38-727: Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key , GCB , FRS , ADC (18 January 1821 – 3 March 1888) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado in November 1845 during the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata and took part at the Battle of Bomarsund in August 1854 and the Bombardment of Sveaborg in August 1855 during
76-949: A Companion of the Order of the Bath on 5 July 1855. Key took command of the second-rate HMS Sans Pareil on the East Indies and China Station in January 1856 and went ashore with the naval brigade to take part in the Battle of Canton in December 1857 during the Second Opium War . He was appointed a member of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom in August 1859, became captain of
114-511: A broad band with three narrower bands. In 2001 the number of stars on the shoulder board was increased to four, reflecting the equivalence to the OF-9 four-star ranks of other countries. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined his career path. The command flags flown by an Admiral changed a number of times during this period, there was no Admiral of
152-614: A reduction in the number of guns, from 80 to 70. Sans Pareil was commissioned at Plymouth on 12 November 1852, under the command of Sydney Dacres . She was initially at Lisbon , but by 1853 was serving with the Channel Fleet . The outbreak of the Crimean War led to her being reassigned to the Black Sea . On 14 November 1854 she was driven ashore at Balaklava , Russia . on 22 November, Sans Pareil came under
190-604: The Crimean War . He also went ashore with the naval brigade to take part in the Battle of Canton in December 1857 during the Second Opium War . He later commanded a specially-formed Baltic Fleet created in February 1878 to intimidate Russia from entering Constantinople during the closing stages of the Russo-Turkish War . He became First Naval Lord in August 1879 in which role he was primarily interested in administration and technology rather than strategy: he kept
228-673: The Royal Navy in August 1833. After initial training at the Royal Navy College at Portsmouth , he spent his early career in the third-rate HMS Russell in the Mediterranean Fleet and then, from 1839, in the sixth-rate HMS Cleopatra on the North America and West Indies Station . Promoted to lieutenant on 22 December 1842, Key was posted to the fifth-rate HMS Curacoa on
266-677: The South America Station . In February 1844 he transferred to the steam frigate HMS Gorgon and was in acting command of the schooner HMS Fanny at the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado in November 1845 during the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata . Promoted to commander on 18 November 1845, he was given command of the paddle sloop HMS Bulldog in the Mediterranean Fleet in May 1847. Promoted to captain on 11 October 1850, he then took command of
304-663: The Thames to Scotland. This was part of an effort by Edward I to establish a permanent official staff, even if a permanent naval force was not yet considered necessary. Leybourne's immediate purview was subsequently divided into the roles of Admiral of the West and Admiral of the South while Botetourt's became the Admiral of the North ; the first and last merged as the Admiral of
342-460: The steam frigate HMS Amphion in November 1853 and saw service in the Crimean War . In May 1854, HMS Amphion and the steam screw frigate HMS Conflict captured the town of Liepāja , a town of some 10,000 inhabitants, in Latvia without a shot being fired. He also took part at the Battle of Bomarsund in August 1854 and the Bombardment of Sveaborg in August 1855. He was appointed
380-505: The 18th century, the original nine ranks began to be filled by more than one man per rank, although the rank of admiral of the red was always filled by only one man and was known as Admiral of the Fleet . After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 the rank of admiral of the red was introduced. The number of officers holding each rank steadily increased throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1769 there were 29 admirals of various grades; by
418-783: The Far East. Key and the Sans Pareil were present in China during the Second Opium War , with Key commanding the naval brigade at the capture of Canton on 28 December 1857. Key was invalided back to Britain in April, and was replaced by Captain Julian Foulston Slight. He was in turn replaced by Captain Rochfort Maguire , who remained in command until her return to Plymouth at the end of 1859. Sans Pareil
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#1732781047991456-415: The Fleet rather than Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey , who as senior active admiral nearing the age limit would customarily have received the promotion; John Baird became an Admiral; James Erskine a vice-admiral; and Harry Rawson a rear-admiral. Ironically, all these younger men would die at least a decade before de Horsey. In the time before squadron distinctions were removed or age limits instituted,
494-500: The NATO rank code OF-9 , outranked only by the rank of admiral of the fleet . Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of rear admiral , vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. The rank of admiral is currently the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, admiral of the fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of
