Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands

Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands
Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands
Active	(1914-1920), (1939-1945)
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Naval formation
Garrison/HQ	Lyness

The Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands ^[1] was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Orkneys and Shetlands Command; they were charged with the administration of the Orkney and Shetland Islands and operating and defending the fleet base at Scapa Flow that was the main anchorage for both the Home Fleet and Grand Fleet at various times.

History[]

The Orkney and Shetland command was usually only formed at the outbreak of war to provide for the defence and administration of the main base for the Home Fleet. The duties of the Admiral Commanding were laid down as being responsible, under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, for administration of naval defences, naval establishments, and shore duties generally in Orkney and Shetland.

During the First World War and the Second World War the Rear-Admiral, Scapa Flow served under him, with a position similar to that of an Admiral Superintendent of a dockyard port. Directly under his orders were the Northern Patrol, Shetlands Patrols, the Officer Commanding Troops Orkney, the Officer Commanding Troops Shetlands, the Admiralty Port Officer Kirkwall, the Rear-Admiral commanding the local minefields and the officers responsible for the extended defences, the local defence flotilla and the Orkney Trawler Patrols.^[2] He was responsible for the patrolling of the area from Wick to Cape Wrath.^[3]

During the Second World War the Rear-Admiral, Scapa Flow continued to serve under him.

Admiral Commanding First World War[]

Flag Officer commanding:^[4]

	Rank	Name	Term
Admiral Commanding Orkneys and Shetland
1	Admiral	Sir Stanley Cecil James Colville	7 September 1914 – 19 January 1916
2	Admiral	Sir Frederic Edward Errington Brock	20 January 1916 – 11 March 1918
3	Admiral	Sir Herbert E. King-Hall	28 January 1918 – 1 March 1919
4	Vice-Admiral	Sir Robert John Prendergast	1 March 1919 – 9 January 1920

Subordinate commanders First World War[]

Flag officer commanding:^[5] The role was similar to that of Admiral Superintendent of a dockyard port

Flag Officer Scapa Flow/Rear Admiral Scapa[]

	Rank	Name	Term
Flag Officer Scapa Flow/Rear Admiral Scapa
1	Rear-Admiral	Francis Miller	September 1914 – April, 1916 January 1916
2	Rear-Admiral	Robert Prendergast	May 1916 – September 1917 1918

Flag Officer Shetlands[]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Flag Officer Shetlands
1	Rear-Admiral		Rear Admiral Clement Greatorex	October 1917

The Command was deactivated during interwar years 9 January 1920 – September 1939

Admiral Commanding Second World War[]

Flag officer commanding

	Rank	Name	Term
Admiral Commanding Orkneys and Shetland
1	Vice-Admiral	Sir Wilfred Franklin French	July 1939 – 20 December 1939 ^[6]
2	Vice-Admiral	Sir Hugh Binney	20 December 1939 – 7 January 1942
3	Vice-Admiral	Sir Lionel Wells	7 January - October 1943
4	Vice-Admiral	Sir Henry Harwood	April 1944 - March 1945

Subordinate commanders Second World War[]

Flag Officer, Scapa Flow/Rear-Admiral Scapa[]

Flag officer commanding ^[7]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Flag Officer Scapa Flow/Rear Admiral Scapa
1	Rear-Admiral		Patrick Macnamara (rtd.)	1 September 1940 - March 1945

Admiral-superintendent Lyness[]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Admiral Superintendent Lyness^[8]
1	Rear-Admiral		Patrick Macnamara (rtd.)	3 October 1940 - March 1945

Admiral-superintendent Orkney[]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
Admiral Superintendent Orkney
1	Rear-Admiral		Patrick Macnamara (rtd.)	1 May 1942 - March 1945

Orkneys and Shetlands Command[]

The Orkneys and Shetlands Command was formed at the outbreak World War One to establish and maintain the Grand Fleet's principal base at Scapa Flow.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Shore units[]

Included:^[12]

Unit	Date	Notes
		Kirkwall Naval Base
		Lyness Naval Base
		Lerwick Naval Base

Naval units[]

Included:^[13]

