destroyer , which had been wrecked on 19 April 1907 when she ran aground on a

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

just outside

Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour ( mt, il-Port il-Kbir; it, Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Valletta, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks (Malta Dockyard), wharves, and ...

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He took command of the second-class

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

on 30 May 1908. In late 1908, ''Forte'' performed extremely poorly in a gunlayer's test; a court of inquiry convened to find out the reason for the poor test results faulted Green and the other officers of ''Forte'' for failing to provide sufficient training. In 1910, ''Forte'' ran aground and the Admiralty expressed "severe displeasure for failure to comply with K ngs_R[egulations.html"_;"title="gulations.html"_;"title="ngs_R[egulations">ngs_R[egulations">gulations.html"_;"title="ngs_R[egulations">ngs_R[egulations&_for_unseamanlike_manner_in_which_His_Majesty's_Ship.html" ;"title="gulations">ngs_R[egulations.html" ;"title="gulations.html" ;"title="ngs R[egulations">ngs R[egulations">gulations.html" ;"title="ngs R[egulations">ngs R[egulations& for unseamanlike manner in which His Majesty's Ship">H[isM[ajesty]'s ship was navigated."Green Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 260.
/ref> Green left ''Forte'' in March 1911. Green was

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

from September 1911 to May 1912 and took command of the first-class protected cruiser in October 1912. He took command of the armoured cruiser on 14 May 1913. On 5 June 1913, ''Natal'' collided in

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

with a

fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...

. A court of inquiry convened to investigate the collision conclude that ''Natals speed of 10 knots (11.5 mph; 18.5 km/hr) when she struck the fishing vessel was excessive for the foggy conditions, but the Admiralty declined to endorse this finding.

First World War

Green was still in command of ''Natal'' when the United Kingdom entered the

in August 1914. He became commanding officer of the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

in June 1915. As such, he was

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron at the

on 31 May-1 June 1916, during which ''New Zealand'' was flagship of the squadron's commander, Rear Admiral William Pakenham. Promoted to rear admiral on 1 September 1917, he served as Senior Naval Officer on the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

from October 1917.

Later service

On 30 October 1918, Green became Rear-Admiral Commanding in the White Sea during the

North Russia intervention The North Russia intervention, also known as the Northern Russian expedition, the Archangel campaign, and the Murman deployment, was part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The intervention brought ...

in the

with 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 ...

as his flagship. He became Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland and Admiral Superintendent of Royal Naval Dockyard Rosyth on 1 April 1922. He was promoted to vice admiral on 1 November 1922. He retired from the navy on 1 January 1925, being placed on the Retired List that day at his own request.

Family

In 1901 Green married Maud Kathleen McInnoy.

Later life

While hunting on 31 October 1925 in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland, with retired Admiral Edward H. Moubray and Admiral Sir

Henry Oliver Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Francis Oliver, (22 January 1865 – 15 October 1965) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Second Boer War as a navigating officer in a cruiser on the Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station ...

, Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, Green accidentally shot Oliver with one barrel of his

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

. Oliver was not seriously injured, and later said that it was not the first time that Green had accidentally shot someone and that Green in fact had a reputation for it. While on the retired list, Green was promoted to admiral on 1 August 1927. He died on 30 October 1948."Admiral Sir John Green" (Obituaries), ''The Times'', Tuesday, 2 November 1948, Issue 51218, col E, p. 7.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, John 1866 births 1948 deaths Royal Navy admirals Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Navy admirals of World War I Military personnel from Kent Royal Navy personnel of the Boxer Rebellion