27-501: Admiral Sir William King-Hall , KCB (11 March 1816 – 29 July 1886) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore from 1877 to 1879. King-Hall joined the Royal Navy in 1829, and took part in operations off the coast of Syria in 1840. Promoted to captain in 1853 he commanded HMS Bulldog during the bombardment and capture of Fort Bomarsund and then commanded HMS Exmouth during
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
81-602: A military commander under the English kings Edward I and Edward II . In 1265, for his services during the Second Barons' War , he was given lands taken from Simon de Montfort 's rebels. In 1266, he was left in command of Sandwich by his father and joined the Siege of Winchelsea . In 1275 he was involved in a dispute with a Jewish moneylender over a large loan to his father. In 1278, he decided to sell
108-459: 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
135-663: 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
162-645: The attack on the Fortress of Sveaborg near Helsinki during the Crimean War . King-Hall also commanded HMS Calcutta during the Second Opium War and took part in the first attack on Canton in late 1856 and then the assault on the Taku Forts in 1858. He later commanded HMS Indus , HMS Royal Adelaide , HMS Russell and then HMS Cumberland . King-Hall
189-557: 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
216-733: The English Navy of the time and the prominence of this position has sometimes led to his inclusion on lists of the Lord High Admirals of England or even consideration as the first English admiral. In 1299 he also served in Scotland at the head of 5 knights and 59 esquires, and in 1300 he was in attendance at the Siege of Caerlaverock . In the period leading up to the death of his first son Thomas in 1307, he bequeathed him and his wife Alice de Toeni , sister of Guy de Beauchamp ,
243-705: 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
270-415: 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,
297-565: 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
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#1732798648971324-727: 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 William de Leybourne Admiral Sir William de Leybourne ( French : Guillaume de Leybourne ; Latin : Willelmus de Leyburnia or Leyburna ; c. 1242–1310)
351-770: The Sailors and Mariners of the Kingdom" ( Capitaneus Nautarum & Marinellorum de Regno ) in 1294, "admiral of our navy of England" ( French : amiral de nostre navie d'Engleterre ) in 1295, and "Admiral of the Sea of the King of England" ( Amiral de la Mer du... Roy d'Engleterre ) in 1297. The last is sometimes glossed as the later title "Admiral of the English Seas" ( Latin : Admirallus Maris Angliae ). Under any of these titles, he seems to have been commander-in-chief of
378-579: 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
405-469: 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
432-499: 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
459-627: 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 ,
486-519: 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
513-596: 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
540-417: 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
567-529: The manor and Leeds Castle to Queen Eleanor , who cancelled all of his father's remaining debts. He served in Wales in 1277 and in 1282 he was appointed Constable of Pevensey Castle . At some point thereafter, he was appointed commander of the king's own ships and ad hoc levies under a variety of titles that appear in various treaties and in items in the Gascon Rolls . He was noted as "Captain of
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#1732798648971594-411: 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
621-471: 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
648-673: Was an English knight and military commander, sometimes reckoned the first admiral of the English navy . William de Leybourne, first Baron Leybourne, was the eldest son of Roger de Leybourne from his marriage to Eleanor Ferrers . He married Juliana de Sandwich (1245–1327) on 16 October 1265. She was the heiress of Sir Henry de Sandwich , who had died when she was only four. William had three sons with Juliana, Thomas de Leybourne , Henry de Leybourne , John de Leybourne and three daughters, Idonea, Katherine and Joan. After his marriage William lived at his wife's manor of Preston-next-Wingham , Kent . Sir William de Leybourne served as
675-587: Was appointed Superintendent of Sheerness dockyard in 1865, Superintendent of Devonport dockyard in 1871 and Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1877 before retiring in 1881. In 1848 King-Hall married Louisa Forman and in 1880 he married Charlotte Tillotson (née Simpson): they had two sons (Admiral Sir Sir George King-Hall and Admiral Sir Herbert King-Hall ) and one daughter. There is a tablet in his memory at St Annes Church in Sutton Bonnington, Nottinghamshire. Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral
702-566: 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
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