Unit	Date	Notes
	04/1942-02/1944
	07/1941-12/1942
	1918
Northern Patrol	1914-1918, 1939-1945	Operating within the Orkneys & Shetland Command under VAdm Comm NP
	1914-1918

References[]

^ Haarr, Geirr H. (2013). The Gathering Storm: The Naval War in Northern Europe September 1939 - April 1940. Seaforth Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 9781473832732.
^ Grand Fleet Order 107.
^ Grand Fleet Order 136.
^ Watson, Graham. "Organisation of the Royal Navy 1914 to 1918, The Home Commands World War One". naval-history.net. Naval History.Net, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
^ Watson, Graham. "Organisation of the Royal Navy 1914 to 1918, The Home Commands World War One". naval-history.net. Naval History.Net, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
^ Haarr, Geirr H. (2013). The Gathering Storm: The Naval War in Northern Europe September 1939 - April 1940. Seaforth Publishing. pp. 2–16. ISBN 9781473832732.
^ "Patrick Macnamara Life and Career Post War". dreadnoughtproject.org. The Dreadnought Project.Org, 13 June 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
^ "Admiral Superintendent's Office, Lyness". nationalarchives.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
^ Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1919-1939". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 2 September 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939-1945". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 19 September 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914-1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Watson. 2015
^ Watson. 2015

Attribution[]

Primary source for this article is by Harley, Simon and Lovell Tony, Admiral. (2015), Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org

External links[]

[1] Haarr, Geirr H. (2013). The Gathering Storm: The Naval War in Northern Europe September 1939 - April 1940. Seaforth Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 9781473832732.

[2] Grand Fleet Order 107.

[3] Grand Fleet Order 136.

[4] Watson, Graham. "Organisation of the Royal Navy 1914 to 1918, The Home Commands World War One". naval-history.net. Naval History.Net, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2016.

[5] Watson, Graham. "Organisation of the Royal Navy 1914 to 1918, The Home Commands World War One". naval-history.net. Naval History.Net, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2016.

[6] Haarr, Geirr H. (2013). The Gathering Storm: The Naval War in Northern Europe September 1939 - April 1940. Seaforth Publishing. pp. 2–16. ISBN 9781473832732.

[7] "Patrick Macnamara Life and Career Post War". dreadnoughtproject.org. The Dreadnought Project.Org, 13 June 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.

[8] "Admiral Superintendent's Office, Lyness". nationalarchives.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 31 October 2016.

[9] Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1919-1939". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 2 September 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[10] Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939-1945". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 19 September 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[11] Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914-1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[12] Watson. 2015

[13] Watson. 2015

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v t Historic fleets and naval commands of the Royal Navy
North and Irish Seas and English Channel	1st Fleet 2nd Fleet 3rd Fleet Atlantic Fleet Battle Cruiser Fleet Channel Fleet Channel Squadron (Navy Royal) Channel Squadron Coast of Ireland Coast of Scotland Devonport Dover Downs Eastern English Channel Commander-in-Chief Fleet Grand Fleet British Naval Forces Germany Humber Home Fleet Irish Squadron Leith Narrow Seas Naval Home Command Nore North North and West North Sea Fleet North Sea Squadron Orkneys and Shetlands Plymouth Portsmouth Rosyth Reserve Fleet South West and Irish Sea West Western Approaches Western Western Squadron Yarmouth
Atlantic Ocean	Atlantic Fleet Barbadoes and Leeward Islands Good Hope Jamaica Division Jamaica Station Leeward Islands Lisbon Newfoundland North America North America and West Indies North Atlantic Portugal South America Station South Atlantic and South America South Atlantic South Atlantic and Pacific South East Coast of America West Africa Squadron Flag Officer, West Africa Senior Naval Officer, West Indies
Baltic Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas	Adriatic Aegean Baltic Fleet Black Sea and Caspian Caspian Coast of Spain Eastern Mediterranean Egypt and Red Sea Germany Gibraltar Levant Levant and East Mediterranean Malta Malta and Central Mediterranean Mediterranean Fleet Portugal
Arabian Seas Indian and Pacific Oceans	Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf Australia China East Africa East Coast of Africa East Indies East Indies and China East Indies Fleet Eastern Fleet Far East Fleet Egypt and Red Sea Senior British Naval Officer, Suez Canal Area Middle East New Zealand New Zealand Naval Forces Pacific Fleet Pacific Station Red Sea and Canal Area/Red Sea South America Station South Atlantic and Pacific Persian Gulf

