Mate (Royal Navy)
Mate was a commissioned rank of the Royal Navy introduced in 1912 as a means of promotion from the Lower Deck to the Quarterdeck. It was also the name of the rank of Sub-Lieutenant until 1863.
History
The rank of Mate was instituted by Order in Council of 19 July, 1912. Mates ranked with Sub-Lieutenants,[1] and not Lieutenant as historian David Wragg would have it.[2]
The title of Mate was abolished "forthwith" by Order in Council of 11 August, 1931.[3]
Of the 371 Mates promoted up to the time of the Armistice, only twenty-seven remained on the Active List by 18 March, 1937, two of whom were Captains and ten Commanders. 139 retired under the "Geddes Axe" in 1922.[4]
Vice-Admiral Sir Benjamin Martin became the first Mate to reach the rank of Rear-Admiral in 1944. By one measure, he was the first officer from the lower deck to achieve Flag Rank on the Active List for eighty-seven years.[5]
Footnotes
- ↑ The Navy List (October, 1915). p. 951a.
- ↑ Wragg. Royal Navy Handbook, 1914-1918, p. 156.
- ↑ The Orders in Council for the Regulation of the Naval Service. XIV. No. 100/CW.
- ↑ "From the Lower Deck" (News). The Times. Thursday, 18 March, 1937. Issue 47636, col G, p. 17.
- ↑ "From Lower Deck to Flag List" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Thursday, 13 July, 1944. Issue 49907, col C, p. 2.
Bibliography
- The Orders in Council for the Regulation of the Naval Service. Vol. XIV. B.R. 733a. London: Printed under the Authority of His Majesty's Stationary Office. 1933.
- Wragg, David (2006). Royal Navy Handbook, 1914-1918. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0750942037.