532-724: The Navy was properly prepared for the Panjdeh Incident in 1885 when Russian forces seized Afghan territory at Panjdeh . Having been made a member of the Privy Council on 11 August 1884, he retired in June 1885 and died at his home, Laggan House, in Maidenhead on 3 March 1888. On 28 April 1856 at Gonville, Jersey , Key married Charlotte Lavinia McNeil, daughter of Edmund and Rose McNeil. Astley and Charlotte's daughter
570-565: The North and West in 1364; and from 1408–1414 they were all reunited as the High Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine , the forerunner to the present Lord High Admiral . (During this process, the short-lived post of Admiral of the Narrow Seas was used in 1412 and 1413. It was subsequently revived from 1523 to 1688.) The first royal commission as Admiral to a naval officer was granted in 1303 to Gervase Alard . By 1344, it
608-578: The Red rank until that post was introduced in 1805 prior to this the highest rank an admiral could attain to was Admiral of the White who then flew the Cross of St George . The next promotion step up from that was to Admiral of the Fleet. [REDACTED] Media related to Admirals of the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons HMS Sans Pareil (1851) HMS Sans Pareil was a 70-gun screw propelled ship of
646-579: The close of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816 there were 190 admirals in service. Thereafter the number of admirals was reduced and in 1853 there were 79 admirals. Although admirals were promoted according to strict seniority, appointments to command were made at the discretion of the Board of Admiralty . As there were invariably more admirals in service than there were postings, many admirals remained unemployed, especially in peacetime. The organisation of
684-754: The command of Acting Captain Leopold Heath . He commanded her until February 1855, when Captain Woodford John Williams took over. In September 1855 Sans Pareil was used to transport mortars to the Baltic . Captain Astley Cooper Key took over on 9 January 1856, and was placed in charge of a division of gunboats . After the end of the war Sans Pareil was used to return troops from the Crimea , and by March 1857, had been sent to
722-469: The concept of yellow admirals (formally known as granting an officer the position of "Rear-Admiral without distinction of squadron"), being captains promoted to flag rank on the understanding that they would immediately retire on half-pay . This was the navy's first attempt at superannuating older officers. During the Interregnum , the rank of admiral was replaced by that of general at sea . In
760-503: The concept of an English navy and its supposed admirals and lord high admirals back as far as Alfred the Great , counting several kings as themselves admirals, along with various dukes and earls who commanded fleets at prominent engagements such as Hubert de Burgh off Sandwich in 1217 . Other lists begin their count at King Henry III 's appointment of Sir Richard de Lucy on 28 August 1223 or 29 August 1224. A similar commission
798-431: The cost of running the Navy within budgets, sanctioned the construction of six Admiral-class battleships and ensured the Navy was properly prepared for the Panjdeh Incident in 1885 when Russian forces seized Afghan territory at Panjdeh . Astley Cooper Key was the son of Charles Aston Key , a well-known surgeon, and Anne Key (née Cooper). His father was a pupil of the pioneering surgeon Astley Cooper . Key joined
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#1732781047991836-499: The death of James Hawkins-Whitshed resulted in ten men moving up to higher ranks. In 1996, the rank of admiral of the fleet was put in abeyance in peacetime, except for members of the Royal family but was resurrected on an honorary basis in 2014 for the appointment of Lord Boyce . Admirals of the fleet continue to hold their rank on the active list for life. The current ranks are rear admiral, vice admiral, admiral and admiral of
874-519: The fleet his deputy, the vice admiral , would be in the leading portion or van . Below him was another admiral at the rear of the fleet, called rear admiral . Promotion up the ladder was in accordance with seniority in the rank of post-captain , and rank was held for life, so the only way to be promoted was for the person above on the list to die or resign. In 1747 the Admiralty restored an element of merit selection to this process by introducing
912-596: The fleet into coloured squadrons was finally abandoned in 1864. The Red Ensign was allocated to the Merchant Navy , the White Ensign became the flag of the Royal Navy, and the Blue Ensign was allocated to the naval reserve and naval auxiliary vessels. The 18th- and 19th-century Royal Navy also maintained a positional rank known as port admiral . A port admiral was typically a veteran captain who served as
950-417: The fleet, also known as flag ranks because admirals, known as flag officers , are entitled to fly a personal flag . An admiral of the fleet flies a Union Flag at the masthead, while an admiral flies a St George's cross (red cross on white). Vice admirals and rear admirals fly a St George's cross with one or two red discs in the hoist, respectively. The rank of admiral itself is shown in its sleeve lace by
