George John Scott Warrender, Seventh Baronet

Vice-Admiral Sir George J. S. Warrender, Bart.
Photo: Library of Congress.

Vice-Admiral SIR George John Scott Warrender, Seventh Baronet, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., Royal Navy (31 July, 1860 – 8 January, 1917) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He entered the Navy in 1873 and enjoyed an active sea-going career with relatively few periods of shore duty. He served ashore in the Anglo-Zulu War, qualified in gunnery duties and served in the Pacific and on the China Station. He commanded a Naval Brigade during the Boxer Rebellion, and later commanded the East Indies Squadron. He succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1901. After command of a cruiser squadron he was given command of the Second Battle Squadron, which command he held for the first year of the First World War. He was elevated to Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in 1916, but was forced through ill-health to relinquish command and retire from the Navy in December of that year, dying early in 1917 at the age of fifty-six.

Career

George John Scott Warrender was born on 31 July, 1860, the second son of Sir George Warrender, Sixth Baronet, of Lochend, Haddingtonshire, and of Helen, only child of Sir Hugh Hume-Campbell, Seventh Baronet, of Marchmont, Berwickshire.

Warrender entered the training ship Britannia on 15 January, 1873. He was rated Midshipman on 19 December, 1874, and appointed to the frigate Raleigh on 1 June, 1875. He was appointed to the corvette Boadicea on 9 July, 1878. On 10 July he passed as an interpreter in French.

While in the Boadicea he landed with the Naval Brigade in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, and accompanied the Eshowe Relief Column. He was present at the Battle of Ginghilovo [Gingindlovu] on 2 April and received the South African Medal 1877-1879 and clasp for his participation. The battle saw a Zulu impi of 11,000 men try and destroy an encamped British force of 6,000, in an attempt to repeat the Zulu success at the Battle of Isandlwana, when 1,300 British troops had been killed. At Ginghilovo, the British lost only eleven men killed, while the Zulus lost over a thousand. The battle allowed to raise the two-month long Siege of Eshowe by Zulu forces on 3 April. He served ashore from 19 March to 27 May. Another Midshipman from Boadicea who served with the column was The Hon. Stanley C. J. Colville, later Admiral Sir Stanley Colville. On 31 July, 1879 he took a First Class certificate in his Seamanship examination and was promoted Acting Sub-Lieutenant. From October, 1879 to May, 1880 he was appointed to H.M.S. Excellent to study for his Lieutenancy examinations at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, which he passed on 26 May, 1880. He took three firsts and received a prize for his efforts, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 7 September, 1880.

On 7 December, 1880, Warrender was appointed to the corvette Champion. In his S.183. report of December, 1881 his knowledge of French was highlighted and he was described as "a promising officer." On 29 June, 1882 he was ordered home from the China Station at his own expense to take the gunnery course at Excellent and arrived in Britain on 29 August. His appointment to Excellent dated 30 September. On 28 March, 1883 he reported as sick at home with "Scarlatina"?. In his final examination at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich for Gunnery Lieutenant in July, 1883 he obtained a Second Class Certificate, confirmed on 16 May, 1884. On 19 May, Warrender was appointed as a Junior Staff Officer to Excellent with Lieutenants Hugh Williams and John Jellicoe. One of the three Senior Staff Officers was Percy Scott, and the Captain was John Fisher. On 18 April, 1885 he was appointed to Alexandra as Gunnery Officer of Orion, which commissioned on 26 April. On 2 April, 1888 he was telegraphed to return home in Tamar to requalify in gunnery duties. He arrived back in Britain on 13 April and appointed to Excellent on 25 May. On 7 June he was reappointed to the Junior Staff in place of an ill "Lieut. Nicholson". He was lent to Warspite as Gunnery Officer on 20 June and reappointed to Excellent on 24 August to re-qualify, and on 27 October he became Gunnery Officer in Duke of Wellington.

After a little over a month, on 11 December, 1888 Warrender was appointed First Lieutenant and Gunnery Officer of Amphion for service in the Pacific. The ship paid off three years later, on 25 January, 1892. On 2 April he was reappointed to Excellent to re-qualify in Gunnery Duties on 16 June. On 21 July he was appointed First Lieutenant and Gunnery Officer of the Forth until she paid off on 16 September. He was thence appointed to the same position in the old screw corvette Active on 14 October, for service in the Training Squadron. He was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1893 in the half-yearly promotions, and was instructed to remain as First Lieutenant of Active until relieved. On 26 October he was appointed Secretary to a Committee advising on the defence of the Medway. On 2 November it was confirmed that his secretarial service would "count as full service" in relation to his pay and benefits. He was superseded on 6 January, 1894.

