Edmund Clifton Carver

Captain (retired) Edmund Clifton Carver, D.S.O., (20 September, 1873 – 30 November, 1942) served in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Carver was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 14 May, 1894.

Carver was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December, 1905.

The cruise of his command, H.M.S. Torch, among the Pacific Islands in 1911, was not a happy one. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, M.P., stated in the House of Commons:

"Captain Carver was superseded because of the punishments he inflicted on the men of his crew during the period the 'Torch' was in commission and under his command. The case was dealt with in the ordinary manner by the Naval officials responsible for the disciplinary conduct of the Fleet at the Admiralty. Whenever the return of the punishments came home it was clear that a perfectly extraordinary and unprecedented condition had prevailed on the 'Torch.' It was decided according to Service opinion that this officer was no longer fit to be left in sole charge of a small ship, where he was sole arbiter of the happiness and the position of the men and boys under him. In the quarter ending 30th September, 1911, there were 123 punishments awarded to a ship's company of ninety-five men and boys. Some of these punishments were entirely unauthorised and illegal. They included such punishments as being ordered to the masthead illegally, and being kept in irons and eventually deprived of badge and reduced to the second class for conduct for refusing to go; seven days' cells in the refrigerating room; two men deprived of good conduct badge for failure to obtain soundings early enough when approaching an anchorage. These were punishments affecting the whole future position of these men. ... I do not wish to underrate the good qualities of Commander Carver ... I quite recognise his dash in expeditions with natives, and that his record in many ways is a good one. But the condition of the crew, the punishments inflicted upon them, and the general methods by which discipline was maintained during this period, which are out of all proportion to any ordinary system in the Navy, clearly show that he is not a man who can be trusted to command a small ship, though possibly in other positions under superior authority, and in close touch with superiors, he might conceivably have been employed."

Carver was placed on the Retired List at his own request with the rank of Captain on 30 June, 1912.

See Also

• Service Records
• Wikipedia

Bibliography

Naval Appointments
Preceded by John B. Hancock	Captain of H.M. T.B. 64 18 Jul, 1894	Succeeded by Charles H. McMullin
Preceded by Richard G. A. W. Stapleton-Cotton	Captain of H.M.S. Terrible 2 Aug, 1910 – 21 Feb, 1911	Succeeded by Alan C. Bruce
Preceded by George C. Quayle	Captain of H.M.S. Torch 4 May, 1911 – 5 Apr, 1912	Succeeded by John R. Le H. Ward
Preceded by New Command	Captain in Charge of Naval Base, Poole Jan, 1915 – c. Jul, 1915	Succeeded by George A. C. Ward as Commander in Charge of Naval Base, Poole
Preceded by Cecil A. Severn	Captain of H.M.S. Amphitrite 27 Jun, 1917	Succeeded by Harry H. Smyth