Difference between revisions of "Charles Edward Madden, First Baronet"
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|[[Second Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)|Rear-Admiral Commanding,<br>Second Cruiser Squadron]]|Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee|1913 – 1914|The Hon. Somerset A. Gough-Calthorpe | |[[Second Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)|Rear-Admiral Commanding,<br>Second Cruiser Squadron]]|Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee|1913 – 1914|The Hon. Somerset A. Gough-Calthorpe | ||
}} | }} | ||
+ | {{Appt | ||
+ | |[[Grand Fleet|Chief of the Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet]]|New Appointment|1914 – 1916|[[Osmond de Beauvoir Brock|Osmond de B. Brock]] | ||
+ | }} | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | rowspan="2" width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;" align="center"| Preceded by<br>'''[[Cecil Burney, First Baronet|Sir Cecil Burney]]''' | ||
+ | | width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;" align="center"| '''Admiral Commanding,<br>First Battle Squadron'''<br>1916 – 1919 | ||
+ | | width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;" align="center"| Succeeded by<br>'''[[Sydney Robert Fremantle|Sir Sydney R. Fremantle]]''' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;" align="center"| '''Second-in-Command,<br>Grand Fleet'''<br>1916 – 1919 | ||
+ | | width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;" align="center"| Succeeded by<br>'''Command Dispersed''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="2" width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;" align="center"| Preceded by<br>'''New Command''' | | rowspan="2" width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;" align="center"| Preceded by<br>'''New Command''' |
Revision as of 18:21, 4 September 2012
Admiral of the Fleet SIR Charles Edward Madden, First Baronet, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O., K.C.M.G., D.C.L., L.L.D., Royal Navy (5 September, 1862 – 5 June, 1935) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the First World War.
Early Life & Career
Madden was born at Brompton, Gillingham, Kent, 5 September, 1862, the second son of Captain John William Madden, of the Fourth (King's Own) Regiment, by his wife, Emily, second daughter of John Busby, of Kingstown; he was descended from a long line of Anglo-Irish families. He entered the Britannia as a naval cadet on 15 January, 1875[1] and on promotion to Midshipman in 1877 was sent to the Alexandra, the Flagship of (Sir) Geoffrey Hornby, in the Mediterranean, and served in her throughout that famous command. In 1880 he went to the Ruby, a corvette in the East Indies Squadron, for two and a half years, being promoted Sub-Lieutenant in her in 1881. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant with seniority of 27 July, 1884.[2] Soon after promotion to Lieutenant in 1884 he decided to specialize in torpedo and spent two years in the Vernon torpedo school with an additional six months as staff officer of that establishment. In 1892 he was appointed Torpedo Lieutenant of the Royal Sovereign, Flagship of the Channel Squadron, and in 1893 resumed his post as staff officer of the Vernon. He was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1896.[3] After three years at sea as commander of the cruiser Terrible and the battleship Cæsar he returned to the Vernon in 1899 for a further two years.
Captain
Madden was promoted to the rank of Captain on 30 June, 1901.[4] He was temporarily reappointed to Vernon on the same day. On 29 October Captain Robinson wrote of him: "Excellent executive officer & torpedo specialist. Would make an excellent Flag Captain." On 13 February, 1902, he was appointed to Renown, flagship in the Mediterranean, for duty with torpedo boat destroyers on that station. He was reappointed to H.M.S. Orion in that capacity from 1 April to 7 August.
