East Indies Station

The East Indies Station was a squadron of the Royal Navy which encompassed the Indian Ocean. In 1941, the command was renamed as the Eastern Fleet.

Limits

In 1909 the limits of the Station were defined as:

North: By the South shores of Asia (including the Persian Gulf) from an imaginary line drawn from Ras Siyan on the African Coast to Cape Bab-el Mandeb on the Arabian Coast, to where the parallel of 10° North Latitude touches the West Coast of the Malay Peninsula

East: By the Meridian of 95° East Longitude between the parallels of 10° North and 10° South Latitude.

South: By the parallel of 10° North Latitude between the Coast of the Malay Peninsula and the Meridian of 95° East Longitude, and by the parallel of 10° South Latitude between the Meridians of 70° and 95° East Longitude, and by the Equator between the Meridian of 70° East Longitude and the African Coast.

West: By the Meridian of 70° East Longitude between the parallel of 10° South and the Equator, and the Coast of African Coast.

Commanders-in-Chief

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

• Commodore, Second Class Frederick B. Montresor, 1865 – 1865  (initially, East Indies & Cape of Good Hope Station)
• Commodore, Second Class Charles F. Hillyar, 1865 – 1867
• Rear-Admiral Leopold G. Heath, 1867 – 1870  (henceforth, East Indies Station)
• Rear-Admiral James H. Cockburn, 1870 – 1872  (died while in this command)
• Rear-Admiral William G. Jones, 1872 – 1875
• Rear-Admiral William N. W. Hewett, 1875 – 12 April, 1877
• Rear-Admiral John Corbett, 29 March, 1877 – 11 September, 1879
• Rear-Admiral William G. Jones, 1879 – 1882
• Rear-Admiral William N. W. Hewett, 13 April, 1882 – 18 May, 1885
• Rear-Admiral Frederick W. Richards, 18 May, 1885
• Rear-Admiral The Hon. Sir Edmund R. Fremantle, 25 February, 1888
• Rear-Admiral Frederick C. B. Robinson, 26 February, 1891
• Rear-Admiral William R. Kennedy, 26 January, 1892
• Rear-Admiral Edmund C. Drummond, 16 March, 1895 – 22 March, 1898
• Rear-Admiral Archibald L. Douglas, 15 January, 1898 – 19 July, 1899
• Rear-Admiral Day H. Bosanquet, 5 June, 1899
• Rear-Admiral Sir Charles C. Drury, 5 June, 1902
• Vice-Admiral Sir George L. Atkinson-Willes, 9 June, 1903 – August, 1905
• Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund S. Poë, 20 August, 1905
• Rear-Admiral Sir George J. S. Warrender, Bart., 1 February, 1907 – 3 March, 1909
• Rear-Admiral Sir Edmond J. W. Slade, 3 March, 1909 – 11 April, 1912
• Rear-Admiral The Hon. Sir Alexander E. Bethell, 23 March, 1912
• Vice-Admiral Sir Richard H. Peirse, 20 December, 1912 – 25 January, 1916
• Vice-Admiral Sir Rosslyn E. Wemyss, 1 January, 1916 – June, 1917
• Vice-Admiral Sir Ernest F. A. Gaunt, 23 June, 1917 – 1 August, 1919
• Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh H. D. Tothill, 1 August, 1919 – 29 September, 1921
• Vice-Admiral Lewis Clinton-Baker, 29 September, 1921
• Vice-Admiral Herbert W. Richmond, 4 October, 1923 – 4 October, 1925
• Vice-Admiral Walter M. Ellerton, 4 October, 1925
• Vice-Admiral Bertram S. Thesiger, 5 October, 1927 – 10 November, 1929
• Vice-Admiral Eric J. A. Fullerton, 18 October, 1929 – 13 June, 1932
• Vice-Admiral Martin E. Dunbar-Nasmith, 29 April, 1932 – 12 December, 1934
• Vice-Admiral Frank F. Rose, 26 October, 1934 – 15 May, 1936
• Vice-Admiral The Hon. Alexander R. M. Ramsay, 15 May, 1936 – 21 June, 1938
• Commodore, First Class John G. Crace, 20 May, 1936 – 14 June, 1936  (temporary)
• Vice-Admiral Sir James F. Somerville, July, 1938 – April, 1939
• Vice-Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham, April, 1939 – April, 1941
• Vice-Admiral Geoffrey Arbuthnot, 22 April, 1941 – 17 June, 1942
• Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton, 10 December, 1941 – 1942
• Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur J. Power, November, 1944 – December, 1945
• Vice-Admiral Sir Clement Moody, 15 December, 1945 – 19 July, 1946
• Vice-Admiral Arthur F. E. Palliser, 1946 – 1948
• Vice-Admiral Charles H. L. Woodhouse, 1948 – 1950
• Vice-Admiral Geoffrey N. Oliver, 1950 – 1952

Second in Command

• Vice-Admiral Arthur J. Power, 1 December, 1943  (and as Vice-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Squadron)
• Vice-Admiral Harold T. C. Walker, 10 August, 1945 – 18 November, 1945

Principal Naval Transport Officers

• Captain (temporary) Neville F. J. Wilson, before December, 1919 – 1920
• Rear-Admiral Henry L. Mawbey, 28 August, 1920

Fleet Gunnery Officer

• Lieutenant-Commander (G) Michael B. Laing, 24 February, 1934  (borne in Norfolk)

Fleet Torpedo Officer

• Lieutenant-Commander (T) (I Fr. It.) Michael F. Bruce, 22 January, 1935

Fleet Signal Officer

• Commander (S) John H. Bowen, 1 November, 1929 – April, 1932
• Lieutenant (S) James W. McClelland, 24 February, 1934

Fleet W/T Officer

• Commander (S) John H. Bowen, 1 November, 1929 – April, 1932

Fleet Navigation Officer

• Commander (N) Hugh St. L. Nicolson, 22 January, 1935

Composition

February, 1900

The station was equipped as follows.

• Assaye
• Eclipse
• Lapwing
• Magdala
• Marathon
• Melpomene
• Pigeon
• Pomone
• Racoon
• Sphinx

June, 1906

The station was equipped as follows.

• Hermes
• Fox
• Perseus
• Proserpine
• Lapwing
• Redbreast
• Sphinx

1912

On 20 December, 1912, the flagship was Swiftsure when Rear-Admiral Richard Henry Peirse hoisted his flag.

1915

The flag was transferred from Swiftsure to Euryalus in February, 1915 and from there to Proserpine on 10 April, 1915.

See Also

• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Clowes, Sir Wm. Laird (1903). The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Death of Queen Victoria. Vol. VII. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company Limited.