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Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf

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Persian Gulf Station
Active1818-1972
CountryUnited Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeNaval station
Part of
Garrison/HQBasidu
Qishm Island
Persia
(c.1823-1850-1911)
Henjam Island
Persia
(1911-1935)
HMS Jufair
Ras Al-Jufair
Bahrain
(1935-1972)

The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf, was a Royal Navy command appointment who was responsible for administering the Persian Gulf Station military formation including its establishments and naval forces known as the Persian Gulf Squadron later called the Persian Gulf Division. Initially located at Basidu, Qishm Island, in Persia (c. 1823–1850–1935), then Henjam Island in Persia (1911–1935), and finally Ras Al-Jufair, Bahrain (1935–1972).

The Persian Gulf Station encompassed the Persian Gulf and Straits of Hormuz.

History

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British naval presence in the Persian Gulf began in the early nineteenth century with temporary naval forces assembled for specific operations until the establishment of a more constant naval force presence called the Persian Gulf Squadron [1] later the Persian Gulf Division.[2] The Senior Naval Office Persian Gulf gradually became an important position throughout the twentieth century by supporting Britain's strategic interests in the region, he reported to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station.[3] The Persian Gulf was one of the areas of naval operations during First World War in which it assumed a level of importance during the Mesopotamian campaign, its operations consisted of patrolling, keeping the peace and ensuring the continued supply of oil from the region. In May 1942 it then became part of the Eastern Fleet command until May 1944 when it became part of the East Indies Fleet command until July 1945 when it was abolished. The station was re-established in April 1949 reporting to the C-in-C, East Indies Station until 1958. In 1959 the station was merged with the Red Sea Station under the new appointment of Commodore, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf. In 1962 the station was re-established under the Flag Officer, Middle East, until it was abolished in 1972.

In 2003 the Royal Navy reestablished a post in the Persian Gulf, with a new title, the UK Maritime Component Command. On 1 November 2015, it was announced that HMS Jufair would be re-established as a permanent Royal Navy base. On 5 April 2018, the UK Naval Support Facility was officially opened.[4]

Map of the Persian Gulf and location of the Straits of Hormuz

Headquarters

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The British established a Persian Gulf Squadron in the mid-nineteenth century to support the Political Resident Persian Gulf (PRPG), who was responsible for all of Britains relationships in the region. The SNOPG was originally headquartered at Basidu on-board his ship from 1823 onward.[5] A permanent depot and headquarters was first established at Basidu, Qishm Island, in Persia, around 1850. In 1911 his headquarters moved to Henjam Island in the Straits of Hormuz until 12 April 1935.[6] On 13 April 1935 a naval base and shore establishment called HMS Juffair was established at Ras Al-Jufair, Bahrain, which served as headquarters for the SNO Persian Gulf until 1972.[7]

SNOPG, Ships

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From 1885 to 1946 the SNO Persian Gulf was usually aboard an operational ship beginning with HMS Osprey, (1885–1890).[8] Followed by HMS Triad from 1909 to 21 April 1933 [9] It was replaced by HMS Shoreham (L32) 21 April 1933 to 1946.[10][11]

Four Loch-class frigates were stationed in the Persian Gulf circa 1957: HMS Loch Fada, HMS Loch Fyne, HMS Loch Killisport and HMS Loch Ruthven.[12]

