Lewis Bayly

Admiral SIR Lewis Bayly, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., C.V.O., Royal Navy (28 September, 1857 – 16 May, 1938) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

Bayly was born at Charlton, Kent, on 28 September, 1857, the third son of Captain Neville Bayly, of the Royal Horse Artillery, by his wife, Henrietta Charlotte, daughter of General Charles George Gordon, of the Royal Artillery. He was a great-great-nephew of Admiral Sir Richard Keats. He entered the Royal Navy as a Navigating Cadet on 15 July, 1870, and was appointed to the training ship Britannia at Dartmouth, and left on 18 July, 1872, after the customary two years. He gained nine months' time towards the rank of Navigating Midshipman, which rank he was rated on 18 October. He was appointed to the frigate Ariadne, which cruised the Atlantic and Mediterranean for a year.

In June 1879, Bayly dissappointed the Board of Admiralty with his "want of skill & diligence in navigation of the Lynx on her way home."

Bayly was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 10 August, 1881.

He was appointed to Vernon on 9 September, 1883 to qualify as a torpedo Lieutenant. He emerged with a first-class certificate in April, 1885, having been awarded a prize of £80.

Bayly was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1894.

After a brief stint in Endymion in 1896 served as Commander under Captain Edward H. Gamble aboard the second class protected cruiser H.M.S. Talbot from mid-September until 31 March, 1899.

Captain

On 31 December, 1899, he was promoted to the rank of Captain. On 15 July, 1900, he was appointed Naval Attaché to the United States and Japan. He ceased duty as Naval Attaché on 10 July, 1902. His successor, Captain (later Admiral Sir) Dudley R. S. de Chair, later recalled that Bayly "had been recalled, owing to his rather indiscreet conduct there."

He was appointed to command the second class protected cruiser Talbot on 11 July. He paid Talbot off on 12 August, 1904. After a period abroad he was appointed in command of the battleship Queen on 20 November, and assumed command on 8 December. On 5 March, 1905, he was appointed in command of scout cruiser Attentive as Commodore, Second Class in command of Destroyer Flotillas in Home Waters.

On the occasion of the King's inspection of the Home Fleet Bayly was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (C.V.O.) on 3 August, 1907.

Bayly was appointed to the third class protected cruiser Topaze as Commodore, Second Class, in charge of destroyers in commission with full crews, on 20 January, 1908. On 22 March he was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII, vice Walker. He transferred his broad pendant to the first class protected cruiser Blenheim on 26 April. On 27 November he was appointed to Terpsichore with the rank of Commodore, First Class for command of the Royal Naval War College. Edmond J. W. Slade, a predecessor in the post, told George F. King-Hall that "he did not think Bayly a good choice."

Flag Rank

Bayly was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 2 December, 1908, vice Reynolds.

He 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 21 September, 1912. He was invested with the insignia of the order by the King in an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 10 October.

On 1 January, 1914, he 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.).

Upon learning of his appointment to take command of the First Battle Squadron in June 1914, Bayly wrote to First Lord Winston Churchill: "Keep the people across the North Sea quiet till July, then, as soon as you like." On 23 July it was announced that Bayly's tenure in command of the First Battle Squadron would be three years rather than two.

Great War

On 14 September Bayly was confirmed in the rank of Vice-Admiral, and on 20 December he was appointed to command the Channel Fleet.

Loss of the Formidable

During December the Sixth Battle Squadron had carried out gunnery practice off Portland. Upon assuming command of the Channel Fleet on 17 December Bayly decided that the Fifth Battle Squadron should do the same at the end of the month. The Admiralty gave its permission on 26 December, and at 10:00 on 30 December Bayly left Sheerness flying his flag in Lord Nelson with the battleships Agamemnon, Queen, Implacable, Prince of Wales, Venerable, London and Formidable, and the light cruisers Topaze and Diamond. At 1430 on the 30th the six escorting destroyers of the Harwich Force left the squadron at Folkestone. Throughout the 31st, Bayly's ships carried out "excercises and manœvres" within twenty-five miles of Portland Bill. In the evening the ships went into night cruising stations, the battleships in line ahead two cables apart (approximately twelve hundred feet). Formidable was the last battleship in line, with the light cruisers a mile astern of her. Per an Admiralty Fleet Order, at 19:00 Bayly ordered a 16-point alteration of course when abreast the Needles, consequently steaming Westward. Another 16-point turn was scheduled for 03:00 on 1 January. There was a Southerly wind increasing from Force 4 to 5. About 02:20 in the morning on New Year's Day, 1915, while the squadron was passing through a number of fishing craft, Formidable was struck by a torpedo on her starboard side abreast the fore funnel and was seen to haul out of line at 02:30. Forty-five minutes later the German submarine which had fired the torpedo, U-24, fired another torpedo into Formidable, which sank at about 04:45. Despite the best efforts of Topaze and Diamond, out of a complement of 780 men Formidable lost 35 officers and 512 men dead, including Captain Arthur N. Loxley.

After being severely censured by the Admiralty for his perceived mishandling of his squadron, Bayly asked for a Court-Martial, but this was refused. He was relieved in command of the Channel Fleet by Vice-Admiral Bethell on 17 January and was appointed President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich on 18 January. On the same day the Prime Minister, Herbert H. Asquith, wrote to Venetia Stanley: "Winston tells me that they have recalled Lewis Bayly from the command of the Channel Fleet as a consequence of his loss of 'Formidable', & have put Admiral Bethell in his place. It is rather disquieting, for Bayly was supposed to be almost the pick of our younger Admirals. Bethell, whom I used to see on the C.I.D., is to my thinking no flier. We really seem to have better reserves in the way of Commanders in the Army than in the Navy."