On 5 September he was appointed to H.M.S. Duke of Wellington for command of the new armoured cruiser Good Hope, which he commissioned on 8 November as flagship of Rear-Admiral Wilmot H. Fawkes.[5] During this service he took the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, on a visit to South Africa at the end of 1902. On the occasion of the King's visit to Ireland Madden was appointed a Member of the Fourth Class of the Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O.) on 11 August, 1903.[6]
Rear-Admiral Fawkes wrote of Madden in October, 1904: "Has all the high qualifications for command, knowledge, temper, tact, breadth of view, health, & is looked up to by every officer & man in the ship." He gave up command of Good Hope on 5 November and on 11 November was appointed to the Admiralty for committee work; the Committee on Designs. From 27 December to 9 January, 1905, he commanded H.M.S. Majestic, and on 7 February he returned to the Admiralty as Naval Assistant to the Third Sea Lord and Controller, Captain Henry B. Jackson. He remained with Jackson until 20 December, when he became Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord, Sir John A. Fisher. He retained this position until 12 August, 1907. On the occasion of the King's inspection of the Home Fleet he was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (C.V.O.) on 3 August.[7]
He was appointed Captain of H.M.S. Dreadnought on 12 August, 1907,[8] and Chief of the Staff to Vice-Admiral Sir Francis C. B. Bridgeman, Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet. On 1 December, 1908, he returned to the Admiralty for Committee work, and on 12 December he was appointed Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Reginald McKenna. In Madden's service record, Bridgeman noted: "This offr. has no defects; his zeal & judgement are both excellent; his physical qualities are all that could be desired, & he has been the best Flag Capt. & Ch. of Staff an Admiral could possibly wish for. Strongly recomd him for advanct."
When discussing the composition of a new Board of Admiralty in 1909, Fisher wrote to McKenna:
I still cling to Madden as Controller, and Jellicoe is in full accord. Briggs, the only [other] possible, is not to be compared with Madden and would be nowhere for months! simply an automaton signing papers! Besides, I don't see how you are going to get rid of Winsloe so early as January, so the Fourth Sea Lord would not be vacant for Madden.[9]
On 1 January, 1910, Madden was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII, vice Beatty.[10] He was appointed Fourth Sea Lord on 25 January.
Flag Rank
Madden was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 12 April, 1911.[11] He had had unusually short sea service as a post-captain, and only fourteen months' fleet experience, but he was now to be at sea continuously for over eleven years as a flag officer in the main British Fleet, including the whole period of the war of 1914–1918. He commanded the first division, Home Fleet (flag in the St. Vincent) during 1912, the third cruiser squadron (flag in the Antrim) during 1913, and then the second cruiser squadron (flag in the Shannon) until the eve of the outbreak of war. In May, 1914, it was announced that in August Madden would succeed Rear-Admiral A. G. H. W. Moore as Third Sea Lord.[12] He turned over his command to Rear-Admiral the Honourable Somerset A. Gough-Calthorpe on 29 July at Chatham,[13] and was appointed to President for Special Service at the Admiralty.[1]
Great War
When Admiral Sir J. R. (afterwards Earl) Jellicoe was appointed to take over the command of the Grand Fleet he asked for his wife's brother-in-law, Madden, who had been designated to rejoin the Board of Admiralty as third sea lord and controller, to accompany him as chief of staff. Madden was accordingly sent to the Iron Duke (Jellicoe's flagship) on 4 August 1914 and remained in her until Jellicoe became first sea lord in November 1916, having been promoted acting vice-admiral in June 1915 and confirmed in that rank on 10 June, 1916.[14] In Jellicoe's Jutland dispatch of 18 June 1916 Madden's brilliant work as his chief of staff was recorded thus: "Throughout a period of twenty-one months of war his services have been of inestimable value. His good judgment, his long experience in fleets, special gift for organization, and his capacity for unlimited work, have all been of the greatest assistance to me, and have relieved me of much of the anxiety inseparable from the conduct of the fleet during the war. In the stages leading up to the fleet action and during and after the action he was always at hand to assist, and his judgment never at fault. I owe him more than I can say." During his time as Chief of the Staff, Madden went to sea in command, for example taking the First Battle Squadron for exercises west of the Orkneys on 23 September, 1915, and again on the 27th.[15] On 1 January, 1916, he was appointed an Additional Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.).[16]
On 15 September he was appointed an Additional Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (K.C.M.G.) for his services at Jutland, dated 31 May.[17]
Jellicoe wrote to Balfour on 19 November, 1916:
You will no doubt remember that I have always stated that I consider Admiral Madden better fitted for the Chief Command than is Admiral Beatty. I am bound to reiterate this opinion although I know that the decision which you announce is taken after much reflection.[18]
On the change of chief command in 1916 Madden was appointed to the command of the first battle squadron, as second in command of the Fleet, with the acting rank of admiral (flag in the Marlborough and later in the Revenge), and retained it until April 1919, having been confirmed in the rank of Admiral on 12 February of that year (vice Sir Berkeley Milne).[19] When Sir David (afterwards Earl) Beatty hauled down his flag as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet and the war organization of the navy was broken up, Madden was appointed to the command of the newly constituted Atlantic Fleet and Home Fleet (flag in the Queen Elizabeth) which he held from 1919 to 1922.
