List of Royal Navy flag officers who died during the First World War facts for kids

Naval Officers of World War I by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope. This painting shows three Royal Navy admirals who died in the war: Arbuthnot, Cradock, and Hood.

This article lists the important Royal Navy officers, called flag officers, who died during World War I. These officers held high ranks like rear-admiral, vice-admiral, admiral, or admiral of the fleet. They usually led groups of ships or worked in important planning roles on land.

The list includes 10 flag officers who died between 4 August 1914, when Britain joined the war, and 11 November 1918, when the fighting stopped. Another 6 officers died between the armistice and 31 August 1921, which was officially the end of the war. Three of these flag officers were killed in battle: one at the Battle of Coronel in 1914 and two at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

What are Flag Officers?

During World War I, the Royal Navy's top leaders were called flag officers. Their ranks, from lowest to highest, were:

• Rear-admiral
• Vice-admiral
• Admiral
• Admiral of the fleet

Sometimes, people like foreign royalty were given these ranks as an honorary title. In August 1914, there were many officers at these ranks, including 18 rear-admirals and 22 vice-admirals.

In 1914, rear-admirals often led groups of 2 to 4 battleships or squadrons of battlecruisers. Squadrons of smaller ships were often led by commodores. These groups of ships were part of larger regional commands. The rank of the commander depended on how important the region was, but it was usually a rear-admiral or vice-admiral. More senior officers commanded very large groups of ships, like the Grand Fleet. Many admirals also worked in important planning jobs on land instead of commanding ships at sea. The rank of admiral of the fleet was held for life and was given to the most senior officers or as an honorary title for past service.

Until 1957, the Royal Navy had different branches for its officers. There were officers who commanded ships (called "executive" roles) and others who handled things like engineering (called "civil" roles). Before 1903, engineers had their own special rank titles. After 1903, engineer officers held the same ranks as other officers, but their rank title started with "engineer," like "Engineer Rear-Admiral."

Admirals in World War I

Royal Navy admirals served both on land and at sea during the war. David Lloyd George, who was Britain's Prime Minister during the war, praised the admirals for fighting at sea and facing the same dangers as their sailors. He said this was different from some generals who stayed far from the battlefields. However, this idea isn't entirely fair to the generals, as many of them also died during the war.

Three British admirals were killed in action during World War I:

• Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock died at the Battle of Coronel in 1914.
• Rear-Admiral Sir Horace Hood died at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.
• Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Arbuthnot also died at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

Compare this to at least 78 British generals who were killed in action, showing that the army had a higher rate of deaths among its top officers.

Navies from other parts of the British Empire, like the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Canadian Navy, also fought in the war. They usually followed orders from the British Admiralty. The Royal Indian Marine started the war without fighting, but later its ships were armed and used for patrols and transport. The only non-Royal Navy admiral from the British Empire who died during the war was Rear-Admiral Frederick Tickell from the Royal Australian Navy.

Officers Who Died During the War (Pre-Armistice)

This list includes flag officers who died between 4 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. Many retired naval officers, including admirals, volunteered to serve again during the war. Some joined the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) at lower ranks and helped patrol the coasts in smaller ships. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which keeps records of war deaths, lists these officers by their full rank, even if they were serving in a lower RNR rank when they died.

Image	Rank	Name	Role	Date of Death	Place of Death	Cause of Death
	Engineer Rear-Admiral	William Thomas Hocken	Engineer-in-Chief of the Fleet staff	28 August 1914	London, United Kingdom
	Rear-Admiral	Sir Christopher Cradock	4th Cruiser Squadron	1 November 1914	HMS Good Hope, Coronel	Killed in action
	Rear-Admiral	William John Grogan	HMY Sapphire II	14 March 1915	Portsmouth, United Kingdom	Drowned
	Rear-Admiral	Sir Robert Arbuthnot	1st Cruiser Squadron	31 May 1916	HMS Defence, Jutland	Killed in action
	Rear-Admiral	Sir Horace Hood	3rd Battlecruiser Squadron	31 May 1916	HMS Invincible, Jutland	Killed in action
	Vice-Admiral	Sir George Warrender	Former Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth	8 January 1917	London, United Kingdom	Illness
	Admiral	Sir Frederick Hamilton	Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth	4 October 1917	Rosyth, United Kingdom	Illness
	Vice-Admiral	Frank Hannam Henderson	On special service, HMS President	26 June 1918	Royal Hospital Haslar, United Kingdom	Operation
	Engineer Rear-Admiral	Francis Henry Lister	Haulbowline Dockyard staff	20 August 1918	Queenstown, United Kingdom	Illness
	Engineer Rear-Admiral	Richard James Tench		1 November 1918	Waterlooville, United Kingdom

Officers Who Died After the Armistice

The fighting in World War I ended with the armistice of 11 November 1918. However, the official peace treaties took a few more years to be agreed upon. For most purposes, the British Parliament set 31 August 1921 as the official end of the war. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission also uses this date for its records. The following flag officers died between the armistice and 31 August 1921.

Image	Rank	Name	Role	Date of Death	Place of Death	Cause of Death
	Admiral	Frank Finnis	Retired 1909; served from 1915 as a captain in the Royal Naval Reserve	17 November 1918	London, United Kingdom	Illness
	Admiral	Herbert Lyon	Retired 1913; served from 1914 as a commodore in the Royal Naval Reserve commanding patrols at Malta	15 March 1919	Bighi Hospital, Malta	Illness
	Vice-Admiral	Sir Trevylyan Napier	Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station	30 July 1920	Hamilton, Bermuda	Illness
	Vice-Admiral	Gerald Marescaux	Retired 1915; served from 1914 as a colonel in the British Army. Last position commanding British Troops, Paris.	3 September 1920	Royal Naval Hospital Chatham, United Kingdom	Wounds received
	Admiral of the Fleet	Sir George Callaghan	Former Commander-in-Chief, The Nore	23 November 1920	London, United Kingdom	Illness
	Rear-Admiral	Henry Montagu Doughty	Former 1st Battle Squadron	1 May 1921	Haslar Naval Hospital, United Kingdom