988-417: The line of the Royal Navy . Sans Pareil was initially designed as an 80-gun second rate , to the lines of the earlier HMS Sans Pareil , a French prize captured in 1794. She was ordered on 27 February 1843 and laid down on 1 September 1845 at Devonport Dockyard . The rapid development of naval technology during this period led to fears that she would be obsolete before she could be launched, and work
1026-411: The official ranks became admiral of the white and so forth, however each admiral's command flags were different and changed over time. The Royal Navy has had vice and rear admirals regularly appointed to the post since at least the 16th century. When in command of the fleet, the admiral would be in either the lead or the middle portion of the fleet. When the admiral commanded from the middle portion of
1064-734: The royal family. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is general ; and in the Royal Air Force , it is air chief marshal . The title admiral was not used in Europe until the mid-13th century and did not reach England before the end of that century. Similarly, although some royal vessels are attested under King John , the English long depended upon levies of their subjects' vessels for any major naval expeditions. Nonetheless, historians have sometimes extended
1102-471: The shore commander of a British naval port and was in charge of supplying, refitting, and maintaining the ships docked at harbour. The problem of promoting strictly by seniority was well illustrated by the case of Provo Wallis who served (including time being carried on the books while still a child) for 96 years. When he died in 1892 four admirals under him could immediately be promoted. By request of Queen Victoria , John Edmund Commerell became Admiral of
1140-550: The steam reserve at Devonport in July 1860 and went on to be captain of HMS Excellent and superintendent of the Royal Navy College at Portsmouth in July 1863. Key had a considerable share in advising as to the reorganization of naval administration. Promoted to rear admiral on 20 November 1866, Key was made Director of Naval Ordnance and became an expert on muzzle-loading guns, this being recognised when he
1178-498: Was appointed First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp to the Queen on 15 June 1879. Key became First Naval Lord in August 1879 and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 24 November 1882. As First Sea Lord he was primarily interested in administration and technology rather than strategy: he kept the cost of running the Navy within budgets, sanctioned the construction of six Admiral-class battleships and ensured
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1216-478: Was artist and author Rose Champion de Crespigny . Lady Charlotte died on 30 December 1874. In October 1877 at Halifax, Key married, secondly, Evelyn Bartolucci, niece of the Governor of Bermuda, Major General John Lefroy , the daughter of Vincenzo Bartolucci of Rome, and the granddaughter of General Luigi Bartolucci. Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy , which equates to
1254-537: Was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 4 June 1868. He went on to be Admiral Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard in July 1869 and Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard in June 1870 and subsequently second-in-command in the Mediterranean . Key was made President-designate of the proposed Royal Naval College, Greenwich , which was established by him and which opened the following year. He
1292-615: Was given to Sir Thomas Moulton in 1264, who held the formal title of Keeper of the Sea and the Sea Ports. On 8 March 1287, Sir William de Leybourne was specifically commissioned as the Admiral of the Seas of England ( Latin : Admirallus Maris Angliae ) and, in 1294, captain of all sailors and mariners of the king's dominions. Sir John de Botetourt served under him as warden at sea from
1330-424: Was only used as a rank at sea for a captain in charge of one or more fleets. In Elizabethan times the fleet grew large enough to be organised into squadrons . The squadron's admiral flew a red ensign , the vice admirals white , and the rear admirals blue on the aft mast of his ship. As the squadrons grew, each was eventually commanded by an admiral (with vice admirals and rear admirals commanding sections) and
1368-459: Was promoted to vice admiral on 30 April 1873 and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 24 May 1873. He became Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station in December 1875 and was then asked to command a specially-formed Baltic Fleet created in February 1878 to intimidate Russia from entering Constantinople during the closing stages of the Russo-Turkish War . Promoted to full admiral on 21 March 1878, he
1406-554: Was recommissioned on 5 June 1862 under the command of Captain Arthur Parry Eardley-Wilmot, replacing HMS Nile as the Queenstown guardship . In November 1861 she was used to transport troops to Mexico , along with HMS Donegal and HMS Conqueror . Her final captain was George Le Geyt Bowyear, and Sans Pareil spent 1863 conveying marines to China, and returning invalids home. Sans Pareil
1444-408: Was suspended on 2 October 1848. A new design was drawn up utilising steam power, which was approved on 18 May 1849, and the conversion was duly carried out. She was eventually launched on 18 March 1851, having cost a total of £126,432 to build, with the machinery costing another £30,888. The conversion had lengthened her by 7 ft (2.1 m), while the extra weight of the machinery necessitated
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