View source for H.M.S. King Edward VII (1903)

<div name=fredbot:career>{{ShipCareer|fullname=H.M.S. ''King Edward VII'' (1903)|fate2=off Cape Wrath{{DittColl|p. 31}}
|comp=Feb, 1905{{BurtBritishBattleships1889|p. 267}}
|comm=7 Feb, 1905{{BurtBritishBattleships1889|p. 287}}
|fatedate=6 Jan, 1916{{DittColl|p. 31}}
|order=1901-02 Programme{{Conways1860|p. 38}}
|name=King Edward VII
|launch=23 Jul, 1903{{DittColl|p. 31}}
|builder=[[Devonport Royal Dockyard]]{{DittColl|p. 31}}
|laid=8 Mar, 1902{{Conways1860|p. 38}}
|fate=Mined
|pend=66 (1914){{DittColl|p. 31}}
|fg=white|bg=crimson}}</div name=fredbot:career>
'''H.M.S. ''King Edward VII''''' was the name ship of a [[King Edward VII Class Battleship (1903)|class of eight]] late pre-dreadnought battleships.  Her service until her loss in the Great War was as the flagship of the {{UK-BS|3}} which was centered upon these semi-useful but then-obsolescent battleships.

==Construction==
The casting for the rudder frame was made by Ayrshire Foundry Company. After it had been installed in the ship a "a crack and a large hole" were discovered in the casting which had been covered over by the company with welding.<ref>''Appropriation Account, 1905&ndash;1906''. p. 170.</ref>

==Service==
As part of the Channel Fleet, ''King Edward VII'' underwent a refit from 13 December 1907 to 24 February 1908.<ref>Report from Charles Beresford dated 18 April 1908 in ''Naval Policy - Strategy - Tactics: Miscellaneous papers from Private Office received by record office'' at {{TNA|ADM 116/942}}, unnumbered folio halfway within series.  p. 1.</ref>

Upon the formation of the {{UK-BS|3}} in May, 1912, ''King Edward VII'' was made its flagship.

On 23 August, 1914, ''King Edward VII'' reported two cracked 12-inch guns.<ref>"Grand Fleet Operations - Narrative of Events."  Jellicoe Papers.  British Library.  Add MS. 48995.  f. 57.</ref>  On 24 August she was ordered to Devonport to replace them and coat bottom.  The Vice-Admiral's flag was briefly shifted to {{UK-Dominion}}.<ref>"Grand Fleet Operations - Narrative of Events."  Jellicoe Papers.  British Library.  Add MS. 48995.  f. 59.</ref>

''King Edward VII'' was lost to a mine on 6 January, 1916 while proceeding to Belfast to be refit.<ref>See [[Third Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)]] for details on her service in 3BS.</ref>

When news of her sinking reached him, [[Ralph Lyall Clayton]], who had briefly served in ''King Edward VII'' in 1906-7 and who was now serving as the disenchanted torpedo officer in {{UK-QueenMary}} recorded in his diary on 16 January that<ref>[http://www.personanavalpress.co.uk/life_cut_short8.htm Clayton diary on Personal Naval Press website.]</ref>
:''One takes the loss of the ‘King Edward’ very calmly; that class aren’t of much importance now''

==Radio==
Although her class was the first to generally be fitted with [[Service Gear Mark II]], in 1906, the ship was one of ten ships and two shore stations slated to receive [["C" Tune Gear]], capable of transmitting on "S", "T" and "U" tunes.{{ARTS1906|Wireless Appendix, p. 15}}  In 1908, it one of just nine equipped with the [["C" Tune Gear]], capable of transmitting on "S", "U" and "W" tunes.  It was to receive a Service Mark II set in 1909.{{ARTS1908|Wireless Appendix, p. 13}}

At the end of 1909, she was to receive one of eleven [[British_Wireless_Systems#Short_Distance_Set|Short Distance Radio Sets]], to be installed at her next refit behind armour near the fore bridge, intended to supplant flag signaling.{{ARTS1909|Wireless Appendix, p. 25}}  In mid-1913, this gear was redesignated as '''Type 3'''.{{AWO1913|306 of 20 June, 1913}}

==Captains==
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
<div name=fredbot:officeCapt otitle="Captain of H.M.S. ''King Edward VII''">
{{Tenure|rank={{CaptRN}}|name=Arthur Cavenagh Leveson|nick=Arthur C. Leveson|appt=3 January, 1905<ref>Leveson Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 472.</ref>|end=5 March, 1907<ref>Leveson Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}} f. 472.</ref>|precBy=New Command|note=and as Flag Captain to Rear-Admiral May}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Henry Bertram Pelly|nick=Henry B. Pelly|appt=5 March, 1907<ref>Pelly Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 483.</ref>|end=26 March, 1909<ref>Pelly Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 483.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Osmond de Beauvoir Brock|nick=Osmond de B. Brock|appt=27 March, 1909{{NLJan10|p. 337}}<ref>Brock Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}}  f. 49.</ref>|end=9 August, 1910<ref>Brock Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.|}} f. 49.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Allan Frederic Everett|nick=Allan F. Everett|appt=9 August, 1910<ref>Everett Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}}  f. 23.</ref>{{NLApr11|p. 337}}|end=24 July, 1911<ref>Everett Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}}  f. 23.</ref>|note=and as Flag Captain}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Adolphus Huddlestone Williamson|nick=Adolphus H. Williamson|appt=24 July, 1911<ref>Williamson Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}}  f. 22.</ref>|end=17 May, 1912<ref>Williamson Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}} f. 22.</ref>|note=and as Flag Captain}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Edward Henry Fitzhardinge Heaton-Ellis|nick=Edward H. F. Heaton-Ellis|appt=17 May, 1912<ref>Heaton-Ellis Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}}  f. 38.</ref>|end=12 June, 1913<ref>Heaton-Ellis Service Record. {{TNA|ADM 196/43.}} f. 20/38.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Acting Captain|name=George Parish Ross|nick=George P. Ross|appt=12 June, 1913<ref>Ross Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/44.}}  f. 46.</ref>|end=1 July, 1913<ref>Ross Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/44.}}  f. 46.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Edmund Percy Fenwick George Grant|nick=E. Percy F. G. Grant|appt=1 July, 1913<ref>Grant Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 461.</ref>{{NLJun14|p. 334}}|end=25 May, 1914<ref>Grant Service Record {{TNA|ADM 196/42.|D7579098}} f. 461.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank={{CaptRN}}|name=James Charles Tancred|nick=James C. Tancred|appt=25 May, 1914|end=22 June, 1914|note=and as Flag Captain}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Crawford Maclachlan|nick=Crawford Maclachlan|appt=22 June, 1914{{NLOct15|p. 395''g''}}|end=6 January, 1916{{HepperLosses|p. 50}}|succBy=Vessel Lost|note=vessel lost under his command}}
</div name=fredbot:officeCapt>

==See Also==
{{refbegin}}
{{WP|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_King_Edward_VII}}
{{refend}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{DittColl}}
*{{ParkesBritishBattleships}}
*{{BattleshipsWWI}}
{{refend}}

{{Footer King Edward VII Class Battleship (1903)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:King Edward VII}}

{{CatShipPreDreadnought|UK}}
{{CatShipLostMined|UK}}