v t Department of Admiralty
Direction and control of Admiralty and Naval affairs	Office of First Lord of the Admiralty and President of the Board of Admiralty Lord High Admirals Council
Boards and offices under the First Lord	Board of Admiralty Navy Board Navy Office Navy Pay Office Office of the Naval Secretary Office of the First Naval Lord Office of the First Sea Lord Office of the Senior Naval Lord Office of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty Office of the Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty
Direction of Admirals Naval/Sea Lords War and Naval Staff	Office of the Senior Naval Lord Office of the First Naval Lord Office of the First Sea Lord
Secretariat and staff under the First Sea Lord	Office of the Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord Office of the Additional Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord Office of the Hydrographer of the Navy Offices of the Sea Lords Admiralty Navy War Council Admiralty War Staff Admiralty Naval Staff
Operational planning, policy strategy, tactical doctrine requirements	Admiralty Navy War Council Admiralty War Staff Admiralty Naval Staff
Divisions and sections under the War and Naval Staff	Administrative Planning Department Administrative Planning Division Air Division Anti-Submarine Division Anti-Submarine and Warfare Division Anti-U-boat Division Air Warfare Division Air Warfare and Fly Training Division Air Warfare and Training Division Communications Division Convoy Section Economic Warfare Division Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Warfare Division Gunnery Division Gunnery and Torpedo Division Historical Section Local Defence Division Division Mercantile Movements Division Naval Air Division Naval Air Organisation and Training Division Naval Artillery and Torpedoes Division Navigation and Direction Division Navigation Division Minesweeping Division Mobilisation Division Naval Intelligence Division Operations Division Operations Division (Home) Operations Division (Foreign) Plans Division Plans Division (Q) Press Division Signal Division Signal Section Tactical Division Tactical and Weapons Policy Division Torpedo Division Torpedo, Anti-Submarine and Minewarfare Division Trade Division Trade and Operations Division Training and Staff Duties Division Tactical and Staff Duties Division Undersurface Warfare Division
Offices of the Sea Lords	Office of the Second Sea Lord Office of the Third Sea Lord Office of the Fourth Sea Lord Office of the Fifth Sea Lord
Admiralty civil departments and organisations under the Sea Lords	Admiralty Central Dockyard Laboratory Admiralty Central Metallurgical Laboratory Admiralty Civilian Shore Wireless Service Admiralty Compass Observatory Admiralty Constabulary Admiralty Constabulary Headquarters Admiralty Engineering Laboratory Admiralty Experimental Station Admiralty Experiment Works Admiralty Gunnery Establishment Admiralty Interview Board Admiralty Materials Laboratory Admiralty Mine Design Department Admiralty Mining Establishment Admiralty Naval Aircraft Materials Laboratory Admiralty Record Office Admiralty Research Laboratory Admiralty Signal Establishment Admiralty Signals and Radar Establishment Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment Admiralty Torpedo Experimental Establishment Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment Admiralty Underwater Weapons Launching Establishment Architectural and Engineering Works Department Air Department Armament Supply Department Board of Invention and Research Board of Longitude Britannia Royal Naval College Chemical Department Combined Operations Headquarters Compass Department Department of the Accountant-General of the Navy Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development Department of Naval Education Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services Department of the Director of Dockyards Department of the Director of Naval Construction Department of the Director of Naval Equipment Department of the Director of Torpedoes and Mining Department of the Director of Transports Department of the Director of Underwater Weapons Department of the Director of Underwater Weapons Materials Department of the Flag Officer Sea Training Department of the Inspector-General of Naval Hospitals and Fleets Department of the Medical Director-General of the Navy Department of the Physician of the Navy Department of the Physician General of the Navy Department of the Storekeeper-General of the Navy Department of the Surveyor of Buildings Department of the Surveyor of Dockyards Directorate-General, (Naval Manpower and Training) Directorate General Training Dockyards and Fleet Maintenance Department Dockyards Branch Experimental Department Fire Control Group Greenwich Hospital Department Joint Warfare Establishment Historical Section Hydrographic Department Marine Department Marine Pay Department Medical Consultative Board Medical Department Medical Examining Board Nautical Almanac Office Naval Historical Branch