Cecil Burney, First Baronet

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cecil Burney, Bart., as an Admiral.
Photo: Imperial War Museum. © IWM (Q 71928).

Admiral of the Fleet SIR Cecil Burney, First Baronet, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., Royal Navy (15 May, 1858 – 5 June, 1929) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the First World War.

Early Life & Naval Career

Cecil Burney was born in Jersey on 15 May, 1858, the son of Charles Burney, a Master in the Royal Navy and later Superintendent of Greenwich Hospital School. He was educated in France up to the age of ten and was fluent in French. He entered the Navy as a Naval Cadet in the training ship Britannia at Dartmouth on 15 July, 1871.

Burney was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant from the Victoria and Albert with seniority of 30 August, 1879.

Burney was promoted to the rank of Commander on 1 January, 1893.

He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 1 January, 1898. After commanding the first class protected cruiser Hawke in the naval manœuvres of 1900, he commissioned the second class protected cruiser Sappho for service on the South-East coast of America, but was soon transferred to the Cape station during the South African War. His ship struck the Durban bar when in the charge of a pilot on 3 May, 1901, and Burney had to bring her home. On 27 May, 1902, he was appointed in command of the battleship Resolution, as Flag Captain to Rear-Admiral Atkinson-Willes, Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet, and on 16 September he was appointed to Empress of India in the same capacity. He remained with him and his successor, Rear-Admiral Poë, until June, 1904. He then spent a year (1904–5) in command of the ex-Chilean battleship Triumph in the Channel Fleet. His successful work in training boys at Portland led to his appointment in July, 1905 to the Impregnable as inspecting captain of all boys' training ships. On 17 October, 1906, he was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII, vice Lowry.

Flag Rank

Burney was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 10 October, 1907. His first appointment to Flag Rank was to relieve John Denison as Rear-Admiral Commanding the Devonport Division, Home Fleet on 4 January, 1909. From 16 February, 1911, when he took command of the Fifth Cruiser Squadron, Burney was continuously on full pay for nine years.

At the end of 1911 he took command of the Atlantic Fleet, with the acting rank of Vice-Admiral; he transferred to the Third Battle Squadron in 1912. On 20 September 1912 he was confirmed in the rank of Vice-Admiral, vice Winsloe.

Burney's 3 B.S. was on special service in the Mediterranean, and the disturbances that arose in Montenegro and Albania at the close of the second Balkan war led to the dispatch, arranged by the British foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey, of an international naval force to Antivari on the Montenegrin coast in April, 1913. Burney's formation was sent in order to ensure that an Englishman should be senior officer of the combined fleet. He took command and handled the highly delicate and difficult situation, in which his firm manner and rugged mien stood him in good stead, and he received a special commendation both from the Foreign Office and from the Admiralty for his performance. He had to secure unanimity of action between the naval forces of the five powers represented, as well as resolve the differences between the turbulent Balkan states ashore. He established a pacific blockade of the coast during April and May of 1913, and then from May to November commanded the international force occupying Scutari, which the Montenegrins had captured, until the trouble was finally settled by the conclusion of peace. On the occasion of the King's birthday he was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) on 3 June, 1913. On the termination of the Scutari affair he was gazetted K.C.M.G.

On his return to England at the end of 1913 Burney took over the command of the Second and Third fleets, then in partial reserve, and the early part of 1914 was occupied in preparing for the test mobilization of that summer.

Great War

On the outbreak of the First World War in August these fleets were organized as the Channel Fleet, with the duty of protecting the channel from enemy raids. In December, 1914 Burney went to the First Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. His son-in-law, Commander Charles F. Ballard, was amongst those killed when the Formidable was sunk by submarine on 1 January, 1915. The Rear-Admiral in the Fourth Battle Squadron, Alexander L. Duff, saw him on 8 January and noted in his diary that, "He is naturally terribly depressed."

At the Battle of Jutland 31 May, 1916 his squadron was the rear of the line, and was more heavily engaged than the rest of the battleships of the main fleet. His flagship, the Marlborough, was torpedoed, and during the night he transferred his flag to the Revenge. He was promoted Admiral on 9 June, 1916, On 15 September he was advanced to be an Additional Member of the First Class, or Knight Grand Cross, in the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (G.C.M.G.) for his services at Jutland, dated 31 May.

In November, 1916, when Jellicoe was appointed First Sea Lord, Burney joined the Board of Admiralty as Second Sea Lord. However, the prime minister, Lloyd George, and Sir Eric C. Geddes, who became First Lord of the Admiralty in July, 1917, grew anxious to replace him by a younger, and in their opinion more efficient, man. Consequently, and despite Jellicoe's effort to keep him, when the board was reorganized the following September, Burney was relieved. On 6 September he was appointed to President for Special Service. On 13 October he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland at Rosyth in place of the recently-deceased Admiral Sir Frederick T. Hamilton.

