Home Fleet

In the first years of the 20th century, the Royal Navy had four 'Port Guard' ships, stationed in the major naval bases, partially to act as flagships for the admirals commanding at those ports.[3] These vessels appear to have been stationed at the Nore, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, as well as one other major base.

On 1 October 1902, the Admiral Superintendent Naval Reserves, then Vice-Admiral Gerard Noel, was given the additional appointment of Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, and allotted a rear-admiral to serve under him as commander of the Home Squadron.[4] "... the nucleus of the Home Fleet would consist of the four Port Guard ships, which would be withdrawn from their various scattered dockyards and turned into a unified and permanent sea-going command – the Home Squadron – based on Portland. Also under the direction of the commander-in-chief of the Home Fleet would be the Coast Guard ships, which would continue to be berthed for the most part in their respective district harbours in order to carry out their local duties, but would join the Home Squadron for sea work at least three times per year, at which point the assembled force – the Home Squadron and the Coast Guard vessels – would be known collectively as the Home Fleet."[5] Rear-Admiral George Atkinson-Willes was Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet, with his flag in the battleship HMS Empress of India, at this time.[6] In May 1903 Noel was succeeded as Commander-in-Chief by Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson.[7]

On 14 December 1904, the Channel Fleet was re-styled the Atlantic Fleet and the Home Fleet became the Channel Fleet.[8] In 1907, the Home Fleet was reformed with Vice-Admiral Francis Bridgeman in command, succeeded by Admiral Sir William May in 1909. Bridgeman took command again in 1911, and in the same year was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Callaghan. On 29 March 1912, a new structure of the fleet was announced, which came into force on 1 May 1912. The former Home Fleet, which was organised into four divisions, was divided into the First, Second and Third Fleets as Home Fleets.[9] The Home Fleets were the Navy's unified home commands in British waters from 1912 to 1914.[10] On 4 August 1914, as the First World War was breaking out, John Jellicoe was ordered to take command of the Fleet, which by his appointment order was renamed the Grand Fleet.

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet

Post holders during the pre-war period were:'[11]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet[12]
1	Vice-Admiral		Sir Gerard Noel	1 October 1902 – 21 May 1903
2	Vice-Admiral		Sir Arthur Wilson	21 May 1903 – 31 December 1904

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet[13]
1	Vice-Admiral		Sir Francis Bridgeman	5 March 1907 – 24 March 1909
2	Vice-Admiral		Sir William May	24 March 1909 – 1911
3	Vice-Admiral		Sir Francis Bridgeman	25 March 1911 – 5 December 1911
4	Vice-Admiral		Sir George Callaghan	5 December 1911 – 31 July 1912

Second in command

Post holders included:[14]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Second-in-Command, Home Fleet
1	Rear-Admiral		George L. Atkinson-Willes	October 1902 – May 1903
2	Rear-Admiral		Edmund S. Poe	May 1903 – June 1904
3	Rear-Admiral		Charles J. Barlow	June – December 1904
4	Vice-Admiral		Sir Archibald Berkeley	5 December 1911 – 31 July 1912
5	Vice-Admiral		Sir George A. Callaghan	August 1910 – December 1911
6	Vice-Admiral		Sir John R. Jellicoe	December 1911 – 31 July 1912

Chief of staff

Post holders included:[15]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Chief of Staff, Home Fleet
1	Rear-Admiral		the Hon. Alexander E. Bethell	January 1908 – March 1909

The Home Fleets were a new organisation of the Royal Navy's unified home commands (First, Second and Third, Fleets) instituted on 31 July 1912 to December 1914. The Commander-in-Chiefs of the three home commands reported to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets.

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets/First Fleet[17]
1	Admiral		Sir George Callaghan	31 July 1912 – December 1914

Second in command

Post holders included:[18]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Second-in-Command, Home Fleets
1	Vice-Admiral		Sir John R. Jellicoe	31 July – December 1912
2	Vice-Admiral		the Hon. Sir Stanley C. J. Colville	June 1912 – June 1914
3	Vice-Admiral		Sir Lewis Bayly	June – August 1914

On 8 August 1914 units of the Home Fleets were distributed in accordance with Admiralty Fleet Order the majority of elements formed the new Grand Fleet others were assigned to the following units: Channel Fleet, Northern Patrol-Cruiser Force B, 7th Cruiser Squadron-Cruiser Force, 11th Cruiser Squadron-Cruiser Force E, Dover Patrol, Harwich Flotillas, 7th Destroyer Flotilla, 8th Destroyer Flotilla, 9th Destroyer Flotilla, 5th Submarine Flotilla, 6th Submarine Flotilla, 7th Submarine Flotilla and the 8th Submarine Flotilla.[19]