Senior Naval Officers, Persian Gulf

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Incomplete list of post holders included:[13][14]
Rank Insig/Flag Name Term Notes/Ref
Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf
1 Captain Francis Erskine Loch 16 October 1818 - September 1837 SNO Persian Gulf [15][16]
2 Commodore George Pepper October -1837 - 1 April 1838 (SNO Persian Gulf) [17]
3 Commander C. Hawkins 1 April - 12 June 1838 SNO Persian Gulf [18]
4 Commodore Captain Brucks 12 June 1838-? Acting-SO Persian Gulf [19]
5 Commodore George Robinson June 1852 (as Commander, Persian Gulf Squadron) [20]
6 Commander C. M. Cruttenden 1855 - 12 January 1861 SNO Persian Gulf [21]
7 Commander H.W. Dowding October, 1885 SNO Persian Gulf Division [22]
8 Captain J. H. Pelly 14 August 1895 - May 1896 SNO Persian Gulf [23]
9 Captain Thomas W. Kemp 1901 – 25 November 1904 Commander and SNO Persian Gulf [24]
10 Commodore Drury St. A. Wake 18 October 1915 – November, 1918 (as Commodore, Persian Gulf) [25]
11 Commodore David T. Norris December 1918-February 1920 (as Commodore, Persian Gulf)
12 Captain George Parker Bevan November, 1919 – 14 January 1920
13 Captain John L. Pearson 6 February 1920 – February, 1922 later V.Adm
14 Captain Alexander R. Palmer February 1922-March 1924 later V.Adm
15 Captain Ernest W. Leir March 1924-February 1926 later R.Adm
16 Captain Reginald St. P. Parry February 1926-January 1928
17 Captain Hector Boyes January 1928-May 1930
18 Captain Lewis G. E. Crabbe May 1930-March 1933 later V.Adm [26]
19 Captain James V. Creagh March 1933-March 1935 [27] later R.Adm
20 Captain Vernon S. Butler March 1935-March 1937 [28] later R.Adm.
21 Captain George H. Faulkner 20 February 1937 – 17 April 1938
22 Commodore Allan Poland March 1937-April 1939 as Captain then later Cmdre.
23 Commodore Cosmo M. Graham April 1939-February 1942
From May 1942 the station is reporting to the C-in-C, Eastern, Fleet until May 1944
24 Rear-Admiral Charles Hamill 2 February 1942-January 1944
From May 1944 the station is reporting to the C-in-C, East Indies, Fleet until July 1945 when its abolished
25 Commodore John M. Howson January–September 1944
26 Commodore Ivan W. Whitehorn September 1944 - July, 1945 [29]
The station is re-established in April 1949 reporting to the C-in-C, East Indies Station until 1959
27 Captain Peter Skelton April 1949-August 1950
28 Captain Arthur H. Wallis August 1950-April 1952
29 Captain Hugh G. Waters April 1952-October 1953
30 Captain Alan S. Webb October 1953-October 1954
31 Captain Vere A. Wight-Boycott October 1954-April 1956
32 Captain Stephen H. Beattie 17 April 1956-April 1958 [30]
33 Captain George F.M. Best April 1958 – 1959 Promoted to Cmdre. as Flag Officer, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf [31]
In 1959 this appointment was merged with that of the Red Sea to form the Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf Station. In 1962 the station re-established under the Flag Officer, Middle East until it was abolished in 1972.
34 Rear-Admiral Fitzroy Talbot August 1960 - August 1962 [32] Title changed to Flag Officer Middle East by May 1, 1962,[33] the date his HQ moved from Bahrain to Aden.
35 Commodore Michael D. Kyrle-Pope April 1962-April 1964 [34] reporting to the Flag Officer, Middle East.
36 Commodore Edmund S. Carver April 1964-October 1966 reporting to the FOME.[35]
37 Commodore Thomas E. Fanshawe October 1966-December 1968 reporting to the FOME.[36]
38 Commodore Kenneth Lee-White, MBE December 1968-September 1970 reporting to the FOME[citation needed]
39 Commodore Sir Peter Anson September 1970 – 1972 Commander Naval Forces Gulf[37]
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Included:

Naval Units Based at Date Notes
Persian Gulf Division Manama, Bahrain 1914 - 1958 2 cruisers, 1 minelayer cruiser, 1 scout cruiser 10 destroyers
Persian Gulf Division Manama, Bahrain 1936 - 1939 Escort sloops – HMS Egret (L75), HMS Fleetwood (U47) (17 Nov 1936) [38]
21st Destroyer Flotilla Shatt al-Arab, Basra 1939- 1942
Minesweeping Group 156 Shatt al-Arab, Basra 1942 3 ships [39]
Minesweeping Group 157 Shatt al-Arab, Basra 11942 3 ships [40]
9th Mine-Countermeasures Squadron Manama, Bahrain 1950-1971 18 ships
Sloops Basra/ 1922 - 1939 13 ships

