Charles Coke

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Sir Charles Coke
Born(1854-10-02)2 October 1854
Ropsley, Lincolnshire, England
Died23 February 1945(1945-02-23) (aged 90)
Exmouth, Devon, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1868–1945
RankAdmiral
Commands heldHMS Sirius
HMS Talbot


HMS Cornwallis
Sheerness Gunnery School
Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland
Newfoundland Patrol Service
Battles/warsThird Anglo-Ashanti War
World War I
AwardsKnight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Admiral Sir Charles Henry Coke KCVO (2 October 1854 – 23 February 1945) was a Royal Navy officer who served during the First World War.

Early life[]

Coke was born on 2 October 1854 in the village of Ropsley in Lincolnshire where his father was the local rector.[1]

Naval career[]

Coke joined the Royal Navy on 7 April 1868 when he entered the Britannia Royal Naval College, in 1872 was appointed a midshipman on the corvette HMS Druid.[1] Coke served during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War and was present during the attack on Elmina on 13 June 1873, he was awarded the Ashantee Medal.[1] He was appointed lieutenant on HMY Victoria and Albert on 5 September 1877.[2] In 1880 he served on the gun-vessel on the China Station, returning to England two years later to do a gunnery course.[1] In 1889 he took command of the sailing brig .[1] Promoted to Commander in 1892 he moved to HMS Active before moving on to command HMS Ganges, a boys training ship at Falmouth.[1] He became commanding officer of the cruiser HMS Sirius in July 1899, Divisional Transport Officer posted to the HMS Eagle in March 1900,[3] and commanding officer of the cruiser HMS Talbot in July 1900. In February 1901 he was appointed commanding officer of the cruiser , serving at the Cape of Good Hope Station. He went on to be commanding officer of the cruiser in April 1904 and of the battleship HMS Cornwallis in January 1905.[4]

After that Coke became Captain, Sheerness Gunnery School in January 1907, Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland in April 1911[5] and commander of the Newfoundland Patrol Service in March 1917.[6]

Family life[]

Coke married Anna Marie Madeleine Fergusson in 1883 and they had one son and a daughter.[1] Coke died at Hughenden, Exmouth, Devon on 23 February 1945 aged 90.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary." Times [London, England] 26 February 1945: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 27 December 2014
  2. ^ "No. 24501". The London Gazette. 7 September 1877. p. 5151.
  3. ^ "Naval & military Intelligence". The Times. No. 36092. London. 17 March 1900. p. 14.
  4. ^ "Captains commanding Royal Navy warships" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Senior Royal Navy appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  6. ^ Milner, Marc (2010). Canada's Navy: The First Century. University of Toronto Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0802096043.
Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland
1911–1915 		Succeeded by
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