Difference between revisions of "David Richard Beatty, First Earl Beatty"
Simon Harley (talk | contribs) |
Simon Harley (talk | contribs) |
||
Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
On 9 August, 1915, Beatty was confirmed in the rank of Vice-Admiral.<ref>''London Gazette'': [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29262/pages/8016 no. 29262. p. 8016.] 13 August, 1915.</ref> | On 9 August, 1915, Beatty was confirmed in the rank of Vice-Admiral.<ref>''London Gazette'': [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29262/pages/8016 no. 29262. p. 8016.] 13 August, 1915.</ref> | ||
− | ==Jutland== | + | ==Jutland & After== |
− | On 15 September he was appointed | + | On 15 September he was appointed an Additional Member of the First Class, or Knight Grand Cross, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) dated 31 May.<ref>''London Gazette'': [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29751/supplements/9070 (Supplement) no. 29751. p. 9070.] 15 September, 1916.</ref> |
==Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, 1916–1919== | ==Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, 1916–1919== |
Revision as of 15:36, 1 August 2011
Admiral of the Fleet THE RIGHT HONOURABLE David Richard Beatty, First Earl Beatty, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O., P.C., Royal Navy (17 January, 1871 – 11 March, 1936) was an officer of the Royal Navy.
Early Life & Career
Beatty was born David Richard Beatty on 17 January, 1871 at Howbeck Lodge, Stapeley, in the Registration District of Nantwich, in the County of Chester. His birth was registered on 17 February.[1] He was the second of four sons of Captain David Longfield Beatty (1841–1904), of the Fourth Hussars, and his first wife, Catherine Edith (d. 1896), daughter of Nicholas Sadlier of Dunboyne Castle, County Meath, Ireland. David Richard and his elder brother Charles were both born out of wedlock, as David Longfield Beatty and Catherine Sadlier were not married until nearly six months after David Richard was born.[2]
On 28 January, 1892, he was confirmed in the rank of Sub-Lieutenant, dated 14 May, 1890.[3] On 25 August, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.[4]
A fellow officer in Trafalgar, Lieutenant Sydney Fremantle, later recalled of Beatty:
We had some enjoyable shooting trips together. He was a conscientious officer who never failed in his duties and obligations, but showed little interest in the Service outside his immediate functions, and when our ship was at Malta distinguished himself as a member of the naval polo team.[5]
On 18 November, 1896, Beatty was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) for his services in the Sudan.[6] He was specially promoted to the rank of Commander on 15 November, 1898, aged twenty-seven years, nine months, and twenty-nine days.[7]
For his service in China he was promoted to the rank of Captain on 9 November, 1900, aged just twenty-nine.[8] C. S. Forester was later to claim, and Andrew Gordon to repeat, that the average age of officers promoted Captain at the time was forty-two.[9] Actually the average of forty-two was for 1899, and with Beatty's promotion the average age in 1900 was forty years and seven months. Apart from a slight rise in 1901 the average would be forty or thirty-nine years old for the next decade.[10]
Captain
Beatty was succeeded in command of Suffolk by Captain Rosslyn E. Wemyss. According to Lady Wester Wemyss, Sir John Fisher had laughingly described Suffolk as "the worst ship in the navy,"[11] and upon taking command Wemyss had supposedly "found the ship plunged in the deepest gloom, the officers discontented, the men unwilling."[12]
At a gathering of the Home Fleet at Cromarty in 1909, Beatty complained to his wife, "Many admirals, and not one that inspires a great deal of confidence, this is private, unless it be Prince Louis, and his national or birth qualifications are against him."[13]