On 6 February, 1894 in St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, Warrender married Lady Ethel Maud Ashley-Cooper, the youngest daughter of the Eighth Earl of Shaftesbury. Her family was of Irish stock and the Eighth Earl had been a major Belfast landlord. Her brother (the Ninth Earl) was later Lord Mayor of the city. Warrender was promptly appointed to the new battleship Centurion heading for the China Station on 14 February, where he remained until he was appointed to the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert on 13 May, 1896. During his service in Centurion, he was described by Admiral Sir Edmund R. Fremantle as, "A smart, energetic + efficient senior executive." He returned to Britain on 3 June. The Warrenders' first child, Violet Helen Marie Warrender, was born on 20 November, 1896. According to historian Paul G. Halpern, "The family connections of both Warrender and his wife gave them the entrée into society and they were well known in the London social world." On 23 June, 1899 the Warrenders' second child, Victor Alexander George Anthony Warrender (later First Baron Bruntisfield), was born. Queen Victoria acted as godmother.

Captain

On 13 May of 1899, Warrender was promoted to the rank of Captain, and on 11 July he was appointed to command the protected cruiser Brilliant for the annual manœuvres. On 26 October he was appointed to command the battleship Barfleur, again on the China Station. When the Boxer Rebellion broke out in May, 1900, Warrender was serving as Flag Captain to Rear-Admiral James A. T. Bruce, second-in-command of the China Squadron. On 11 June—the day after the Commander-in-Chief, Vice-Admiral Sir Edward H. Seymour, had led a relief force to Peking—a 150 man contingent under Warrender's executive officer, Commander David Beatty, went ashore to assist in the defence of the town of Tientsin. On 25 June, Warrender, then in command off the Taku forts, ordered the destroyer Fame under Lieutenant Roger Keyes to reconnoitre, who then proceeded to seize Hain Cheng fortress with just 32 men. For his services during the Boxer Rebellion, Warrender was awarded a gratuity.

On return to Britain, Warrender took command of the cruiser Hawke on 21 May, 1903, and on 5 April, 1904 assumed command of the armoured cruiser Lancaster. On the occasion of the King's visit to Ireland he was appointed a Member of the Fourth Class of the Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O.) on 5 May. He was superseded on 1 March, 1905. The Warrenders' third child, Harold John Warrender, had been born on 15 November, 1903.

On 11 May, 1905 Warrender was appointed to Vivid to commission the new armoured cruiser Carnarvon, which command he retained until 1 August, 1906. On 23 September, 1905 he was appointed to Excellent for a Gunnery Course, which he completed on 21 October. He was appointed to Vernon on 17 March, 1906 for a Torpedo Course. On 1 February, 1907 he hoisted his broad pennant in Hyacinth as Commodore, First Class in command of the East Indies Station. He was re-appointed as Commander-in-Chief upon his promotion to Rear-Admiral (vice Barry) on 2 July, 1908. He was superseded on 3 March, 1909.

Flag Rank

On 14 March, 1910 Warrender was appointed to a Signal Course, and from 7 March to 23 June took the War Course. On 29 November, 1910 Warrender was appointed Rear-Admiral Commanding the Second Cruiser Squadron. On 12 July, 1911, on the occasion of King George V's visit to Dublin, Warrender was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (K.C.V.O.). From 15 December, 1911 to 5 January, 1912 he served as President of a Conference on Gunnery at the Admiralty, attached to H.M.S. President, for which, having issued its report, "Appreciation [was] expressed for care & trouble taken." He struck his flag in command of the Second Cruiser Squadron on 11 December. On 16 December, he was appointed to succeed Sir John Jellicoe in command of the Second Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet (formerly the Second Division), with the rank of Acting Vice-Admiral. 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 Order of the Bath on 3 June. He was confirmed in the rank on 4 June, 1913, vice Galloway, placed on the Retired List. When the Naval Society was formed in 1913 with the intent of publishing the independent journal, The Naval Review, Warrender offered financial help and was listed among those who were "very sympathetic." In 1914, with the domestic situation in Ireland worsening and with civil war looming over the question of Home Rule, Warrender allegedly threatened to resign if arms were taken up against Protestant Ulster, along with his Commander-in-Chief, Sir George Callaghan. In April of that year, he was one of the Home Fleet commanders whose opinion on rate of fire was solicited by the Admiralty. He replied, in part, "It is considered more important to have the ammunition provided and ready for immediate use and to risk the chance of a cordite fire, rather than to guard against a fire, and to have the ship unprepared for an attack."