Upon Burney's relief as Second Sea Lord, Jellicoe wrote a letter to Geddes outlining Burney's achievements:

FIRST LORD.

On the occasion of the relief of Admiral Sir Cecil Burney from the post of Second Sea Lord, I wish to bring to your notice the services rendered by him throughout his 45 years of service in the Navy, with a view to recognise these services suitably.

Since Sir Cecil Burney reached the Captains' List he has filled many important appointments with unfailing success. As a Captain he was Inspecting Captain of [Boys'] Training Ships at the time that the Shotley Training Establishment was started; and the subsequent success of that establishment is largely due to him. As a Rear-Admiral he served, first in a division of the Home Fleet, and later in command of the Cruiser Squadron attached to the Atlantic Fleet then under my command. He succeeded me in the command of the Atlantic Fleet, which was consequently reconstituted as the Third Battle Squadron. Whilst in command of that Squadron, he was sent to the Mediterranean; and at the time of the troubles between Montenegro and Albania, he was the Senior Officer of the Allied Navies acting in cooperation. He conducted the work with conspicuous success, and was subsequently requested to take the post of Governor of Scutari and Senior Officer of the International Commission. In this post he commanded a mixed force of soldiers and sailors belonging to Italy, Austria, France, Germany and Great Britain, besides acting as the head of the International Commission - and he was in Scutari for a little over six months in this position.

By common consent, Sir Cecil Burney carried out this difficult work with most conspicuous success; and on leaving he receiveda most complimentary telegram from H.M. Government. He succeeded to a quite remarkable degree in winning the confidence of the [319] Albanians.

His service in Scutari unfortunately broke him down in health for some time - and he has never completely recovered, and suffers constantly from arthritis.

On return to England, he was appointed to the command of the 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the Home Fleet, and was holding that appointment on the outbreak of war.

In the early stages of the war, Sir Cecil Burney was consulted on many occasions by the then First Lord on the subject of bombarding Heligoland and Borkum with his battle squadron; and he communicated with me on the subject several times. I was strongly opposed to a useless sacrifice of ships - and so informed the First Lord. Sir Cecil Burney had great difficulty in convincing him as to the waste of ships and men involved in such an adventure, but he did so convince him - and in the opinion of all the Flag Officers then afloat, he was perfectly right, and we are indebted to him for this work. I mention this as it may be that he has suffered by criticism for this action. Events, and the trend of present oprtations, have fully justified him.

Sir Cecil Burney was appointed to the command of the First Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet early in 1915, being relieved in the Third Battle Squadron [actually, Channel Fleet] by Sir Lewis Bayly.

From early in 1915 until December 1916, he served as my Second-in-Command in the Grand Fleet with conspicuous success. In my absence on more than one occasion he took command. He was a most loyal and able Second-in-Command, and possessed my entire confidence. He was Second-in-Command on the occasion of the action off Jutland on the 31st May, 1916, and [320] he brought his Squadron into action with great ability. His careful training of this Squadron was shown in the action. The ships were handled exceedingly well: twenty-five torpedoes were avoided by good handling, and the shooting of the guns of the Squadron inflicted severe damage on the enemy. The "Marlborough", Sir C. Burney's Flagship, was specially conspicuous.

I venture to submit that a record of this nature should be rewarded by a Baronetcy being conferred on Sir Cecil Burney.

Incidentally it may be mentioned that Lieutenant Burney (Sir Cecil Burney's son) has performed the most valuable services during the war by his invention of the paravane, now in almost universal use - an invention which has already saved several of H.M. Ships and several merchant ships from loss by mines.

(Intld). J. R. J.

3/8/17.

Sir W. Graham Greene, the then Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty, later wrote of Burney:

As Second Sea Lord during the war his administrative functions did not call for much display of special abilities — My recollection is that he was a very useful member of the Board & carried out his duties in an efficient manner, but the executive direction of the Fleet & naval operations was centred in the hands of the First Sea Lord & War Staff & Burney's share in this was small. He had of course[,] as the Member of the Board to take the place of the First Sea Ld, should the latter be absent or otherwise able to act, to keep himself acquainted with what was going on & the policy governing the action of the Fleet, but this constituted the sole claim upon him outside the ordinary duties of his office.
In character Burney was amiable & very easy to work with & my relations with him during the time he was at the Admiralty were of the friendliest. I regretted his departure but his qualities would not have been appreciated by the men placed in power at the Admiralty in 1917 & in his own interests the change to the Scottish Command was in his best interests.