Beatty had reached the top of the Captains' list without the necessary six years' of peacetime service, and an Order-in-Council was promulgated on 2 December, 1909 sanctioning Beatty's promotion to Flag rank, the regulations notwithstanding.[14] No-one has yet offered a satisfactory reason as to why this privilege was granted Beatty. Roskill merely comments that the Order-in-Council was "exceptional proof of the high regard in which he [Beatty] was held."[15] That explanation which Professor Lambert proffers, that "Beatty was a very good seaman, [who] had commanded four ships and had nothing left to prove,"[16] is utterly unconvincing. Hundreds of Beatty's contemporaries on the Captains' list were in command of ships. Many would be retired for age or for lack of sea time, of whom there must have been some who had shown promise. Why was Beatty extended such extraordinary treatment? This mystery notwithstanding, he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 1 January, 1910, vice Cross, promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral.[17]
Flag Rank
He attended the June, 1911 War Course, where he placed fifth out of seven Rear-Admirals. He was judged to be "Well set, an excellent example to the juniors. Smart and able, apt to be rash in conclusion".[18] On the occasion of King George V's coronation he was appointed an Additional Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.) on 19 June, 1911.[19]
Beatty was rescued from half pay by Winston Churchill's becoming First Lord of the Admiralty in late 1911. Fisher gave Churchill a list and told him, "you have heaps of time to choose and it must be a personal choice."[20] Churchill selected Beatty. According to Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair, when Beatty met Churchill the latter said, "You seem very young to be an admiral." To which Beatty replied, "And you seem very young to be First Lord of the Admiralty."[21]
Churchill's approbation led to Beatty's taking temporary command of the Sixth Cruiser Squadron, with his flag in Aboukir for the fleet manoeuvres of July 1912.
The Battle Cruiser Squadron, 1913-1914
On the occasion of King George V's birthday Beatty was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) on 22 June, 1914.[22]
Great War
On 9 August, 1915, Beatty was confirmed in the rank of Vice-Admiral.[23]
Jutland & After
On 15 September he was appointed an Additional Member of the First Class, or Knight Grand Cross, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) dated 31 May.[24]
Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, 1916–1919
Asquith wrote to Balfour on 20 November of a successor to Jellicoe, "I quite realise the difficulty of taking him at this moment from the Grand Fleet, especially as his only possible successor in the command (I am sure you would agree) from the combatant point of view is Beatty, who, with all his fine fighting qualities, is yet comparatively untried in the domain of fleet administration on a large scale."[25]
On 1 January, 1919, Beatty was confirmed in the rank of Admiral, with seniority of 27 November, 1916 while holding command of the Grand Fleet.[26]
First Sea Lord, 1919–1927
On 18 October, 1919, Beatty was granted an Earldom of the United Kingdom, with the courtesy titles Baron Beatty of the North Sea, and of Brooksby in the County of Leicester, and Viscount Borodale of Wexford in the County of Wexford.[27]
Beatty's Service
Chronological Record of Services of Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty[28] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ship | Rank | Period of Service | Remarks | |
From | To | |||
Britannia | Naval Cadet | 15 January, 1884 | 14 January, 1886 | |
Alexandra | Naval Cadet | 15 January, 1886 | 14 May, 1886 | |
Alexandra | Midshipman | 15 May, 1886 | 20 July, 1888 | |
Cruiser | Midshipman | 21 July, 1888 | 20 October, 1888 | |