Baltic Visit

From 23 June to 30 June, 1914, Warrender took the Second Battle Squadron and Commodore, Second Class William Goodenough's First Light Cruiser Squadron to the German port of Kiel as part of a trip to visit the Baltic. A German Officer, Georg von Hase, was appointed as Warrender's personal Aide-de-Camp during the visit and later recalled of him:

Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender, Bart., is a distinguished man of the world of the true English type. He is self-possessed and decided. The officers of his staff and his ship have a high opinion of his qualities, and he is said to be very popular in his squadron, thanks to his personal character and his care for his men. As we came into harbour, and subsequently, I was particularly struck with the way in which he and, indeed, almost all the other English officers settled all official questions. It was a matter of short orders and short replies, for which the English language is particularly suited. No superfluous words on duty. Thus, in spite of a general absence of military formalities in address, conversation and behaviour, the manner in which work was carried on seemed to me very sailor-like and professional. Warrender is hard of hearing, but the officers of his staff have had such good practice with him that he understands them even when they speak softly. He was in difficulties with the other officers and strangers, particularly when general conversation was at its height at table.

When I was with the Admiral alone, as when members of his staff were present, he made most minute inquiries about affairs in the German Navy, and was particularly anxious to learn about the conditions of life and service and the spirit of our officers and men. He also showed the liveliest interest in our wireless and petrol engines, particularly our submarine engines. It had become second nature with him and with his officers to compare their own navy with ours. Sir George Warrender frequently showed himself a superlative conversationalist. He knew some German, though he never spoke German in conversation. At his request I translated every day the German newspaper articles and letters which discussed the visit of his squadron.

Sir George Warrender is said to be a good tennis player and a splendid golfer.

When the news of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination in Belgrade was announced on the 28th, Von Hase recorded Warrender's response, "He told me frankly of the consequences the assassination might have. He bluntly expressed his fears—indeed his conviction—that this crime would mean war between Serbia and Austria, that Russia will be drawn in and thus Germany and France could not remain lookers-on." A dinner and ball planned for the evening were cancelled and the Kaiser decided to depart for Vienna the following day. On the morning of the 29th Warrender, Goodenough and their staffs assembled to see the Kaiser off from the dockyard railway station, and each spoke with him for a few minutes. Warrender then attended the public funeral of a German naval aviator, Lieutenant Schroeter, who had crashed during the Regatta Week. He hosted a final luncheon in King George V for German flag officers and their wives, von Tirpitz and von Ingenohl among others. Afterwards, Warrender offered his guests a tour of the flagship, which only von Ingenohl accepted.

But even Admiral Warrender thought that submarines would effect a fundamental change in the strategic situation in the future, and that, owing to them, a distant blockade only, i.e., in Norwegian waters, would be possible.

When the squadron left on 30 June, he radioed his German hosts the salutation, "Friends in past and friends for ever."

On 23 July it was announced that Warrender's tenure in command of the Second Battle Squadron would be extended by one year to three.

Great War Service

Scarborough Raid

Main article: Action of 16 December, 1914.

Warrender's first and ultimately only opportunity for action came on 16 December. On 14 December Room 40 had deduced from intercepted German signals that Scouting Group I would clear the Jade in the morning of the 15th and attack Harwich and the Humber on the 16th. To counter this force, Warrender was despatched at 05:30 on the 15th with his available from Scapa, (King George V, Ajax, Centurion, Orion, Monarch and Conqueror). The light cruiser Boadicea had been attached but was forced to return after being damaged by heavy weather in the Pentland Firth. Goodenough's First Light Cruiser Squadron had just come in to Scapa to coal, and could only muster four ships. The cruiser Blanche was attached, but she too was damaged leaving Scapa and had to return to port. Beatty's First Battle Cruiser Squadron left Cromarty with four battle cruisers at 06:00. Owing to the bad weather he was followed by the destroyers of the Fourth Flotilla independently. At Jellicoe's instigation, Rear-Admiral William C. Pakenham's Third Cruiser Squadron of four ships was despatched from Rosyth to join Warrender's force, and Commodore Tyrwhitt was ordered to sea from Harwich at Jellicoe's suggestion. He departed at 14:00 with four light cruisers and two flotillas of destroyers. As senior officer, Warrender had overall command of the force.

