- China Station
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China Station Active 1865–1941 Allegiance United Kingdom Branch 
Royal NavyType Naval squadron & fleet Garrison/HQ Singapore Naval Base, HMS Tamar, & Wei Hai Wei station (1989-1930) The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China.
From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies Station and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station.[1] The China Station, established in 1865, covered the coasts of China and its navigable rivers, the western part of the Pacific Ocean, and the waters around the Dutch East Indies.[2] These responsibilities did not imply territorial claims, although the navy often co-operated with British commercial interests in the above areas.
The China Station had bases at Singapore (Singapore Naval Base), HMS Tamar (1865–1941 and 1945–1997) in Hong Kong and Wei Hai Wei (1898-1930). A British naval squadron can be either a permanent battle formation or an ad hoc grouping of warships. The China Station complement usually consisted of several older light cruisers and destroyers, and the Chinese rivers were patrolled by a flotilla of suitable, shallow-draught gunboats, referred to as "China gunboats".[3] Ships on this station usually had a distinctive livery of white hull and superstructure and dark funnels. In response to increased Japanese threats, the separate China Station was merged with the East Indies Station during December 1941 to form the Eastern Fleet.[4]
Commanding officers
Dates Admiral Commanding[1][5] 1865 - 1867 Vice-Admiral Sir George King 1867 - 1869 Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Keppel 1869 - 1871 Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Kellett 1871 - 1874 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Shadwell 1874 - 1877 Vice-Admiral Sir Alfred Ryder 1877 - 1878 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hillyar 1878 - 1881 Vice-Admiral Robert Coote 1881 - 1884 Vice-Admiral Sir George Willes 1884 - 1885 Vice-Admiral Sir William Dowell 1885 - 1887 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Hamilton 1887 - 1890 Vice-Admiral Sir Nowell Salmon 1890 - 1892 Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Richards 1892 - 1895 Vice-Admiral Sir Edmund Fremantle 1895 - 1897 Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Buller 1897 - 1901 Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Seymour 1901 - 1904 Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge 1904 - 1906 Vice-Admiral Sir Gerard Noel 1906 - 1908 Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Moore 1908 - 1910 Vice-Admiral Sir Hedworth Meux 1910 - 1913 Vice-Admiral Sir Alfred Winsloe 1913 - 1915 Vice-Admiral Sir Martyn Jerram 1916 - 1917 Vice-Admiral Sir William Grant 1917 - 1919 Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick Tudor 24 July 1919 - 1922 Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Duff 10 September 1922 - November 1924 Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson November 1924 - 1925 Rear Admiral Sir Allan Everett 1925 Rear Admiral David Anderson (acting) 22 April 1925 - 8 November 1926 Vice-Admiral Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair 8 November 1926 - 28 November 1928 Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt 28 November 1928 - 28 February 1931 Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Waistell 28 February 1931 - 11 March 1933 Vice-Admiral Sir Howard Kelly 11 March 1933 - 11 January 1936 Admiral Sir Frederic Dreyer 11 January 1936 - 5 February 1938 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Little 5 February 1938 - 1940 Admiral Sir Percy Noble September 1940 - 1941 Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton[6] See also
References
- ^ a b William Loney RN
- ^ Royal Navy Foreign Stations
- ^ HMS Falcon
- ^ The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse
- ^ "Commander-in-Chief, China Station". Royal Navy Fleet Officers, 1904-1945. 21-Oct-2007. http://www.admirals.org.uk/appointments/fleets/china.php. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ^ NZ Electronic Text Centre, accessed November 2008
Categories:- Fleets of the Royal Navy
- Royal Navy stations
- United Kingdom navy stubs
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