Services in China To the Editor of the *Nowm-Cuina Dany News"
'S—With reference to the leader tte "entitled "Earl Beatty," which appeared in the "Norta China Lauy News" on January 28, it may be of Jinterest to. some" of "your readers, especially those who knew this ole, when he served as Commander of HAMS. Barflour on the China station, during, the Boxer rebeition in 1900, 10 have @ more detailed outline of the meteoric career of this distingulsed naval officer, David Beatty was born on January 4, 1071, "He joined the navy' asa Naval Cadet on January 18, 1084. one day short of his thirteenth birthday. is name appeared in the Navy Hsi for the first time in 1686, wells from the bottom of the list, "On May 15, 1806, he was promoted to midshipm: and after a couple of years training In [HAMS. "Alexandra rose to the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant, A year ater he joined the Royal College vat Greenwich to. sar series of courses required to qualify Jor the rank of 1 clude "navigation, gunnery." torpedo and pilotage. 'Two years and. three months later he was promoted (e the rank of Lieutenant on January 15, 189 In this rank he served on board TIN. Nile and. Camperdown, and thus fi [fist decade of service' was spent in the normal routine of a junior eller Between 1896 and 1896 he had the food fortune to serve in the Naval Fiotita operating on the Nile, under the orders of the Sirdar, Sic Kitehner, and here in command one or otic of the un-boats omnioye3 he greatly distinguished hima, and started a career which was 10 end the highest rank of the navy. For services on the Nile, he was promoted {o the rank of Commander on Novemn-15, 1806, when he was under 28 Years of age, and had a little more wan six years service in the rank of This promotion tok him over the "heads of some 305 lieutenants senior to him, and made him by fur the youngest, "commander in" the Service. On the April 20, 1809, he was appointed as Commander' of TINS, "Barfleur, flagship of the second-inc command "of the" Chin station, During the Boxer Rebellion 1006 he served with great distinetion during the attempt to relieve. the Jegations by the mixed naval brigade under the command of Admiral Sey mour, "He commanded a landing party 160 seamen and marines sen from Taku to Tientsin, and led a party to capture two Chinese. guns, posted on the railway embankment which cere firing on the settlement. In this action he was badly wounded in the Tett arm, despite this he insisted in proceeding with the forces sent onl from TTientsin to Hsiku for the relief st" Admiral" Seymour, who "had established himself at this place after his unsuccessful attempt "to reach Peking. For his services in China, he promoted tothe rank of Post {Captain on November 9. 1900. This step was almost unprecedented. was hot yet thirty, and. Tad only sixteen" years service." This parsed him over the leads of 219 commanders, and at the age of 29 he was in rank the average age of which was for! three, From 1902 to 1905 he com manded successively HALS, Juno, Ar-! rogant, Diana and. Suffolk, his' Inst, command as Captain was FERN batlleship Queen which he commissioned in 1908 for' service with the Atlantic Fleet. "On January 1. 1910, he was promoted to flag rank, before he had Teached the ace of 39, a circumstance tunigue in modern times, except in the ease of Royal princes, and to find a is known in the navy as "Salt Horse" for which it is necessary:
back to the eighteenth century
Keppel at 37 and Nelson at 38.
Fact a special Order in Council hud to be executed in connection with his promotion, as under ordinary cire stances, captain were required [serve for a period of six years during Peace before becoming eligible for promotion, and in Beatty's ease he had served tess than this time. Being the bottom of the flag officers list, the [chance of flying his flag were few and far between; however, he was ofleresl vacancy in the Atlafitic Fleet, which hho declined. a step not conducive to further appointments, and he might easily have remained without employment until the time came for him to retire. "However, when Mr. Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty in 1011, Beatty sought and was given an interview with this great statesman, "which resulted in his apointment as Naval Secretary 10 the First Lord, a position he retained until he was appointed to his first flagship HAMS, Aboukir of the Sixth Cruiser squadron during the manoeuvres of the "Red" and "Blue" fleets, in which no less than 21 admirals few their flags, and where 335 ships with a total complement of about 90,000 were engaged. On March 1, 1013, Beatty hoisted his flag in the'Lion and took command of squadron, later to. be extended to a fleet, and from this date until April 7, 1918—a period of over six years—he was continually in com= mand at sea, during which time his lay was never hauled down, although it "was transferred on several occasions, and once during the heat of action," His successful actions during this time which embraced the \hole of the greatest war the world has fever known are too recent and well recorded to be mentioned here.
On August 3, 1914 he was given the rank of acting' Vice-Admirat when In command of what was then known as "Cruiser Force A." On August 9, 1915," he was confirmed as Vice Admiral_when in command of the Battle Cruiser Fleet. On November 28, 1916%he was made Acting Admiral fon talking command of the Grand On January. 1. 1919, he was confirmed as Admiral, and on the April 3, 1919, he. was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet. This occurred three days before he left the Grand Fleet and he had the unique distinetion of flying the Union at the mast head of HMS, Queen Elizabeth. Since the days of King George I1f the only other admirals of the fleet who had flown their flags. were Admical of the Fleet Sir E. Seymour, who flaw his fag on board MINS. Inflexible when he went to New You as special representative' of the Royal Navy. in 1909. and Admiral of the Fleet sir W. May, who holsied his flax when he Jacted as Umpire in Chief during the manocuvers in 1912 and 1913, With his promotion to Admiral of the Fleet he reached the highest rank the naval service, a rank seldom at~ tained except by a very few men in their generation, and only then at an ize when it becomes more or leis of Jan honorary distinction, Few. officers have reached this rank under the aye of 60. Beatty was only 48, about the age of men in the Captain's list, Twenty years previously he had been Jan unknown lieutenant, so that in 30 short a time as two decades he had from the lowest to the highest rank, which he has held for period of 17 years, After a short spell of leave Earl Beatty entered on his last service on the active list, when he was appoint First Sea Lord of the Admiralty in November, 1919, an ofice which he held until' July. 1927, serving for one year longer in this important. post than the normal span of six years, During his tenure of office at the Admiralty he had, amongst other things, the diMeult job of reducing the eet from a war to a peace footing, which included the demobilization of the temporary personnel. Retrenchment and economy was the order of ithe day, and ships and personnel had be reduced to a bare minimum, the latter undertaking involving the' unpleasant task of "axing" a consider-fable number of oticers and men on the active lst. His work at the 'Admiralty. was. as at sea, of great benefit to his country, and his advice jon naval matters was highly appre-lated by the Government, so that on the termination of his service, he reved a letter from the' Prime, Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, record jing his own thanks and that of the government for the valuable services rendered by Earl Beatty during, his tenure of office as First Sea Lord, Such is a very brief record of the career of one of the greatest sen oM-"rs of modern times. the more remarkable on account of the fact that hho attained his high position almost entirely owing to his dogged perst verance, and his ability" when 0 portunity offered to handle what enterprise he was engaged In, with remarkable courage, skill, and' quick jection. Me could not be correctly classed as a "brainy" oticer in the sense of passing with distinction the ordinary examinations of a naval officer. He never became a specialist in gunnery. torpedo or navigation, and remained throughout his service what
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