Naval Construction Department Naval Intelligence Department Naval Medical Service Naval Mobilisation Department Naval Ordnance Department Naval Ordnance Stores Department Naval Reserve Department Naval Stores Department Naval Training Department Naval Works Department Navy, Army and Air Force Institute Navy and Army Canteen Board Navigation Department Office of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves Office of the Admiral Commanding, Reserves Office of the Admiralty Chemist Packet Service Royal Corps of Naval Constructors Royal Flying Corps Royal Marine Police Royal Marines Office Office of the Chaplain of the Fleet Royal Naval Academy Royal Naval Air Service Royal Naval Air Stations Royal Naval Armaments Depot Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Royal Naval Propellant Factory Royal Naval College Royal Naval College and the School for Naval Architecture Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal Naval College, Greenwich Royal Naval College, Osborne Royal Naval Engineering College Royal Naval Hospital Royal Naval Minewatching Service Royal Naval Patrol Service Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal Naval War College Royal Naval War College, Portsmouth Royal Navy Dockyard Royal Navy Medical Service Royal Observatory, Greenwich Royal School of Naval Architecture School of Mathematics and Naval Construction Sea Transport Branch Sea Transport Department Sea Transport Division Sixpenny Office Torpedo Experimental Establishment Transport Department Victualling Department
Distribution of the Fleet	Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty Office of the First Naval Lord Office of the First Sea Lord Admiralty Naval Staff
Military units distributed under the Admiralty	1st Fleet 2nd Fleet 3rd Fleet Africa Station Atlantic Fleet Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf Australia Station Cape of Good Hope Station Cape and West Africa Station Battle Cruiser Fleet Battle Cruiser Force Caspian Flotilla Channel Fleet Channel Squadron Coastal Forces Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland Cork Station Coast of Scotland Commander-in-Chief, China Commander-in-Chief, Dover Downs Station East Africa Station East Indies Fleet East Indies Station East Indies and China Station Eastern Fleet Far Eastern Fleet English Channel Grand Fleet Flag Officer Gibraltar Harwich Force Home Fleet Jamaica Station Leith Station Commander-in-Chief, Levant Levant and East Mediterranean Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Lisbon Station Mediterranean Fleet Medway Newfoundland Station New Zealand Division New Zealand Naval Forces Narrow Seas Nore North America and West Indies Station Commander-in-Chief, North Sea Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands Pacific Fleet Pacific Station Admiral of Patrols Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth Portugal Queenstown Station Royal East African Navy Royal Indian Navy Flag Officer Submarines Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth Reserve Fleet Scotland and Northern Ireland Commander-in-Chief, Sheerness Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic South East Coast of America Station Commander-in-Chief, Thames Commander-in-Chief, Thames and Medway Thames, Medway and Nore West Africa Squadron Flag Officer, West Africa Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches West Indies Station Western Squadron
Direction of Naval Finance	Department of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
Departments under the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary	Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty Accountant-General's Department Comptroller of the Navy Department of the Surveyor of the Navy
Direction of Naval Administration and the Admiralty Secretariat	Department of the Permanent Secretary
Branches and offices under the Permanent Secretary	Admiralty Record Office Admiralty Secretariat Air Branch Civil Branch Legal Branch Military Branch Naval Branch Ship Branch
Civil Administration	Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty, Department of the Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty
Departments under the Civil Lords	Accountant-General's Department Department of the Surveyor of Buildings Greenwich Hospital Department
Legal
Legal under Judicial Department	Admiralty court High Court of Admiralty Office of the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty High Court of Justice Office of the Judge Advocate of the Fleet Office of the Admiralty Advocate Office of the Chief Naval Judge Advocate Office of the Counsel for the Affairs of the Admiralty and Navy Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty Office of the Solicitor for the Affairs of the Admiralty Office of the Solicitor to the Admiralty and Navy Office of the Solicitor to the Admiralty King's Bench Division (Admiralty) Queens's Bench Division (Admiralty) Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division Vice Admiralty courts