References

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  1. ^ Palmer, Michael A. (1999). "3: Middle East Oil and the Destiny of Europe (1946–1950)". Guardians of the Gulf: A History of America's Expanding Role in the Persion Gulf, 1883–1992. New York, NY, USA: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781439105801.
  2. ^ Bankoff, Greg; Christensen, Joseph (2016). Natural Hazards and Peoples in the Indian Ocean World: Bordering on Danger. Berlin, Germany: Springer. p. 281. ISBN 9781349948574.
  3. ^ Macris, Jeffrey R. (2010). The Politics and Security of the Gulf: Anglo-American Hegemony and the Shaping of a Region. Cambridge, England: Routledge. p. 31. ISBN 9781135189440.
  4. ^ "UK opens permanent military base in Bahrain". Reuters. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  5. ^ Onley, James (2009). "Britain and the Gulf Shaikhdoms, 1820–1971: The Politics of Protection" (PDF). socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk. Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service in Qatar. p. 5. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. ^ Onley, James (2009). "Britain and the Gulf Shaikhdoms, 1820–1971: The Politics of Protection" (PDF). socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk. Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service in Qatar. p. 5. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  7. ^ Onley, James (2007). "PART II AGENTS OF EMPIRE". The Arabian Frontier of the British Raj: Merchants, Rulers, and the British in the Nineteenth-Century Gulf. Oxford, England: OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191607769.
  8. ^ Bankoff, Greg; Christensen, Joseph (2016). Natural Hazards and Peoples in the Indian Ocean World: Bordering on Danger. Berlin, Germany: Springer. p. 281. ISBN 9781349948574.
  9. ^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "H.M.S. Triad (1909) – The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 8 March 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  10. ^ Macris, Jeffrey R. (2010). The Politics and Security of the Gulf: Anglo-American Hegemony and the Shaping of a Region. Cambridge, England: Routledge. p. 269. ISBN 9781135189440.
  11. ^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "H.M.S. Shoreham (1930) – The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 12 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  12. ^ Roberts, Safeguarding the Nation, 2009.
  13. ^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Persian Gulf – The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 30 September 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  14. ^ Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865: Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf, 1918 to 1960 and from 1962)" (PDF). Colin Mackie, July 2018. p. 175. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  15. ^ Onley, James. "Britain's Native Agents in Arabia and Persia in the Nineteenth Century1" (PDF). socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk. University of Exeter, England. p. 134. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  16. ^ O'Byrne, William R. (1849). "Loch, Francis Erskine" . A Naval Biographical Dictionary. London: John Murray. pp. 667–668.
  17. ^ The Asiatic Journal. London, England: Black, Parbury, & Allen. September 1838. p. 237.
  18. ^ The Asiatic Journal. London, England: Black, Parbury, & Allen. September 1838. p. 237.
  19. ^ The Asiatic Journal. London, England: Black, Parbury, & Allen. September 1838. p. 237.
  20. ^ "Letter No. 111: Commodore George Robinson, Commander of the Persian Gulf Squadron, Writing from the Honourable Company's Sloop Clive, Near Bassadore [Bāsa'īdū], to Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire [21r] (1/4)". Qatar Digital Library. Qatar National Library. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  21. ^ Pollock, Arthur William Alsager (12 January 1861). "List of the Indian Navy in Commission". The United Service Magazine. 96. H. Colburn: 287.
  22. ^ Bankoff, Greg; Christensen, Joseph (2016). Natural Hazards and Peoples in the Indian Ocean World: Bordering on Danger. Berlin, Germany: Springer. p. 281. ISBN 9781349948574.
  23. ^ Rahman, Mizan (2012). The Emergence Of Qatar. Cambridge, England: Routledge. p. 253. ISBN 9781136753695.
  24. ^ Ahmadi, Kourosh (2008). Islands and International Politics in the Persian Gulf: The Abu Musa and Tunbs in Strategic Context. Cambridge, England: Routledge. p. 64. ISBN 9781134046591.
  25. ^ "Flag Officers in Commission". The Navy List. London England: HM Stationery Office. October 1915. p. 8.
  26. ^ Residency, Persian Gulf Political; Agency, Muscat Political; (Kuwait), British Political Agency; Agency, Qatar Political; Agency, Trucial States Political; Agency, Bahrain Political; Residency, Bushire Political (1990). Political Diaries of the Persian Gulf: 1935–35. London, England: Archive Editions. pp. 321–679. ISBN 9781852072506.
  27. ^ Residency, Persian Gulf Political; Agency, Muscat Political; (Kuwait), British Political Agency; Agency, Qatar Political; Agency, Trucial States Political; Agency, Bahrain Political; Residency, Bushire Political (1990). Political Diaries of the Persian Gulf: 1935–35. London, England: Archive Editions. pp. 321–679. ISBN 9781852072506.
  28. ^ Residency, Persian Gulf Political; Agency, Muscat Political; (Kuwait), British Political Agency; Agency, Qatar Political; Agency, Trucial States Political; Agency, Bahrain Political; Residency, Bushire Political (1990). Political Diaries of the Persian Gulf: 1935–35. London, England: Archive Editions. pp. 321–679. ISBN 9781852072506.
  29. ^ The Navy List. London, England: H. M. Stationery Office. October 1944. p. 2263.
  30. ^ "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945 -- B".
  31. ^ "OP SHIPS". Naval Review. 47: 105. 1959.
  32. ^ Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865: Commander-in-Chief, Levant: Flag Officer, Middle East" (PDF). gulabin.com. C. Mackie, p. 171, June 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  33. ^ Mideast Mirror. 1962.
  34. ^ Vat, Dan van der (20 October 2008). "Obituary: Rear Admiral Michael Kyrle Pope". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  35. ^ "Captain Edmund 'Splash' Carver". Daily Telegraph London. 10 September 2001. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Captain Thomas Fanshawe". Daily Telegraph London. 26 June 2000. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  37. ^ "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945 - A".
  38. ^ Kindell, Don. "Royal Navy Ships, August 1939". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 7 April 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  39. ^ Kindell, Don. "North Atlantic Command, Force H, South Atlantic Command, America & West Indies Command, Eastern Fleet, January 1942". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 8 December 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  40. ^ Kindell, Don. "North Atlantic Command, Force H, South Atlantic Command, America & West Indies Command, Eastern Fleet, January 1942". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 8 December 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2018.