Post-War

On 15 February, 1919, Burney requested permission (subsequently granted) to be absent from Rosyth to confer with the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, The Hon. Sir Stanley C. J. Colville, from the 18th to the 21st of February. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in succession to Colville on 31 March. On 12 April, 1920, he went on leave to Acqui, Italy, and was superseded in absentia on 28 April. Burney was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet on 24 November, 1920.

Burney was created a Baronet of the United Kingdom in recognition of his services during the war, gazetted 1 January, 1921.

Burney was placed on the Retired List on 24 November, 1925, upon completing five years in the rank. He died at his home, Upham House, Hants, on 5 June, 1929, from a combination of lobar pneumonia, tonsillitis, and osteo arthritis. He was seventy-one years old.

Bibliography

• Dictionary of National Biography.
• "Admiral of the Fleet Sir C. Burney" (Obituaries). The Times. Thursday, 6 June, 1929. Issue 45222, col A, p. 19.

Images

• 1917 John Lavery portrait in the possession of the Imperial War Museum. Catalogue Number 1254.

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/87.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/38.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/20.

Naval Appointments
Preceded by John Denison	Rear-Admiral, Devonport Division, Home Fleet 1909 – 1910	Succeeded by Arthur A. C. Galloway
Preceded by Sir John R. Jellicoe	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Atlantic Fleet 1911 – 1912	Succeeded by Lewis Bayly
	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Third Battle Squadron 1912 – 1913
Preceded by Frederick T. Hamilton	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Second and Third Fleets 1913 – 1914	Succeeded by Sir Lewis Bayly
	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Fleet 1914
Preceded by Sir Lewis Bayly	Admiral Commanding, First Battle Squadron 1914 – 1916	Succeeded by Sir Charles E. Madden
Preceded by New Appointment	Second-in-Command, Grand Fleet 1915 – 1916

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Gerard M. Brooke	Captain of Training Ship H.M.S. Boscawen 2 Jan, 1896	Succeeded by Thomas H. M. Jerram
Preceded by Alexander W. Chisholm-Batten	Captain of H.M.S. Hawke 10 Jul, 1900	Succeeded by Algernon H. Anson
Preceded by Casper J. Baker	Captain of H.M.S. Sappho 13 Aug, 1900	Succeeded by Edward H. Moubray
Preceded by James E. C. Goodrich	Captain of H.M.S. Resolution 27 May, 1902 – 16 Sep, 1902	Succeeded by John E. Bearcroft
Preceded by Henry L. Fleet	Captain of H.M.S. Empress of India 16 Sep, 1902	Succeeded by Herbert A. Warren
Preceded by New Command	Captain of H.M.S. Triumph 11 Jun, 1904 – 4 May, 1905	Succeeded by Arthur T. Stuart
Preceded by Robert A. J. Montgomerie	Inspecting Captain of Boys' Training Ships 10 Jul, 1905 – 4 Nov, 1907	Succeeded by George E. Patey
Preceded by ?	President of Anti-Submarine Committee 1 Apr, 1910 – 15 Feb, 1911	Succeeded by F. C. Doveton Sturdee
Preceded by Frederick T. Hamilton	Rear-Admiral Commanding, Fifth Cruiser Squadron 16 Feb, 1911 – 19 Dec, 1911	Succeeded by F. C. Doveton Sturdee
Preceded by Sir John R. Jellicoe	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Atlantic Fleet 19 Dec, 1911 – 13 Jun, 1913	Succeeded by Sir Charles E. Madden as Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet
Preceded by ?	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Third Battle Squadron 19 Dec, 1911[Citation needed] – 13 Jun, 1913	Succeeded by Lewis Bayly
Preceded by T. H. Martyn Jerram	Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Station 13 Jun, 1913 – 19 Oct, 1913	Succeeded by Michael Culme-Seymour
Preceded by ?	Vice-Admiral in Command, Fifth Battle Squadron 5 Dec, 1913 – 19 Dec, 1914	Succeeded by Sir Lewis Bayly
Preceded by Sir Lewis Bayly	Vice-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Squadron 19 Dec, 1914 – 28 Nov, 1916	Succeeded by Sir Charles E. Madden
Preceded by New Command	Second-in-Command, Grand Fleet 28 Aug, 1915 – 28 Nov, 1916	Succeeded by Charles E. Madden
Preceded by The Hon. Sir Somerset A. Gough-Calthorpe	Second Sea Lord 4 Dec, 1916 – 6 Sep, 1917	Succeeded by Sir Rosslyn E. Wemyss
Preceded by Sir Frederick T. Hamilton	Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth 13 Oct, 1917 – 30 Mar, 1919	Succeeded by Sir Herbert L. Heath as Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland
Preceded by The Hon. Sir Stanley C. J. Colville	Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth Station 31 Mar, 1919 – 28 Apr, 1920	Succeeded by The Hon. Sir Somerset A. Gough-Calthorpe