Newfoundland station
Active1729–1825
CountryUnited Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeNaval formation
Part ofRoyal Navy
Garrison/HQPlymouth, Portsmouth, St. John's.

The Newfoundland station[1] was a formation or command of, first, the Kingdom of Great Britain and, then, of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. Its official headquarters varied between Portsmouth or Plymouth[2] in England where a squadron of ships would set sail annually each year to protect convoys and the British fishing fleet operating in waters off the Newfoundland coast and would remain for period of approximately six months based at St. John's Harbour. In 1818 the station became a permanent posting headquartered at St John's. It existed from 1729 to 1825.

History

The Commodore-Governor was both a British Government and a Royal Navy official who was commander-in-chief[3] of the annual fishing convoy which left England each spring, sometimes from Portsmouth and other times from Plymouth, to fish off Newfoundland: the fleet were tasked with protecting the fishing convoys from harm. They were also responsible for administrative and judicial functions, including assisting the fishing admirals in Britain in maintaining admiralty law and order and compiling the annual report on the fish stocks for the British government. From 1729 to 1775 the officer appointed was usually of Commodore rank; however the station's increasing importance after that date led to appointments of more senior flag officers.[4]

The squadron stayed in Newfoundland for approximately four to six months annually. How long they remained depended on the orders they received from the Admiralty, according to the ships' condition. The fleet usually arrived off Newfoundland in July and August, generally returning to England, via the Lisbon Station, towards the end of October. Bypassing the horrendous weather conditions prevalent in the Atlantic at that time of year and escorting the British fishing vessels were important considerations in when the squadron returned. In spite of these problems, the naval administration continued to grow throughout the 18th century. By 1818, the Newfoundland Colony had a sufficiently large permanent population to warrant having a full-time resident governor. The station's responsibilities were merged into the North America Station in 1825 when a full-time civilian governor was appointed.[5]

Commanders

List of Commanders in Chief, Newfoundland Station
RankNameFromUntilNotesRef.
Commodore Henry Osborn 1729 1730 [4]
Commodore George Clinton 1731 1731
Commodore Edward Falkingham 1732 1732
Commodore Robert Muskerry 1733 1734
Commodore FitzRoy Henry Lee 1735 1737
Commodore Philip Vanbrugh 1738 1738
Commodore Henry Medley 1739 1740
Commodore Thomas Smith 1741 1741
Commodore John Byng 1742 1742
Commodore Thomas Smith 1743 1743
Commodore Charles Hardy 1744 1744
Commodore Richard Edwards 1745 1745
Commodore Sir James Douglas 1746 1746
Commodore Charles Watson 1748 1748
Commodore George Rodney 1749 1749
Commodore Francis William Drake 1750 1752
Commodore Hugh Bonfoy 1753 1754
Commodore Richard Dorrill 1755 1756
Commodore Richard Edwards 1757 1759
Commodore James Webb 1760 1761 Died in post
Commodore Thomas Graves 1761 1763
Commodore Hugh Palliser 1764 1768
Commodore John Byron 1769 1771
Commodore Molyneux Shuldham 1772 1774
Commodore Robert Duff 1775 1775
Vice-Admiral John Montagu 1776 1778 Titled Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Newfoundland [4][6][1]
Rear-Admiral Richard Edwards 1779 1781 [4]
Vice-Admiral John Campbell 1782 1786
Rear-Admiral John Elliot 1786 1788
Vice-Admiral Mark Milbanke 1789 1791 [4][7]
Rear-Admiral Sir Richard King 1792 1793 [4]
Rear-Admiral Sir James Wallace 1794 1796
Vice-Admiral William Waldegrave 1797 1799
Rear-Admiral Charles Pole 1800 1801
Vice-Admiral James Gambier 1802 1803
Vice-Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower 1804 1806 [4][8]
Vice-Admiral John Holloway 1807 1809 [4]
Admiral Sir John Duckworth 1810 1812
Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Keats 1813 1816
Vice-Admiral Francis Pickmore 1817 1818 Died in post
Captain John Bowker 1818 1818 Temporary
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton 1818 1825

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Bannister 2003, p. 68.
  2. ↑ Malcomson, Thomas (2016). Order and Disorder in the British Navy, 1793-1815: Control, Resistance, Flogging and Hanging. Boydell & Brewer. p. 11. ISBN 9781783271191.
  3. ↑ Bannister 2003, p. 64.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Haydn, Joseph (13 Jun 2008). The Book of Dignities: Containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Together with the Sovereigns and Rulers of Europe, from the Foundation of Their Respective States; the Peerage of England and Great Britain Original 1851 Digitized by the University of Michigan. Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 279.
  5. ↑ Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. "Naval Governors, 1729-1824". Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Montagu, John (1719-1795)".
  7. ↑ Marshall, John (2010). Royal Naval Biography: Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-Officers, Superannuated Rear-Admirals, Retired-Captains, Post-Captains, and Commanders. Cambridge University Press. p. 545. ISBN 9781108022675.
  8. ↑ "Biography: GOWER, Sir ERASMUS, naval officer and governor of Newfoundland". Dictionary of Canadian Biography,Volume V (1801-1820), 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.

References

  • Bannister, Jerry (2003). The rule of the admirals : law, custom, and naval government in Newfoundland, 1699-1832. Toronto: Published for the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802086136.
  • Miller, Nathan. Broadsides: The Age of Fighting Sail, 1775-1815 . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2000.
  • Rodger, N.A.M. The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815. New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004.
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