27-594: Admiral Phillips Cosby (c. 1729 – 10 January 1808) was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War . Cosby joined the Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman in 1747. He was given command of a schooner at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758 and was present at the capture of Quebec in 1759. Promoted to Post Captain in 1761, he commanded HMS Hind and HMS Isis . In 1766 he
54-511: 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
81-459: Is a senior rank of the Royal Navy , which equates to 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
108-587: The Battle of Cape Henry in 1781. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in 1785, Commander-in-Chief at Cork in 1790, and Port Admiral at Plymouth in 1792. In 1792 he married Eliza Hurst, née Gunthorpe. Stewart, William (2009). Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present . McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3809-9 . Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral
135-685: The Mull of Kintyre in the apparent belief that Robert I, King of Scots had taken refuge there. In early 1307, Botetourt led a force of 20 knights and 50 esquires against Robert the Bruce in Nithsdale . A record of compensation paid to owners for the loss of horses on 12 March 1307 suggests that this force may have suffered a defeat at the hands of the Scots. In 1312, Botetourt joined Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick in carrying off Piers Gaveston from
162-663: 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
189-505: 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
216-705: The English long depended upon levies of their subjects' vessels for any major naval expeditions. Nonetheless, historians have sometimes extended 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
243-415: 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,
270-565: 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
297-650: 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 John de Botetourt, 1st Baron Botetourt John Botetourt, 1st Baron Botetourt (died 1324)
SECTION 10
#1732794195650324-579: 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
351-469: 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
378-680: The custody of Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , and, in common with the other nobles concerned in the death of the favourite, made his peace with the king in 1313. He was appointed the Governor of Framlingham Castle in 1314. In the Spring of 1315 he was again appointed Admiral for the Northern Seas, with a fleet based in Harwich , in preparation for another offensive against Scotland. After Flanders rose in rebellion against France in
405-499: 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
432-627: The fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of 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 ,
459-519: 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
486-596: 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
513-417: 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
540-583: The great seal to hear and determine the causes of a violent quarrel between the mayor and burgesses of Bristol and Lord Thomas of Berkeley and his son Maurice. He was the warden of the Forest of Dean . He fought in the expeditions of King Edward I to Gascony , and Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence . He was summoned to parliament from 1305 to 1324. On 22 September 1306, a force led by Botetourt and Sir John de Menteith laid siege to Dunaverty Castle on
567-411: 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
SECTION 20
#1732794195650594-471: 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
621-640: The summer of 1315, six of his ships took to the North Sea to assist the French against the Flemings . John participated in the Battle of Boroughbridge on 16 March 1322, on the side of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster's rebels. He was then fined £1,000 and pardoned on 8 October 1322 for his part in the rebellion. He died on 25 November 1324, and his grandson John succeeded him as Baron Botetourt, as his son Thomas had predeceased him. John and Matilda fitz Thomas had
648-404: Was an English military commander and admiral in the 13th and 14th centuries. He married Matilda fitz Thomas, daughter of Sir Thomas fitz Otes and Beatrice de Beauchamp. He was the Governor of St Briavels Castle in 1291, became the Admiral of the North between 1294 and 1297, burning Cherbourg in 1295, and was created 1st Lord Botetourt on 13 July 1305. In 1304 he received a commission under
675-523: Was appointed to HMS Montreal . He was receiver general (treasurer) of the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts from 1771 to 1778, a lucrative post which he resigned on the outbreak of the Anglo-French War . In command of HMS Centaur in 1778, he took part in the Battle of Ushant and in command of HMS Robust in 1779, he took part in the Siege of Charleston in 1780. He also took part in
702-615: 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
729-424: 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
#649350