Allan Frederic Everett

Admiral Sir Allan F. Everett as a Rear-Admiral.
Portrait: © National Portrait Gallery, London.

Admiral SIR Allan Frederic Everett, K.C.M.G., K.C.V.O., C.B., Royal Navy, Retired (22 February, 1868 – 22 January, 1938) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

Everett attained 994 marks in the entrance examination, which was considered a passing grade, but not one high enough for selection (1,068 was the lowest accepted score). However, because four candidates who had been nominated for the Navy had failed the examination, and another candidate's health precluded him from joining, cadetships were given to the five candidates who had scored the highest in the exam. Of these, Everett had placed fourth.

Everett was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 June, 1891.

On 3 March, 1894, Everett was appointed Flag Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral Compton E. Domvile in the Mediterranean.

In April, 1895, he was commended for ingenuity and dedication in suggesting the use of lamps with multiple fibres.

Everett was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1901.

In 1904, a collision between Myrmidon under Everett's command and the destroyer Coquette was judged to be attributable to an error by Everett. In consequence, Their Lordships cautioned him to be more careful in future. He was to make up for this misstep through his efforts to salve the wrecked destroyer Chamois, which elicited praise in December..

Captain

Everett was promoted to the rank of Captain on 31 December, 1905.

He was appointed command of the armoured cruiser Cumberland on 22 April, 1908.

He was appointed command of the battleship King Edward VII on 9 August, 1910.

He was appointed command of the battleship Neptune on 5 December, 1911.

Everett was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Civil Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.) on 1 January, 1914.

Vice-Admiral Humphrey Hugh Smith recounts an amusing anecdote of Everett at the time of the 1914 Spring Cruise:

About half-past two in the middle watch the Captain of the Fleet came out of the fleet flagship's chart-house and leaned wearily against the rails of the fore bridge. Suddenly the sound of a merrily whistled tune struck him in the ear. This sound seemed to come up from down below the fore bridge. The Captain of the Fleet peered down into the inky blackness beneath him and shouted out: "Dry up, you noisy son of a bitch!" The whistling promptly ceased. A few minutes later the Commander-in-Chief came up on to the fore bridge, stood alongside the Captain of the Fleet, and discussed the general situation. After a while he remarked: "I am sorry, Captain of the Fleet, that you do not like music." "But I am very fond of music, sir," protested the Captain of the Fleet. "Well, if you are really fond of music," continued the Commander-in-Chief, "you would not have been so rude to me just now when I was trying to whistle."

Great War

When war arrived, Everett was serving in Iron Duke as Captain of the Fleet, though he held the rank of Commodore, First Class. Jellicoe would later endorse Everett's "constant and most loyal assistance" as Captain of the Fleet from 4 August 1914 until 9 June, 1915 when Everett was appointed Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord. This would be treated as a Mention in Despatches.

Everett became the Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty on 16 December, 1916, serving as a Commodore, First Class until he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 27 April, 1917.

As the war was ending, Everett was appointed to the light cruiser Calliope to command the Fourth Light Cruiser Squadron.

Post-War

Upon the dispersal of the Grand Fleet, Everett received command of the Eighth Light Cruiser Squadron, dated 10 March, 1919. He held this command until 8 April, 1921.

He was appointed First Naval Member of the Australian Naval Board on 15 September, 1921. He ceased duty as First Naval Member on 18 December, 1923, and went on 67 days' full paid leave.

On 3 May, 1922, he was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 3 May, 1922.

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief on the China Station in succession to Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur C. Leveson, dated 10 September, 1924. He was invalided on 1 April, 1925, for what was eventually diagnosed as "psychasthenia".

He was placed on the Retired List, medically unfit, on 12 August, 1925. He was advanced to the rank of Admiral on the Retired List on 8 November, 1926.

Everett died at 24 Morpeth Gardens, London, on 22 January, 1938. His funeral service was held at St. Jude's, Southsea, on 26 January.