Warrender and Beatty met off the Moray Firth 11:00 on the 15th, and by 15:00 all the British forces were within sight. Jellicoe had set the rendezvous for the forces involved as 54°10'N., 3°00'E., for 07:30 the following morning, on the 16th. The British rendezvous was only thirty miles away from the position chosen by the German commander, 54°40'N., 3°00'E. Warrender signalled to Beatty that he considered that the target of the German bombardment could as easily be against Harwich or the Humber as against Hartlepool or Scarborough. With only seven destroyers in company, he requested that Tyrwhitt's light forces be attached as a screen for his force, but this was denied. Tyrwhitt was ordered to be off Yarmouth for dawn the next morning, the 16th. Commodore Roger Keyes was ordered out with eight submarines to be at Terschelling late on the 16th so as to cut off the German return to base. Warrender meanwhile set his night dispositions. The order he adopted had the battle cruisers five miles ahead of his battleships, Goodenough's light cruisers five miles to his Starboard (Westward) and Pakenham's cruisers five miles to his Port (Eastward).

During the night, Hipper's scouting group passed ahead of the British at 00:15 on the 16th. The errant German destroyer S-33, while returning to Germany after losing touch, sighted four of Warrender's destroyers at 04:00, and reported their position to Hipper. At 05:15 the four destroyers, led by Lynx, , with the other three destroyers trailing, were steaming S.E. ten miles to the East of Warrender's battleships, with orders to close at daylight to act as a screen. Then the British destroyers sighted V-155, sent by the the German cruiser Roon to investigate a Dutch merchantman. Both sides issued challenges until fire was opened at 05:25. The German ship shot better than her opponents, and Lynx and Ambuscade took hits. At 05:53 the German light cruiser Hamburg with two torpedo boats sighted the three unengaged British destroyers and opened fire. Hardy was badly hit, but after 06:00 Hamburg turned away to avoid torpedoes and did not re-engage.

Of Warrender's performance, then-Lieutenant Reginald Plunkett would later write (to Arthur Marder) that: "[Warrender] handled his Squadron with great ability through the fogs and foul weather of the North Sea and I never heard a word of criticism against him from Beatty or anyone else."

Lord Fisher wrote to Churchill on 23 January, 1915: "We have struck oil in Admiral [Robert Nelson] Ommanney. Oliver tells me he knows more abt handling a Fleet than anyone in the Navy! Why is he not in a Battle Squadron then? Put him in place of Warrender—Warrender to [the Royal Naval College,] Greenwich—Bayly to Monitors—Jerram to Mines like Ommanney—let those ideas germinate!"

Later Service

On 16 June, Jellicoe confided to Sir Henry Jackson that, "My Vice-Admirals are always a little shaky. Warrender gets awfully deaf at times [a complaint Jellicoe himself suffered from] and is inclined to be absent-minded, but on the other hand he has had unique experience in command and is excellent as a squadron admiral in peace. I am not always quite happy about him." Jellicoe later noted that, "Warrender used to visit me so frequently that he delayed my work." He wrote to Beatty on 23 November, "George Warrender is relieved by Jerram 16th December. I shall feel his departure most keenly. He is the soul of his squadron and the most loyal of comrades." Warrender struck his flag on 16 December. On the 18th he visited the Admiralty, where he saw the Second Sea Lord, Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick T. Hamilton, who noted in his diary: "He seemed to be extraordinarily well and very fat but I am afraid deafer than ever but very cheery."

He assumed the position of Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth on 20 March, 1916. On 11 November he was granted six weeks leave after an attack of Pleurisy. On the 30th he was found unfit for further service, and on 3 December he was asked whether he wanted to retire. On 5 December, 1916 he was superseded in the Plymouth command and went on the Retired List at his own request the following day on account of poor health.

Warrender died on 8 January, 1917, at his home in London, 23 Great Cumberland Place. He was cremated at Golders Green on 12 January, and his ashes were interred at the Church of the Annunciation, Bryanston Street, London. His eldest son, Victor Alexander Anthony George Warrender, succeeded to the baronetcy.