Alexandra | Midshipman | 21 October, 1888 | 19 March, 1889 | |
Duke of Wellington | Midshipman | 20 March, 1889 | 14 September, 1889 | |
Ruby | Midshipman | 15 September, 1889 | 13 May, 1890 | |
Ruby | Sub-Lieutenant | 14 May, 1890 | 15 May, 1890 | |
Duke of Wellington | Sub-Lieutenant | 16 May, 1890 | 10 June, 1890 | |
Ruby | Sub-Lieutenant | 11 June, 1890 | 31 August, 1890 | |
Duke of Wellington | Sub-Lieutenant | 1 September, 1890 | 1 September, 1890 | |
Excellent | Sub-Lieutenant | 2 September, 1890 | 13 January, 1892 | |
Victory II | Sub-Lieutenant | 14 January, 1892 | 4 February, 1892 | |
Nile | Sub-Lieutenant | 5 February, 1892 | 6 July, 1892 | |
Victoria and Albert | Sub-Lieutenant | 7 July, 1892 | 30 August, 1892 | |
Ruby | Lieutenant (Seniority of 25 August, 1892) |
31 August, 1892 | 30 September, 1893 | |
Camperdown | Lieutenant | 1 October, 1893 | 2 October, 1895 | |
Trafalgar | Lieutenant | 3 October, 1895 | 18 May, 1896 | |
Victory I | Lieutenant | 19 May, 1896 | 2 June, 1896 | |
Egyptian Government | Lieutenant | 3 June, 1896 | 19 November, 1896 | Half Pay |
Victory III for Ranger in command |
Lieutenant | 9 January, 1897 | 30 June, 1897 | |
Egyptian Government | Lieutenant | 1 July, 1897 | 24 October, 1898 | Half Pay |
— | Commander | 15 November, 1898 | ||
Barfleur | Commander | 20 April, 1899 | 12 September, 1900 | Wounded |
Duke of Wellington | Commander | 13 September, 1900 | 30 September, 1900 | |
— | Captain | 9 November, 1900 | Half Pay | |
Juno | Captain | 2 June, 1902 | 17 December, 1902 | Half Pay |
Arrogant | Captain | 3 November, 1903 | 29 September, 1904 | |
Diana | Captain | 30 September, 1904 | 11 October, 1904 | |
Mars | Captain | 12 October, 1904 | 24 October, 1904 | |
Suffolk | Captain | 25 October, 1904 | 19 September, 1905 | |
Victory I | Captain | 20 September, 1905 | 14 October, 1905 | Half Pay |
Naval Adviser to the Army Council | Captain | 21 December, 1906 | 14 December, 1908 | |
Queen | Captain | 15 December, 1908 | 3 January, 1910 | Half Pay |
Naval Secretary to the First Lord | Rear-Admiral (Seniority of 1 January, 1910) |
8 January, 1912 | 1 July, 1912 | |
Aboukir (Sixth Cruiser Squadron) | Rear-Admiral | 2 July, 1912 | 27 July, 1912 | |
Naval Secretary to the First Lord | Rear-Admiral | 28 July, 1912 | 8 January, 1913 | Half Pay |
Lion | Rear-Admiral | 1 March, 1913 | 2 August, 1914 | |
Lion | Acting Vice-Admiral | 3 August, 1914 | 28 January, 1915 | |
Princess Royal | Acting Vice-Admiral | 29 January, 1915 | 8 April, 1915 | |
Lion | Acting Vice-Admiral | 9 April, 1915 | 8 August, 1915 | |
Lion | Vice-Admiral | 9 August, 1915 | 27 November, 1916 | |
Iron Duke | Acting Admiral (Seniority of 27 November, 1916) |
28 November, 1916 | 15 February, 1917 | |
Queen Elizabeth | Acting Admiral | 16 February, 1917 | 31 December, 1918 | |
Queen Elizabeth | Admiral | 1 January, 1919 | 2 April, 1919 | |
Queen Elizabeth | Admiral of the Fleet | 3 April, 1919 | 7 April, 1919 | |
President | Admiral of the Fleet | 8 April, 1919 | 31 October, 1919 | |
First Sea Lord | Admiral of the Fleet | 1 November, 1919 | 29 July, 1927 | Half Pay |
Footnotes
- ↑ Beatty. Our Admiral. p. 2.
- ↑ Beatty. Our Admiral. p. 3.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 26253. p. 544. 2 February, 1892.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 26322. p. 5016. 2 September, 1892.
- ↑ Fremantle. My Naval Career. p. 68.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 26795. p. 6271. 17 November, 1896.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27023. p. 6692. 15 November, 1898.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27245. p. 6855. 9 November, 1900.
- ↑ Chalmers. p. xxi. Gordon. p. 26.
- ↑ "Report of the Conference on the Executive Lists of the Royal Navy. 1913." f. 21. in The National Archives. ADM 1/8370/65.
- ↑ Quoted in Wester Wemyss. Life and Letters. p. 76.
- ↑ Wester Wemyss. Life and Letters. p. 78.