Bibliography

• "Admiral Sir Allan Everett" (Obituaries). The Times. Monday, 24 January, 1938. Issue 47900, col B, p. 14.
• Smith, Vice-Admiral Humphrey Hugh, D.S.O. (1936). An Admiral Never Forgets: Reminiscences of thirty-seven years on the active list of the Royal Navy. London: Seeley, Service & Co. Limited.

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/88.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/43.

See Also

• Wikipedia
• the H.M.S. Mercury Papers at the National Maritime Museum contain many materials related to Everett

Naval Appointments
Preceded by ?	Captain of H.M. T.B. 11 6 May, 1892	Succeeded by ?
Preceded by Ernest C. Hardy	Captain of H.M. T.B. 48 26 Jul, 1892 – 10 Aug, 1892	Succeeded by ?
Preceded by Hugh Evan-Thomas	Captain of Portsmouth Signal School 12 Nov, 1900 – 1 Jan, 1904	Succeeded by Douglas R. L. Nicholson
Preceded by ?	Superintendent of Signal Schools 9 Apr, 1901	Succeeded by Douglas R. L. Nicholson
Preceded by Cecil F. Lambert	Captain of H.M.S. Myrmidon 1 Jan, 1904 – 1 Jun, 1904	Succeeded by Archibald T. Stewart
Preceded by Archibald T. Stewart	Captain of H.M.S. Exe 1 Jun, 1904 – 22 Apr, 1906	Succeeded by Arthur T. Blackwood
Preceded by Henry G. G. Sandeman	Captain of Portsmouth Signal School 1 Aug, 1906 – 22 Apr, 1908	Succeeded by Herbert MacI. Edwards
Preceded by Charles F. Sowerby	Captain of H.M.S. Cumberland 22 Apr, 1908 – 6 Jun, 1910	Succeeded by The Hon. Algernon D. E. H. Boyle
Preceded by Osmond de B. Brock	Captain of H.M.S. King Edward VII 9 Aug, 1910 – 24 Jul, 1911	Succeeded by Adolphus H. Williamson
Preceded by Frederick D. Gilpin-Brown	Captain of H.M.S. Hercules 24 Jul, 1911 – 5 Dec, 1911	Succeeded by Ronald A. Hopwood
Preceded by Charles Martin-de-Bartolomé	Captain of H.M.S. Neptune 5 Dec, 1911 – 9 May, 1913	Succeeded by Robert N. Lawson
Preceded by William O. Boothby	Captain of the Fleet, Home Fleets 9 May, 1913 – 4 Aug, 1914	Succeeded by Allan F. Everett as Captain of the Fleet, Grand Fleet
Preceded by Allan F. Everett as Captain of the Fleet, Home Fleets	Captain of the Fleet, Grand Fleet 4 Aug, 1914 – 9 Jun, 1915	Succeeded by Lionel Halsey
Preceded by Thomas E. Crease	Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord 15 Jun, 1915 – 16 Dec, 1916	Succeeded by Argentine H. Alington
Preceded by Charles Bartolomé	Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty 16 Dec, 1916 – 26 Oct, 1918	Succeeded by Sir Rudolf W. Bentinck
Preceded by Rudolf W. Bentinck as Commodore 2nd Class Commanding, Fourth Light Cruiser Squadron	Rear-Admiral Commanding, Fourth Light Cruiser Squadron 26 Oct, 1918 – 9 Mar, 1919	Succeeded by Command Abolished
Preceded by William A. H. Kelly as Commodore 1st Class Commanding, Eighth Light Cruiser Squadron	Rear-Admiral Commanding, Eighth Light Cruiser Squadron 10 Mar, 1919 – 15 Apr, 1921	Succeeded by Command Abolished
Preceded by Edmund P. F. G. Grant	First Naval Member of the Australian Naval Board 15 Sep, 1921 – 18 Dec, 1923	Succeeded by George F. Hyde
Preceded by Sir Arthur C. Leveson	Commander-in-Chief, China Station 10 Sep, 1924 – 12 May, 1925	Succeeded by Sir Edwyn S. Alexander-Sinclair