As the Cold War began, greater emphasis was placed on protecting the North Atlantic sea lanes from the Soviet Union in concert with other Western countries. Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor supervised combined Western Union exercises involving ships from the British, French, and Dutch navies in June–July 1949. Admiral McGrigor flew his flag from the aircraft carrier Implacable. Also taking part in the exercises were Victorious and Anson, along with cruisers and destroyers. During the exercise, the combined force paid a visit to Mount's Bay in Cornwall from 30 June – 4 July 1949.[31]

Admiral Sir Philip Vian, Commander-in-Chief from 1950 to 1952, flew his flag in Vanguard.[32] In late 1951, Theseus joined the fleet as flagship of the 3rd Aircraft Carrier Squadron.[33]

From 1947 to 1957 superfluous battleships and aircraft carriers were assigned to the Training Squadron, Home Fleet headquartered at Portland to provide basic training. The carriers stationed here were mobilised as helicopter carriers for the Suez operation in 1956. In December 1951 the Admiralty authorised the creation of a new Heavy Squadron to be assigned to the Home Fleet, consisting of the battleship HMS Vanguard, aircraft carriers, and cruisers.[34] Its commanding officer was known as Flag Officer, Aircraft Carriers who had administrative responsibility for all the operational carriers; the squadron was disbanded in October 1954.[35]

After the Second World War, the Royal Navy's geographic commands were gradually merged into fewer but larger formations (1954 to 1971).[36] After 1951 the term flotilla applied to the higher command organisation of squadrons in the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. The squadrons of the Home Fleet were grouped under a Flag Officer, Flotillas, Home Fleet, who became the main seagoing flag officer. A similar arrangement applied to the Flag Officer, Flotillas, Mediterranean Fleet.[36] In the Far East the Flag Officer 5th Cruiser Squadron became Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet with similar seagoing duties.[36] Increasingly the term 'Submarine Flotilla' was used to describe the squadrons under command of the Flag Officer Submarines.[36]

The Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, gained an additional NATO responsibility as Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic (CINCEASTLANT), as part of Allied Command Atlantic, when the NATO military command structure was established in 1953. CINCEASTLANT was set up at the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London. The Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet still flew his flag however in Tyne at Portsmouth. During Exercise Mainbrace in 1952, NATO naval forces came together for the first time to practice the defence of northern Europe, Denmark and Norway. The resulting McMahon Act difficulties caused by potential British control of the United States Navy's attack carriers armed with nuclear weapons led to the creation of a separate Striking Fleet Atlantic, directly responsible to the commander of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet, in his NATO position as SACLANT, by the end of 1952.[37]

The submarine tender Maidstone was the fleet's flagship in 1956. In 1960, C-in-C Home Fleet moved to Northwood, and in 1966 NATO's Allied Command Channel (a post also held by C-in-C Home Fleet) moved to Northwood from Portsmouth.[38] In February 1963 all remaining frigate and destroyer squadrons in the Home, Mediterranean and Far East Fleets were merged into new Escort Squadrons.[39]

In April 1963, the naval unit at the Northwood Headquarters, in northwest London, was commissioned as HMS Warrior under the command of the then Captain of the Fleet. In December 1966, all remaining squadrons in the Home Fleet were disbanded.[40] In 1967 the Home Fleet was amalgamated with the Mediterranean Fleet. With its area of responsibility greatly increased, the amalgamated formation was redesignated the Western Fleet.

Commanders-in-Chief

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Commanders-in-Chief, Home Fleet 1945-67
1	Admiral		Sir Edward Syfret	November 1945 – January 1948
2	Admiral		Sir Rhoderick McGrigor	January 1948 – January 1950
3	Admiral		Sir Philip Vian	January 1950 – June 1952
4	Admiral		Sir George Creasy	January 1952 – January, 1954
5	Admiral		Sir Michael Denny	January 1954 – January 1956
6	Admiral		Sir John Eccles	January 1956 – January 1958
7	Admiral		Sir William Davis	January 1958 – July 1960
8	Admiral		Sir Wilfrid Woods	July 1960 – January 1963
9	Admiral		Sir Charles Madden	January 1963 – July 1965
10	Admiral		Sir John Frewen	July 1965 – October 1967

Source for post holders after the Second World War:[41]

• Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
• Lovell. Tony and Harley, Simon; (2015) "Home Fleet (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org.
• Mackie, Colin. (2017) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com.
• Maloney, Sean. (1992), Securing Command of the Sea, Masters' thesis, University of New Brunswick. Canada.
• Seligmann, Matthew S. (August 2010). "A prelude to the reforms of Admiral Sir John Fisher: the creation of the Home Fleet, 1902–3". Historical Research. 83 (221).

• Levy, J (2003). The Royal Navy's Home Fleet in World War 2. Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 9780230511569.

• The Dreadnought Project: Home Fleet