Difference between revisions of "Charles Frederick Thorp"

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He was appointed command of the {{UK-Grafton|f=t}} on 10 January, 1907.<ref>''The Navy List'' (October, 1908).  p. 322.</ref>
 
He was appointed command of the {{UK-Grafton|f=t}} on 10 January, 1907.<ref>''The Navy List'' (October, 1908).  p. 322.</ref>
  
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On 24 March, 1909, he was appointed in command of [[H.M.S. Terpsichore (1890)|''Terpsichore'']].  He was superseded on 1 December, 1911.  On the same day he was appointed in command of the battleship [[H.M.S. Britannia (1904)|''Britannia'']], Second Division, [[Home Fleet (Royal Navy)|Home Fleet]].<ref>Thorp Service Record.  The National Archives.  ADM 196/43.  Book 5.  f. 20.</ref>  She transferred to the {{UK-BS|3}}, First Fleet, [[Home Fleets (Royal Navy)|Home Fleets]], on 14 May, 1912.<ref>"Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 23 April, 1912.  Issue '''39880''', col G, p. 16.</ref>
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On 24 March, 1909, he was appointed in command of [[H.M.S. Terpsichore (1890)|''Terpsichore'']].  He was superseded on 1 December, 1911.  On the same day he was appointed in command of the battleship [[H.M.S. Britannia (1904)|''Britannia'']], Second Division, [[Home Fleet (Royal Navy)|Home Fleet]].<ref>ADM 196/43.  f. 20.</ref>  She transferred to the {{UK-BS|3}}, First Fleet, [[Home Fleets (Royal Navy)|Home Fleets]], on 14 May, 1912.<ref>"Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 23 April, 1912.  Issue '''39880''', col G, p. 16.</ref>
  
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He was superseded in ''Britannia'' on 6 December, 1913.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."<ref>ADM 196/88.  f. 122.</ref>
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In the 1913 [[Battle Practice]] ''Britannia'' received the third lowest score of any pre-dreadnought battleship, placing 17th out of 19.<ref>''Result of Battle Practice in His Majesty's Fleet, 1913''.  p. 4.</ref>  The First Lord of the Admiralty, [[Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill|Winston Churchill]], was moved to write to his [[Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty|Naval Secretary]] on 18 September:
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<blockquote>The very bad firing of the "Britannia" makes it necessary for me to ask you to examine the records of Captain Thorp, and report to me specially on him.  Please ascertain whether this is not one of the ships which fired very badly in the Mediterranean on the occasion of the Board's visit.<ref>Minute of 18 September, 1913.  Churchill Papers.  Churchill Archives Centre.  CHAR 13/6A/51.</blockquote>
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Thorp was informed by the Admiralty that for placing an officer of the [[Royal Marine Artillery]] in charge of the gunnery control of the ship, instead of the Lieutenant (G), he was guilty of committing "an error judgement which had a detrimental effect on the ship's fighting efficiency" and that the reasons he gave did not justify his actions.<ref>ADM 196/88.  f. 122.</ref>He was superseded in ''Britannia'' on 6 December.<ref>ADM 196/43.  f. 20.</ref> 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."<ref>ADM 196/88.  f. 122.</ref>
  
 
==Great War==
 
==Great War==

Revision as of 14:13, 26 November 2013

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]

In the 1913 Battle Practice Britannia received the third lowest score of any pre-dreadnought battleship, placing 17th out of 19.[8] The First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, was moved to write to his Naval Secretary on 18 September:

The very bad firing of the "Britannia" makes it necessary for me to ask you to examine the records of Captain Thorp, and report to me specially on him. Please ascertain whether this is not one of the ships which fired very badly in the Mediterranean on the occasion of the Board's visit.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tagHe was superseded in Britannia on 6 December.[9] 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."[10]

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."[11]

On 15 August, 1917, Thorp was appointed in command of the Eastern Coastguard District.[12] He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 27 September, vice Nicholson,[13] and placed on the Retired List on 28 September.[14] 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.[15]

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."[16]

Post-War

On 28 February, 1919, Thorp was appointed Senior Naval Officer, Harwich.[17] 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."[18] 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,[19] and was advanced to the rank of Admiral on the Retired List on 1 August, 1927.[20]

Thorp died on 31 October, 1954, at the age of eighty-five, from congestive cardiac failure, myocardial degeneration, and senility.[21]

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. ↑ ADM 196/43. f. 20.
  7. ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 23 April, 1912. Issue 39880, col G, p. 16.
  8. ↑ Result of Battle Practice in His Majesty's Fleet, 1913. p. 4.
  9. ↑ ADM 196/43. f. 20.
  10. ↑ ADM 196/88. f. 122.
  11. ↑ ADM 196/88. f. 122.
  12. ↑ The Navy List (November, 1917). p. 396s.
  13. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 30332. p. 10504. 12 October, 1917.
  14. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 30332. p. 10505. 12 October, 1917.
  15. ↑ The National Archives. ADM 167/52.
  16. ↑ ADM 196/88. f. 122.
  17. ↑ The Navy List (August, 1919). p. 694.
  18. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 31499. p. 10198. 11 August, 1919.
  19. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 32769. p. 8213. 21 November, 1922.
  20. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33300. p. 5105. 5 August, 1927.
  21. ↑ 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
Template:CatAdmiral
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