Mate (Royal Navy)
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Mate was a commissioned rank of the Royal Navy introduced in 1912 was a vehicle for promotion from the Lower Deck. It was also the name of the rank of Sub-Lieutenant until 1863.
History
Mates ranked with Sub-Lieutenants,[1] and not Lieutenant as historian David Wragg would have it.[2]
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.[3]
Vice-Admiral Sir Benjamin Martin became the first Mate to reach the rank of Rear-Admiral in 1944. He was the first officer from the lower deck to achieve Flag Rank on the Active List for eighty-seven years.[4]
Footnotes
- ↑ The Navy List (October, 1915). p. 951a.
- ↑ Wragg. Royal Navy Handbook, 1914-1918, p. 156.
- ↑ "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
- Wragg, David (2006). Royal Navy Handbook, 1914-1918. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0750942037.
