41-655: Admiral Sir Edward Belcher KCB (27 February 1799 – 18 March 1877) was a British naval officer, hydrographer , and explorer. Born in Nova Scotia , he was the great-grandson of Jonathan Belcher , who served as a colonial governor of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. Belcher was born in Halifax , Nova Scotia , the second son of Andrew Belcher and entered the Royal Navy in 1812. In 1825, he accompanied Frederick William Beechey 's expedition to
82-511: 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
123-589: A channel at the northern tip of Devon Island , hinting that Franklin might have used it to escape to Baffin Bay . When the ice broke up that summer, he pushed his ships up Wellington Channel and became trapped again. By February 1854, Belcher was becoming increasingly worried about the safety of his ships and men. In April he ordered Kellett to abandon his ships and return by sledge to North Star . Belcher abandoned his two ships in late July. Aided by two ships that showed up at Beechey Island ( Phoenix and Breadalbane ),
164-762: A floating hell.” Following his last active service, Belcher was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1867, and an admiral in 1872. He was briefly married to Diana Jolliffe, stepdaughter of Captain Peter Heywood ; that marriage ending upon her application for legal separation for his having infected her with venereal disease. Belcher is commemorated in Hong Kong through Belcher's Street , Belcher Bay and The Belcher's in Kennedy Town . His name
205-729: Is Precambrian gneiss and Paleozoic siltstones and shales . The highest point is the Devon Ice Cap at 1,920 m (6,300 ft) which is part of the Arctic Cordillera . Devon Island contains several small mountain ranges , such as the Treuter Mountains , Haddington Range and the Cunningham Mountains . The notable similarity of its surface to that of Mars has attracted interest from scientists. Robert Bylot and William Baffin were
246-692: Is also commemorated in the Belcher Islands , in the Canadian Arctic . He is also commemorated with a plaque in the Admiralty Garden, CFB Halifax . A highly venomous seasnake , Hydrophis belcheri , is also named in his honour. Belcher collected the holotype which is housed in the Natural History Museum, London . Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy , which equates to
287-556: Is also notable for the presence of the Haughton impact crater , created some 39 million years ago when a meteorite about 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter crashed into what were then forests. The impact left a crater about 23 km (14 mi) in diameter, which was a lake for several million years. The Devon Island Research Station was established in 1960 and it is maintained by the Arctic Institute of North America . It
328-722: Is an island in Canada and the largest uninhabited island (no permanent residents) in the world. It is located in Baffin Bay , Qikiqtaaluk Region , Nunavut , Canada. It is one of the largest members of the Arctic Archipelago , the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands , Canada's sixth-largest island , and the 27th-largest island in the world . It has an area of 55,247 km (21,331 sq mi) (slightly smaller than Croatia ). The bedrock
369-604: Is located in Truelove Lowland, on the northeast coast of Devon Island ( 75°40′N 84°35′W / 75.667°N 84.583°W / 75.667; -84.583 ). The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station project entered its third season in 2004. In July 2004, Devon Island became the temporary home for five scientists and two journalists, who were to use the Mars-like environment to simulate living and working on that planet. April 2007 through 21 August 2007
410-691: The Pacific and Bering Strait as a surveyor . In 1835 he was surveying in the Irish Sea in HMS ; Lightning , and in 1836 he commanded a surveying ship on the north and west coasts of Africa and in the British seas. Belcher took up the work which Beechey had left unfinished on the Pacific coast of South America . He was on board HMS Sulphur , which was ordered to return to England in 1839 via
451-663: 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
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#1732766309800492-648: The Wellington Channel , between Cornwallis Island and Devon Island , where Franklin was thought to be, while Kellett was to go west to Melville Island and look for Collinson and McClure. North Star was to stay at Beechey Island as a supply base. He left the Nore in April 1852. By early winter Assistance and Pioneer were frozen in at Northumberland Sound to the north of Wellington Channel while Resolute and Intrepid were frozen in off Melville Island –
533-557: 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
574-467: The Arctic day and night cycle and restricted communications capabilities offer challenges similar to those presented by long-duration space flights. HMP has conducted geological , hydrological , botanical , and microbiological studies in this harsh environment since 1997. HMP-2008 was the twelfth field season at Devon Island. In 2007, fossils of the seal ancestor Puijila darwini were found on
615-503: The Bering Strait. He did a great deal of sledge exploration, rescued McClure and abandoned four of his five ships in the ice. He had five ships: HMS Assistance (Belcher), HMS Resolute ( Henry Kellett , second mate George Nares ), the steam tenders Pioneer ( Sherard Osborn ) and Intrepid ( Sir Leopold McClintock ) and the depot ship HMS North Star ( William Pullen ). Belcher and one tender were to enter