Post-war and Atlantic Fleet
Madden was appointed an Additional Member of the First Class, or Knight Grand Cross, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) on 1 January, 1919.[20] In the autumn of 1919 Madden was created a Baronet and granted £10,000 by a vote of parliament, and on finally coming ashore in August, 1922 he received a letter of appreciation from the Board of Admiralty for "the manner in which he exercised command of the Atlantic Fleet and for his services to the Royal Navy and to the Empire." He was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King on 15 August, vice Colville.[21] He was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet on 31 July, 1924, vice Jackson.[22] He served in 1923–1924 as chairman of the committee on the functions and training of Royal Marines, and in 1925, under the chairmanship of Lord Chelmsford, on that for the list of executive officers of the navy. He was appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on 30 July, 1927, in succession to Earl Beatty.[23] He would have been placed on the Retired List on 31 July, 1929, but, in order to retain him in office, the First Lord (W. C. Bridgeman) procured a special order in council to secure his remaining Admiral of the Fleet on the Active List supernumerary to establishment, so long as he held appointment as First Sea Lord.[24]
First Sea Lord
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Madden Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. p. 83.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 25383. p. 3485. 1 August, 1884.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 26757. p. 3978. 10 July, 1896.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27335. p. 4780. 19 July, 1901.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 8 September, 1902. Issue 36867, col E, p. 8.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27586. p. 5058. 11 August, 1903.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28048. p. 5390. 6 August, 1907.
- ↑ John Roberts. The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 18.
- ↑ Fear God and Dread Nought. I. pp. 281-282.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28325. p. 30. 4 January, 1910.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28485. p. 2967. 14 April, 1911.
- ↑ "Flag Appointments" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 15 May, 1914. Issue 40524, col C, p. 8.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Thursday, 30 July, 1914. Issue 40589, col B, p. 4.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29621. p. 5828. 13 June, 1916.
- ↑ Commander Matthew Best's notebook entries for 23 September, 27 September, 1915. Liddle Collection. University of Leeds. RNMN/BEST. Box 1. Volume III.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29423. p. 79. 31 December, 1915.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29751. p. 9071. 15 September, 1916.
- ↑ Balfour Papers. British Library. Add. MSS. 49714. f. 159.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 31201. p. 2738. 25 February, 1919.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31099. p. 106. 1 January, 1919.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 32740. p. 6157. 22 August, 1922.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 32962. p. 5889. 5 August, 1924.
- ↑ The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 119.
- ↑ Order in Council of 21 March, 1929.
Bibliography
- Dictionary of National Biography.
- "Admiral of the Fleet Sir C. Madden" (Obituaries). The Times. Thursday, 6 June, 1935. Issue 47083, col A, pg. 21.
Papers
Images
- 1922 Reginald Grenville Eves portrait in the possession of the Imperial War Museum. Catalogue Number IWM ART 4177.
Service Records
- The National Archives. ADM 196/87.
- The National Archives. ADM 196/42.
- The National Archives. ADM 196/20.
- People
- People (UK)
- 1862 births
- 1935 deaths
- H.M.S. Britannia (Training Ship) Entrants of July, 1875
- Naval Assistants to the First Sea Lord
- Private Secretaries to the First Lord of the Admiralty
- Fourth Sea Lords
- Rear-Admirals in the First Division, Home Fleet (Royal Navy)
- Rear-Admirals in the First Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)
- Rear-Admirals Commanding, Third Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)
- Rear-Admirals Commanding, Second Cruiser Squadron (Royal Navy)
- Chiefs of the Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet
- Admirals Commanding, First Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)
- Commanders-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet (Royal Navy)
- First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp to King George V
- First Sea Lords