Fisher was scathing, writing to Churchill on 14 January, "He has lost our confidence and that is sufficient reason for his removal and no other reason should be given him! When you give your housemaid warning - however excellent she may be - you don't have to explain. You don't like her so she goes!"

By 23 January however Fisher was advocating Bayly being given command of a squadron of monitors, presumably as part of one of the many invasion plans being mooted at this time.

On 18 June Jellicoe wrote to Admiral Sir Henry B. Jackson, the new First Sea Lord, about combatting the submarine menace: "I suggest Bayly for the general command of all East coast patrols, but giving him a striking force that is kept concentrated."

Coast of Ireland

He was appointed Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland on 20 July, 1915 and assumed command on 22 July. His title was changed to Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland on 4 June, 1917. The German submarine campaign was at its height and the frequent sinkings in the Western Approaches could only be checked by extremely vigorous defence measures and by exploiting new methods of attacking the submarines. Bayly had all the qualities for conducting the anti-submarine campaign, but for the first two years he never had sufficient ships for the large area for which he was responsible, until, in 1917, welcome reinforcements from the United States began to arrive.

Bayly was promoted to the rank of Admiral on 23 October, 1917, vice Carden, placed on the Retired List. In the King's Birthday Honours of 3 June, 1918, Bayly was appointed an Additional Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (K.C.M.G.). He struck his flag on 1 April, 1919. His request for his service in Ireland to count as Foreign Service for leave purposes was refused.

Retirement

On 1 July, 1919, Bayly was placed on the Retired List at his own request.

In 1921 Bayly visited the United States as the guest of the Queenstown Association, a club formed by officers who had served under him from 1915 to 1918, and of which he was vice-president. In 1934 he was again the guest of the American navy when, at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, he unveiled a memorial, which the Secretary of the Navy had granted him permission to erect, to his American chief of staff, Vice Admiral Pringle.

Bibliography

• "Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 17 May, 1938. Issue 47996, col B, p. 18.
• Bayly, Admiral Sir Lewis (1939). Pull Together!: The Memoirs of Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd..
• De Chair, Admiral Sir Dudley (1961). The Sea is Strong. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd..

See Also

• Wikipedia

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/87.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/38.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/22.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/19.

Naval Appointments
Preceded by The Hon. Stanley C. J. Colville	Rear-Admiral Commanding, First Cruiser Squadron 1911 – 1913	Succeeded by Renamed First Battle Cruiser Squadron
Preceded by Former First Cruiser Squadron	Rear-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Cruiser Squadron 1913	Succeeded by David R. Beatty
Preceded by Sir Cecil Burney	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Fleet 1914 – 1915	Succeeded by The Hon. Sir Alexander E. Bethell

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Charles L. Ottley	Captain of H.M. T.B. 80 22 Jul, 1890 – 25 Aug, 1890	Succeeded by William L. Grant
Preceded by Dudley R. S. de Chair	Captain of H.M. T.B. 60 8 Jul, 1891 – 14 Aug, 1891	Succeeded by Arthur K. Waistell
Preceded by Frederick T. Hamilton	Captain of H.M.S. Rattlesnake 21 Jul, 1892 – c. 18 Aug, 1892[Inference]	Succeeded by Lewis Bayly
Preceded by Lewis Bayly	Captain of H.M.S. Rattlesnake 11 Jul, 1893 – 21 Aug, 1893	Succeeded by Thomas C. Fenton
Preceded by Archibald T. Carter	Captain of H.M.S. Indefatigable 29 Jul, 1899 – 17 Sep, 1899	Succeeded by Frederick L. Campbell
Preceded by Reginald N. Custance	Royal Navy Naval Attaché at Washington, D.C. 15 Jul, 1900 – 10 Jul, 1902	Succeeded by Dudley R. S. De Chair
Preceded by Frederick G. Stopford	Captain of H.M.S. Talbot 11 Jul, 1902	Succeeded by Henry J. L. Clarke
Preceded by Alfred L. Winsloe	Captain of H.M.S. Queen 8 Dec, 1904 – 4 Mar, 1907	Succeeded by Ernest C. T. Troubridge
Preceded by Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt	Captain of H.M.S. Attentive 5 Mar, 1907 – 19 Jan, 1908	Succeeded by Wilmot S. Nicholson
Preceded by Henry Blackett	Captain of H.M.S. Topaze 20 Jan, 1908 – 26 Nov, 1908	Succeeded by Edward F. B. Charlton
Preceded by Robert S. Lowry	In Command of the Royal Naval War College 27 Nov, 1908 – 23 Feb, 1911	Succeeded by Sir Henry B. Jackson
Preceded by The Hon. Stanley C. J. Colville	Rear-Admiral Commanding, First Cruiser Squadron 24 Feb, 1911 – early Jan, 1913	Succeeded by Ernest C. T. Troubridge
Preceded by Formation previously known as First Cruiser Squadron	Rear-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Cruiser Squadron late 1912 – 1 Mar, 1913	Succeeded by Sir David R. Beatty as Vice-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Cruiser Squadron
Preceded by Cecil Burney	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Third Battle Squadron 1 Jul, 1913 – 21 Jun, 1914	Succeeded by Sir Edward E. Bradford
Preceded by The Hon. Sir Stanley C. J. Colville	Vice-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Squadron 22 Jun, 1914 – 19 Dec, 1914	Succeeded by Sir Cecil Burney
Preceded by Sir Cecil Burney	Vice-Admiral in Command, Fifth Battle Squadron 20 Dec, 1914	Succeeded by The Hon. Sir Alexander E. Bethell
Preceded by The Hon. Sir Alexander E. Bethell	President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich 18 Jan, 1915	Succeeded by Sir Henry B. Jackson
Preceded by Sir Charles H. Coke	Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland 20 Jul, 1915	Succeeded by Reginald G. O. Tupper as Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches