Difference between revisions of "Charles Frederick Thorp"

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==Bibliography==
 
==Bibliography==
 
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*"Admiral C. E. Thorp" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 2 November, 1954.  Issue '''53078''', col E, pg. 6.
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*"Admiral C. E. Thorp" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 2 November, 1954.  Issue '''53078''', col E, p. 6.
 
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Revision as of 11:19, 27 December 2012

Admiral Charles Frederick Thorp, C.B.E., Royal Navy, Retired (3 June, 1869 – 31 October, 1954) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

Charles Frederick Thorp was born on 3 June, 1869, the son of the Reverend Frederick Thorp, of Burton Overy, Leicestershire.

Thorp's promotion to the rank of Lieutenant was dated 3 June, 1889.[1] On 6 May, 1890, he was appointed to the gun boat Thrush on the North America and West Indies Station, under the command of Prince George of Wales.[2]

Thorp was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1901.[3]

Captain

He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 30 June, 1906.[4]

He was appointed command of the destroyer Grafton on 10 January, 1907.[5]

On 24 March, 1909, he was appointed in command of Terpsichore. He was superseded on 1 December, 1911. On the same day he was appointed in command of the battleship Britannia, Second Division, Home Fleet.[6] She transferred to the Third Battle Squadron, First Fleet, Home Fleets, on 14 May, 1912.[7]

He was superseded in Britannia on 6 December, 1913. Rear-Admiral Lewis Bayly, commanding the Third Battle Squadron, noted of Thorp: "Means well but is very slow, & is in my opinion not smart enough nor knowledgeable enough to command a very modern ship. Handles his ship well."[8]

Great War

On 31 July, 1914, Thorp took command of the protected cruiser Edgar in Cruiser Force B on the Northern Patrol. Edgar paid off on 5 December, and on the 6th Thorp was appointed temporarily to Vivid for Devonport Gunnery School, where he remained until he was appointed to Impregnable as Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, Vice-Admiral Sir George J. S. Warrender, Bart., on 5 June, 1915. He was superseded on 4 July, 1917. In June, 1916, Warrender wrote of Thorp: "A thoroughly reliable offr of the greatest assistance to me as Flag Capt. Every confidence in his judget."[9]

On 15 August, 1917, Thorp was appointed in command of the Eastern Coastguard District.[10] He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 27 September, vice Nicholson,[11] and placed on the Retired List on 28 September.[12] His future in the Navy had been decided at a meeting of the Board of Admiralty on 15 June, when four of the five Sea Lords (Jellicoe dissenting) voted that he be retired on promotion to Flag Rank under Section III of the Order in Council of 9 March, 1914.[13]

He continued to act as District Captain, and on 22 July, 1918, the outgoing Admiral Commanding Coastguard and Reserves, Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil F. Thursby, noted: "A v.g. District Captain."[14]

Post-War

On 28 February, 1919, Thorp was appointed Senior Naval Officer, Harwich.[15] On 11 August he was appointed a Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) for his "valuable services in command of the Eastern Coast Guard District."[16] He was superseded as Senior Naval Officer, Harwich and District Captain on the 15th. On 13 December he reverted to the Retired List. He was invested with the insignia of the C.B.E. on 20 July, 1920, by King George V.

He was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 16 November, 1922,[17] and was advanced to the rank of Admiral on the Retired List on 1 August, 1927.[18]

Thorp died on 31 October, 1954, at the age of eighty-five, from congestive cardiac failure, myocardial degeneration, and senility.[19]

Footnotes

  1. The London Gazette: no. 26007. p. 7553. 31 December, 1889.
  2. The Navy List (March, 1891). p. 258.
  3. The London Gazette: no. 27335. p. 4780. 19 July, 1901.
  4. The London Gazette: no. 27927. p. 4466. 29 June, 1906.
  5. The Navy List (October, 1908). p. 322.
  6. Thorp Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. Book 5. f. 20.
  7. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 23 April, 1912. Issue 39880, col G, p. 16.
  8. ADM 196/88. f. 122.
  9. ADM 196/88. f. 122.
  10. The Navy List (November, 1917). p. 396s.
  11. The London Gazette: no. 30332. p. 10504. 12 October, 1917.
  12. The London Gazette: no. 30332. p. 10505. 12 October, 1917.
  13. The National Archives. ADM 167/52.
  14. ADM 196/88. f. 122.
  15. The Navy List (August, 1919). p. 694.
  16. The London Gazette: no. 31499. p. 10198. 11 August, 1919.
  17. The London Gazette: no. 32769. p. 8213. 21 November, 1922.
  18. The London Gazette: no. 33300. p. 5105. 5 August, 1927.
  19. ADM 196/43.

Bibliography

  • "Admiral C. E. Thorp" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 2 November, 1954. Issue 53078, col E, p. 6.

Service Records


Naval Appointments
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