The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Prior to 1914 the holder of the office was often referred to as Commander-in-Chief, Devonport. The Commanders-in-Chief were based in what is now Hamoaze House, Devonport, Plymouth from 1809 to 1934 and then at Admiralty House, Mount Wise, Devonport from 1934 until 1996.
The post dates back to around 1743. It extended along the South Coast from Exmouth in East Devon to Penzance in Cornwall. In 1941, during World War II, elements of Plymouth Command were transferred to Western Approaches Command which was established at Derby House in Liverpool. Meanwhile, Plymouth Command occupied a new combined Headquarters, known as the Maritime Headquarters, at Mount Wise. The post of Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth was merged with that of Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1969 to form Naval Home Command. Between 1952 and 1969 the Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth double-hatted as Plymouth Sub-Area Channel Command (PLYMCHAN) commander in NATO's Allied Command Channel.
After 1969, Admiralty House and the Maritime Headquarters became the home of the Flag Officer, Plymouth until that post was also disbanded in 1996. At around the same time the nearby RN Dockyard and barracks were reconstituted as HM Naval Base Devonport and placed under the command of a Commodore.
Commanders-in-Chief and Flag Officers
Commanders-in-Chief and Flag Officers have included:
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
1761 - 1763 Vice-Admiral Philip Durell
Jan 1763 - Jun 1763 Vice-Admiral Lord Colville
1763 - 1766 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Pye
1766 - 1771 Vice-Admiral Sir George Edgcumbe
1771 - 1775 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Spry
1776 - 1778 Vice-Admiral John Amherst
1778 - 1783 Vice Admiral Sir Molyneux Shuldham
1783 - 1786 Vice Admiral Mark Milbanke
1786 - 1790 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Graves
1790 - 1792 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton
1792 - 1793 Vice-Admiral Phillips Cosby
1794 - 1796 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard King
1796 - 1799 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Onslow
1799 - 1802 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley
1802 - 1803 Vice-Admiral Sir James Dacres
1803 - 1804 Vice-Admiral Sir John Colpoys
1804 - 1810 Vice-Admiral Sir William Young
1810 - 1813 Admiral Sir Robert Calder
1813 - 1815 Admiral Sir William Domett
1815 - 1817 Admiral Sir John Duckworth
1817 - 1821 Admiral Viscount Exmouth
1821 - 1824 Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane
1824 - 1827 Admiral Sir James Saumarez
1827 - 1830 Admiral Lord Northesk
1830 - 1833 Admiral Sir Manley Dixon
1833 - 1836 Admiral Sir William Hargood
1836 - 1839 Admiral Lord Amelius Beauclerk
1839 - 1842 Admiral Sir Graham Moore
1842 - 1845 Admiral Sir David Milne
1845 - 1848 Admiral Sir John West
1848 - 1851 Admiral Sir William Gage
1851 - 1854 Admiral Sir John Ommanney
1854 - 1857 Admiral Sir William Parker
1857 - 1860 Vice-Admiral Sir Barrington Reynolds
Jun 1860 - Oct 1860 Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Fanshawe
1860 - 1863 Vice-Admiral Sir Houston Stewart
1863 - 1866 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Fremantle
1866 - 1869 Admiral Sir William Martin
1869 - 1872 Admiral Sir Henry Codrington
1872 - 1875 Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Keppel
1875 - 1878 Admiral Sir Thomas Symonds
1878 - 1880 Admiral Sir Arthur Farquhar
1880 - 1881 Admiral Sir Charles Elliot
1881 - 1884 Admiral Sir William Stewart
1884 - 1887 Admiral Sir Augustus Phillimore
1887 - 1888 Admiral Lord John Hay
1888 - 1890 Admiral Sir William Dowell
1890 - 1893 Admiral The Duke of Edinburgh
1893 - 1896 Admiral Sir Algernon Lyons
1896 - 1899 Admiral Sir Edmund Fremantle
1899 - 1900 Admiral Sir Henry Fairfax
1900 - 1902 Vice-Admiral Lord Charles Montagu Douglas Scott
1902 - 1908 Vice-Admiral Sir Lewis Beaumont
1908 - 1911 Vice-Admiral Sir Wilmot Fawkes
1911 - 1913 Vice-Admiral Sir William May
1913 - 1916 Vice-Admiral Sir George Egerton
Mar 1916 - Dec 1916 Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender
1916 - 1918 Admiral Sir Alexander Bethell
1918 - 1920 Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Thursby
1920 - 1923 Admiral Sir Montague Browning
1923 - 1926 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Phillimore
1926 - 1929 Vice-Admiral Sir Rudolph Bentinck
1929 - 1932 Vice-Admiral Sir Hubert Brand
1932 - 1935 Vice-Admiral Sir Eric Fullerton
1935 - 1938 Admiral Sir Reginald Drax
1938 - 1941 Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith
1941 - 1943 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Forbes
1943 - 1945 Vice-Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham
1945 - 1947 Admiral Sir Henry Pridham-Wippell
1947 - 1950 Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Burnett
1950 - 1951 Vice-Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor
1951 - 1953 Vice-Admiral Sir Maurice Mansergh
1953 - 1955 Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Madden
1955 - 1958 Vice Admiral Sir Charles Pizey
1958 - 1961 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Onslow
1961 - 1962 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Madden
1962 - 1965 Vice-Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson
1965 - 1967 Vice-Admiral Sir Fitzroy Talbot
1967 - 1969 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Mills
Flag Officer, Plymouth
Jul 1969 - Sept 1969 Vice-Admiral John Roxburgh
1969 - 1970 Vice-Admiral Sir Anthony Griffin
1970 - 1973 Vice-Admiral Sir Rae McKaig
1973 - 1975 Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Power
1975 - 1977 Vice-Admiral Sir Gordon Tait
1977 - 1979 Vice-Admiral Sir John Forbes
1979 - 1981 Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Berger
1981 - 1982 Vice-Admiral Sir Simon Cassels
1982 - 1985 Vice-Admiral Sir David Brown
1985 - 1987 Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Gerken
1987 - 1990 Vice-Admiral Sir John Webster
1990 - 1992 Vice-Admiral Sir Alan Grose
1992 - 1996 Vice-Admiral Sir Roy Newman
