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 Reginald Neville Custance, (20 September 1847 – 30 August 1935) 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. He was the eldest son of General William Neville Custance CB.

Naval career

Custance joined the

in 1860. 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 31 December 1885, he was given command of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

HMS ''Phaeton'' in January 1890, 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 ''Barfleur'' in February 1895 and of the cruiser HMS ''Blenheim'' in September 1898. He went on to be Director of Naval Intelligence in March 1899, serving until November 1902, when he was asked to take the position of Second-in-Command of 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 ...

, after the sudden death of Rear-Admiral

Burges Watson Rear Admiral Burges Watson, (24 September 1846 – 21 September 1902)"Watson, Rear-Adm. Burges, (24 Sept. 1846–21 Sept. 1902)." WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. Oxford University Press. was a Royal Navy officer who became Admiral Superintendent, Malta ...

. During his first year as Director, he had been promoted to flag rank as a

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on 1 August 1899, and he was promoted to vice-admiral on 20 October 1904. He was appointed Second-in-Command of the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

in February 1907.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Custance, Reginald 1847 births 1935 deaths Directors of Naval Intelligence Royal Navy admirals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order