- ↑ Letter of 13 April, 1909. National Maritime Museum. Beatty Papers. BTY/17/13/68-71. Reproduced in Beatty Papers. p. 22.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28317. p. 9514. 14 December, 1909.
- ↑ Roskill. Earl Beatty. p. 43.
- ↑ Lambert. Admirals. p. 344.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28325. p. 30. 4 January, 1910.
- ↑ ADM 203/99. f. 45.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28505. p. 4588. 19 June, 1911.
- ↑ Quoted in Churchill. Winston S. Churchill. p. 532.
- ↑ de Chair. The Sea is Strong. p. 142.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28842. p. 4876. 22 June, 1914.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 29262. p. 8016. 13 August, 1915.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29751. p. 9070. 15 September, 1916.
- ↑ Letter of 20 November, 1916. Balfour Papers. British Library. Add. MSS. 49692. ff. 175-178.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 31104. p. 199. 3 January, 1919.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 31610. p. 12889. 21 October, 1919.
- ↑ Chalmers. Life and Letters of David Beatty. pp. 434-435.
Bibliography
- "Lord Beatty, O.M." (Obituaries). The Times. Wednesday, 11 March, 1936. Issue 47320, pg. 17.
- "Funeral of Lord Beatty" (Obituaries). The Times. Wednesday, 17 March, 1936. Issue 47325, pg. 21.
- Beatty, Charles (1980). Our Admiral. London: W. H. Allen / Virgin Books. ISBN 049102388X.
- Beatty, Admiral of the Fleet David, First Earl Beatty (1989). Ranft, Bryan McL.. ed. The Beatty Papers. Volume I. London: Navy Records Society. ISBN 0859678070.
- Beatty, Admiral of the Fleet David, First Earl Beatty (1993). Ranft, Bryan McL.. ed. The Beatty Papers. Volume II. London: Navy Records Society. ISBN 0859679640.
- Template:BibChalmersBeatty
- Churchill, Randolph Spencer (1967). Winston S. Churchill: Young Statesman 1910–1914. II. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395075262.
- Template:BibdeChairTheSeaisStrong
- Lambert, Andrew (2009). Admirals: The Naval Commanders who made Britain Great. London: Faber and Faber Limited. ISBN 978-0-571-23157-7.
- Template:BibRoskillBeatty
Papers
Service Record
- The National Archives. ADM 196/43.
Naval Offices | ||
Preceded by Ernest C. T. Troubridge |
Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty 1912 – 1913 |
Succeeded by Dudley R. S. de Chair |
Preceded by Lewis Bayly |
Vice-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Cruiser Squadron 1913 – 1915 |
Succeeded by Osmond de B. Brock |
Preceded by New Command |
Battle Cruiser Fleet 1915 – 1916 |
Succeeded by Sir William C. Pakenham |
Preceded by Sir John R. Jellicoe |
Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet 1916 – 1919 |
Succeeded by Command Dispersed |
Preceded by Sir Rosslyn E. Wemyss |
First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff 1919 – 1927 |
Succeeded by Sir Charles E. Madden, Bart. |
- 1871 births
- 1936 deaths
- Personalities
- H.M.S. Britannia (Training Ship) Entrants of January, 1884
- Commanding Officers of H.M.S. Ranger (1895)
- Commanding Officers of H.M.S. Juno (1895)
- Commanding Officers of H.M.S. Arrogant (1896)
- Commanding Officers of H.M.S. Suffolk (1903)
- Naval Advisers to the Army Council
- Commanding Officers of H.M.S. Queen (1902)
- Naval Secretaries to the First Lord of the Admiralty
- Rear-Admirals Commanding, Sixth Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)
- Rear-Admirals Commanding, First Battle Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)
- Vice-Admirals Commanding, Battle Cruiser Fleet (Royal Navy)
- Commanders-in-Chief, Grand Fleet
- First Sea Lords
- Royal Navy Admirals of the Fleet
- Royal Navy Flag Officers
- Royal Navy Officers Wounded on Active Service