Frederick Field (Royal Navy officer)

Infobox Military Person
name= Sir Frederick Field
lived= 18 April 1871 – 24 October 1945
placeofbirth= Killarney, Ireland
placeofdeath= Escrick, North Yorkshire, England


caption= Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Field
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
serviceyears= 1884-1933
rank= Admiral of the Fleet
branch=
branch
commands= First Sea Lord
unit=
battles= World War I
awards= GCB, KCMG
laterwork=
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Laurence Field GCB KCMG (18 April 1871 – 24 October 1945) was a British Royal Navy Admiral of the Fleet who served as First Sea Lord from 1930 to 1933. He served during the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and was a notable commander of HMS "Hood".

Early Career in the Royal Navy

He was born into a military family and was the second son of Colonel Spencer Field, 6th Royal Warwickshire regiment, and his wife, Catherine who was the daughter of Colonel Charles Darrall. He was born in Killarney, county Kerry, on April 19th, 1871, and he was the fifth child of a family of ten. He was educated privately.

He entered the Royal Navy in 1884 as a naval cadet, aboard HMS "Britannia". He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1893. In the Boxer rebellion in 1900, Field, who was then torpedo lieutenant of HMS "Barfleur". He led a small raiding party, landing at Tientsin/Tianjin and he was given the task of repairing damaged trains. He earned a special mention in dispatches for carrying out strenuous work, under continuous heavy fire. He also received the China medal and Relief of Peking clasp. Later during the capture of Tientsin city, he was wounded in the head by a bullet which, although it left a permanent scar, did no fatal damage. In 1902, Field was promoted to Commander, serving onboard HMS "Albion" until 1904. He was then to HMS "Vernon", the principal torpedo school, at Portsmouth. In 1907 he left the "Vernon" and was given command of the "Defiance", the branch torpedo school at Devonport. Five years later, in December 1907, he was promoted to the rank of Captain.

He was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1910, as the flag captain to Admiral Jerram onboard HMS "Duncan", returning home two years later to be appointed the superintendent of the Royal Navy signal schools. He held this appointment until September 1914, when he returned as commander of HMS "Vernon" and earned commendation from the Admiralty for the design and production of special wireless signaling apparatus for torpedo ships.

First World War

He saw service during the First World War. As flag Captain to Admiral Jerram, he was appointed command of the Battleship H.M.S. "King George V" at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. He was mentioned in dispatches for ‘the great skill with which he handled the King George V, as leader of the line, under very difficult conditions’.http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33123?docPos=3] From November 1916 to April 1918 he took the position of chief of staff to Sir Charles Madden, who was commanding the 1st battle squadron. By the end of the First World War, he had established his reputation as a torpedo expert while in the Vernon and Defiance and soon June 1918 he was appointed director of torpedoes and mines at the Admiralty. Over the course of the war, he was again Mentioned in Dispatches and also received a C.B., C.M.G., 2nd Class of Russian Order of St Anne with Swords, Order of Crown of Romania, Legion of Honour and the American DSM.

Admiral in the Royal Navy

While director of torpedoes at the Admiralty, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in February 1919. He soon joined the Board of Admiralty as the Third Sea Lord and controller in March 1920. In 1923, he went to sea again and was given the command of the Royal Navy battle-cruiser squadron with HMS Hood as his flagship. He was given the acting title of Vice Admiral and took the squadron on a 'show the flag' world tour. The squadron consisted of not only the Hood, the largest warship then afloat, but also another battlecruiser, HMS "Repulse", together with the light cruisers HMS "Delhi", "Dauntless", "Danae", "Dragon", and "Dunedin". Field left the Battle Cruiser Squadron and became the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, a post he held until 1928. He was also made a Lord commissioner of the Admiralty. He was promoted to the rank of a full Admiral in April of that year and subsequently served as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet.

First Sea Lord

He was reassigned as First Sea Lord of the Admiralty and Chief of Naval Staff in 1930. That same year he was made Admiral of the Fleet and received the GCB. He arrived just after the London naval conference in 1930, headed by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. The conference facilitated a settlement with the United States and agreed to restrict the British cruiser force to a maximum of fifty ships. Although he fulfilled the treaty obligations, he also ordered a fleet review, which in turn led to a new building programme. It was primarily Field's work in the committee of Imperial Defence, that led to the abandonment in 1932, of the ‘ten year rule’. This had been an attempt by the treasury to control defence expenditure, by requesting the Foreign Office declare whether there was any risk of war during that period. The greatest crisis faced by Field at the Admiralty was the pay crisis that soon followed. With the ongoing effects of worldwide depression and budget restrictions, a 25% pay cut was introduced across the fleet and one shilling was taking from every naval man. The sailors of the Atlantic Fleet at Invergordon, left their ships and refused duty. At King George V's insistence, Admiral Sir J. D. Kelly, who was popular with the fleet, was brought out of retirement to take command of the admiralty, and the cabinet hurriedly reconsidered its budget. The pay cuts were restricted to 10 per cent rather than 25%. During this time of trouble, Field suffered a perforated ulcer. Admiral Field retired as First Sea Lord in 1933 as was given the rank of Admiral of the Fleet

He was restored to the active list in 1940 and served other functions after his retirement. He was chairman of the committee of the Royal Navy Club (1765 and 1785) for the years 1935–7. Field died on 24 October 1945 from cancer at his home, Escrick Park, Escrick, Yorkshire, and was buried in Escrick.

References

Further reading

* Heathcote, T. A. (2002). "The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 - 1995". Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0 85052 835 6
* Murfett, Malcolm H.(1995). "The First Sea Lords from Fisher to Mountbatten". Westport. ISBN 0-275-94231-7

External links

* [http://www.hmshood.com/crew/biography/field_bio.htm A good biographical article of Field can be found here on the HMS Hood website]

ee also

*Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
*Second Sea Lord
*Third Sea Lord
*Fourth Sea Lord
*Fifth Sea Lord