656-415: 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,
697-500: 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
738-565: 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
779-630: 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 Devon Island Devon Island ( Inuktitut : ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᑦ , Tallurutit )
820-529: The Trans-Pacific route. Belcher made various observations at a number of islands which he visited, having been delayed by being despatched to take part in the war in China in 1840. On 25 January 1841, Commander Belcher landed on Possession Point at the north shore Hong Kong Island , and made the first British survey of Hong Kong harbour. After the war's end in 1842 he reached home and for his services
861-441: The brief (40 to 55 days) growing season seldom exceed 10 °C (50 °F), and in winter can plunge to as low as −50 °C (−58 °F). With a polar desert ecology, Devon Island receives very little precipitation. Cape Liddon is an Important Bird Area (IBA) notable for its black guillemot and northern fulmar populations. Cape Vera , another IBA site, is also noted for its northern fulmar population. Devon Island
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#1732766309800902-579: 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
943-469: 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
984-503: 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
1025-499: 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
1066-532: The dispersal of 52 Baffin Island Inuit families on the island in 1934. It was considered a disaster due to wind conditions and the much colder climate, and the Inuit chose to leave in 1936. Dundas Harbour was populated again in the late 1940s, but it was closed again in 1951. Only the ruins of a few buildings remain today. Devon Island is located between Ellesmere Island in the north, Cornwallis Island in
1107-659: The first Europeans to sight Devon Island in 1616. William Edward Parry charted its south coast in 1819–20, and named it North Devon, after Devon in England, a name which was changed to Devon Island by the end of the 1800s. In 1850, Edwin De Haven sailed up Wellington Channel and sighted the Grinnell Peninsula . An outpost was established at Dundas Harbour in 1924, and it was leased to Hudson's Bay Company nine years later. The collapse of fur prices led to
1148-459: The first ships this far West since Sir William Edward Parry in 1819. A great deal of exploration was done by manhauled sledges. In April 1853 Leopold McClintock and others left Resolute on sledges and returned 105 days later, having covered 1,400 miles (2,300 km) and discovered Prince Patrick Island . Another party went West and discovered Robert McClure, whose ship was frozen in at Mercy Bay . Belcher went north by sledge and found
1189-519: 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
1230-596: 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
1271-417: 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
Edward Belcher - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-411: 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
1353-734: 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
1394-584: The ship to the United Kingdom, and when many years later the ship was broken up , its timbers were used to make a desk for the American president by way of a thank you. This Resolute desk , a gift from Queen Victoria , is still used today in the Oval Office . Despite his achievements, Belcher would later be described by a Hydrographer of the Navy as “a tyrannical martinet who made every ship he commanded
1435-471: 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
1476-522: The west, and Baffin Island in the south, separated by Lancaster Sound . Because of its relatively high elevation and its extreme northern latitude, Devon Island supports only a meagre population of muskox and small birds and mammals; the island does support hypolith communities. Animal life is concentrated in the Truelove Lowland area of the island, which has a favourable microclimate and supports relatively lush Arctic vegetation. Temperatures during
1517-458: The whole party returned to England. Belcher went through a court martial , which was automatic for any captain who had lost a ship. He was exonerated, but his sword was returned to him "without observation". He never again received an active command. Curiously Resolute broke free of the ice and drifted all the way to Davis Strait , southwest of Greenland , where it was picked up by an American whaler . The American government graciously returned
1558-615: 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
1599-598: Was made a Knight Bachelor in the following year. He was then engaged on HMS Samarang , in surveying work in the East Indies , the Philippines, Port Hamilton , and other places, until 1847. In 1852 Belcher led the last and largest Admiralty expedition to attempt to find and rescue Sir John Franklin . He was also to look for his former surveying officer in Hong Kong, Sir Richard Collinson , and Sir Robert McClure , whose ships had not been seen after entering
1640-424: 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
1681-499: Was the longest simulation period and included 20 scientific studies. The Haughton crater is now considered one of the world's best Mars analog sites. It is the summer home to NASA 's complementary scientific program, the Haughton–Mars Project . The Island's freezing temperatures, isolation, and remoteness offer scientists matchless research opportunities. Devon Island’s harsh climate and barren terrain endeared it to NASA as