Sources

[edit]
  • Bankoff, Greg; Christensen, Joseph (2016). Natural Hazards and Peoples in the Indian Ocean World: Bordering on Danger. Berlin, Germany: Springer. ISBN 9781349948574.
  • Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2017) "Persian Gulf – The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell.
  • Kindell, Don. (2012) "North Atlantic Command, Force H, South Atlantic Command, America & West Indies Command, Eastern Fleet, January 1942". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
  • Macris, Jeffrey R. (2010). The Politics and Security of the Gulf: Anglo-American Hegemony and the Shaping of a Region. Cambridge, England: Routledge. ISBN 9781135189440.
  • Naval Review. (1959) "OP SHIPS" Volume 47: 105.
  • Onley, James. "Britain's Native Agents in Arabia and Persia in the Nineteenth Century1" (PDF). socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk. University of Exeter, England.
  • Pollock, Arthur William Alsager (1861). "List of the Indian Navy in Commission". The United Service Magazine. London. H. Colburn.
  • Residency, Persian Gulf Political; Agency, Muscat Political; (Kuwait), British Political Agency; Agency, Qatar Political; Agency, Trucial States Political; Agency, Bahrain Political; Residency, Bushire Political (1990). Political Diaries of the Persian Gulf: 1935–35. London, England: Archive Editions. ISBN 9781852072506.
  • The Navy List. (1915) "Flag Officers in Commission". London England: HM Stationery Office.
  • The Navy List. (1944) "Flag Officers in Commission". London, England: H. M. Stationery Office.
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