Editor's Assessment

Halpern, in his overview of Warrender's life, concludes: "Warrender remains one of the prime examples of a naval leader who, whatever his personal qualities and distinguished record in time of peace, did not rise to the very different demands of war." This is an absurdly harsh conclusion given that Warrender had but one opportunity to prove himself. By Halpern's own admission, of the mistakes made on 16 December, 1914, "the most egregious probably were not made by Warrender". Beatty, Goodenough and other officers were given second chances to prove themselves. Through indifferent health, Warrender never received his second chance, being relieved of command afloat six months before the Battle of Jutland, when in all probability he would have led the British line of battle against his hosts of 1914.

Gordon deplores Jellicoe's defence of Warrender, "excellent as a squadron admiral in peace", as "incredible grounds" for keeping him in post. This editor is not convinced that Gordon has satisfactorily identified the pre-requisites for command of a Battle Squadron in war, let alone in peace, a criticism which can also be leveled at Halpern. No doubt Gordon would have preferred a Beatty, "apt to be rash in conclusion", rather than someone perceived to be a stalwart like Warrender, with what Admiral Sir William Goodenough termed "an imperturbability that no circumstances could ruffle." Jellicoe's only concern appears to have been with Warrender's health. Any other criticisms are unfounded in the face of the existing evidence.
— SIMON HARLEY, Co-editor.

See Also

• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• "Death of Sir George Warrender" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 9 January, 1917. Issue 41371, col B, p. 8.
• Bacon, Admiral Sir R. H. (1936). The Life of John Rushworth Earl Jellicoe. London: Cassell and Company, Ltd. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
• Beckett, Ian F. W.; Jeffery, Keith (February 1989). "The Royal Navy and the Curragh Incident". Historical Research 62 (No. 147): pp. 54–69.
• Bell, A. C. (1927). Dictionary of National Biography. Third Supplement. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Clowes, William Laird (1903). The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present. Vol. VII. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company.
• Goodenough, Admiral Sir William Edmund (1943). A Rough Record. London: Hutchinson & Co..
• Gordon, Andrew (2005). The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command. London: John Murray (Publishers). ISBN 0719561310. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
• Hase, Commander Georg von (1921). Kiel and Jutland. London: Skeffington & Son, Ltd. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
• Hough, Richard (1989). The Great War at Sea, 1914-1918. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285181-0.
• Jellicoe, Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth, First Earl Jellicoe (1966). Patterson, Arthur Temple. ed. The Jellicoe Papers. Volume I. London: Navy Records Society.
• Jellicoe, Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth, First Earl Jellicoe (1968). Patterson, Arthur Temple. ed. The Jellicoe Papers. Volume II. London: Navy Records Society.
• Jones, Mary (1999). The Making of the Royal Naval Officer Corps 1860-1914. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Exeter: University of Exeter.
• Lambert, Nicholas A. (January 1998). "'Our Bloody Ships' or 'Our Bloody System'? Jutland and the Loss of the Battle Cruisers, 1916." The Journal of Military History 61 (1): pp. 29–55.
• Warrender, Lady Maud Ashley (1933). My First Sixty Years. London: Cassell and Company Ltd..

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/87.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/39.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/20.

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Francis J. Foley	Captain of H.M.S. Brilliant 11 Jul, 1899	Succeeded by Charles H. Robertson
Preceded by The Hon. Stanley C. J. Colville	Captain of H.M.S. Barfleur 26 Oct, 1899 – 21 Jan, 1902	Succeeded by Leslie C. Stuart
Preceded by Frederick O. Pike	Captain of H.M.S. Hawke 21 May, 1903 – 5 Apr, 1904	Succeeded by Arthur J. Horsley
Preceded by New Command	Captain of H.M.S. Lancaster 5 Apr, 1904 – 1 Mar, 1905	Succeeded by Henry L. Tottenham
Preceded by New Command	Captain of H.M.S. Carnarvon 11 May, 1905 – 1 Aug, 1906	Succeeded by John M. de Robeck
Preceded by Sir Edmund S. Poë	Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station 1 Feb, 1907 – 3 Mar, 1909	Succeeded by Sir Edmond J. W. Slade
Preceded by Robert S. Lowry	Rear-Admiral Commanding, Second Cruiser Squadron 29 Nov, 1910 – 11 Dec, 1912	Succeeded by F. C. Doveton Sturdee
Preceded by Sir John R. Jellicoe	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Second Battle Squadron 16 Dec, 1912 – 16 Dec, 1915	Succeeded by Sir T. H. Martyn Jerram
Preceded by Sir George Le C. Egerton	Commander in Chief, Plymouth Station 20 Mar, 1916 – 5 Dec, 1916	Succeeded by The Hon. Sir Alexander E. Bethell