The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post. The commanders-in-chief were based at High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the 1830s and then at the Dockyard Commissioner's house from the 1830s to 1969.
An admiral commanding in Portsmouth has been attested as early as 1697, but the first Flag Officer who records clearly establish was responsible for Portsmouth was Rear-Admiral Sir John Moore, appointed in 1766. The Command extended along the south coast from Newhaven in East Sussex to Portland in Dorset. In 1889 the Commander-in-Chief took HMS Victory as his Flagship.
In the late 18th century port admirals began to reside ashore, rather than on board their flagships; the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was provided with a large house in the High Street (formerly home to one Philip Varlo, four times Mayor of Portsmouth). In the 1830s this Admiralty House was sold to the War Office (as Government House, it went on to house the Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth for the next fifty years). The Commander-in-Chief moved in turn into the former Dockyard Commissioner's house, which still stands within HMNB Portsmouth.
During the Second World War the Command Headquarters was at Fort Southwick.
In 1952 the Commander-in-Chief took up the NATO post of Commander-in-Chief, Channel (CINCHAN). This move added Allied Command Channel to the NATO Military Command Structure. The admiral commanding at Portsmouth had control naval operations in the area since 1949 under WUDO auspices.
The post of Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was merged with that of Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in 1969 to form the post of Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME). The posts of Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command were amalgamated in 1994 following the rationalisation of the British Armed Forces following the end of the Cold War. In 2012, however, all distinct Commander-in-Chief appointments were discontinued, with full operational command being vested instead in the First Sea Lord; he now flies his flag from HMS Victory.
Commanders-in-Chief
Commanders-in-Chief have included:
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
1745 – 1747 Admiral James Steuart
1748 – 1752 Admiral Sir Edward Hawke
1755 – 1756 Admiral Sir Edward Hawke
1756 – 1757 Admiral Henry Osborn
1758 – 1766 Admiral Sir Francis Holburne
1766 – 1769 Admiral Sir John Moore
1769 – 1771 Admiral Sir Francis Geary
1771 – 1774 Admiral Thomas Pye
1774 – 1777 Admiral Sir James Douglas
1777 – 1783 Admiral Thomas Pye
1783 – 1786 Admiral John Montagu
1786 – 1789 Admiral Viscount Hood
1789 – 1792 Admiral Robert Roddam
1792 – 1793 Admiral Viscount Hood
1793 – 1799 Admiral Sir Peter Parker
1799 – 1803 Admiral Mark Milbanke
Mar – Jun 1803 Admiral Lord Gardner
1803 – 1809 Admiral Sir George Montagu
1809 – 1812 Admiral Sir Roger Curtis
1812 – 1815 Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton
1815 – 1818 Admiral Sir Edward Thornbrough
1818 – 1821 Admiral Sir George Campbell
1821 – 1824 Admiral Sir James Hawkins-Whitshed
1824 – 1827 Admiral Sir George Martin
1827 – 1830 Admiral Sir Robert Stopford
1830 – 1833 Admiral Sir Thomas Foley
1833 – 1836 Admiral Sir Thomas Williams
1836 – 1839 Admiral Sir Philip Durham
Apr – Nov 1839 Admiral Charles Elphinstone Fleeming
1839 – 1842 Admiral Sir Edward Codrington
1842 – 1845 Admiral Sir Charles Rowley
1845 – 1848 Admiral Sir Charles Ogle
1848 – 1851 Admiral Sir Thomas Capel
1851 – 1852 Admiral Sir Thomas Briggs
1852 – 1856 Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane
1856 – 1859 Admiral Sir George Seymour
1859 – 1660 Admiral Sir William Bowles
1860 – 1863 Admiral Sir Henry Bruce
1863 – 1866 Admiral Sir Michael Seymour
1866 – 1869 Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley
1869 – 1872 Admiral Sir James Hope
1872 – 1875 Admiral Sir Rodney Mundy
1875 – 1878 Admiral Sir George Elliot
1878 – 1879 Admiral Sir Edward Fanshawe
1879 – 1882 Admiral Sir Alfred Ryder
1882 – 1886 Admiral Sir Geoffrey Hornby
1886 – 1888 Admiral Sir George Willes
1888 – 1891 Admiral Sir John Commerell
1891 – 1894 Admiral The Earl of Clanwilliam
1894 – 1897 Admiral Sir Nowell Salmon
1897 – 1900 Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour
1900 – 1903 Admiral Sir Charles Hotham
1903 – 1904 Admiral Sir John Fisher
1905 – 1907 Admiral Sir Archibald Douglas
1907 – 1908 Admiral Sir Day Bosanquet
1908 – 1910 Admiral Sir Arthur Fanshawe
1910 – 1911 Admiral Sir Assheton Curzon-Howe
1911 – 1912 Admiral Sir Arthur Moore
1912 – 1916 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Hedworth Meux
1916 – 1919 Admiral Sir Stanley Colville
1919 – 1920 Admiral Sir Cecil Burney
1920 – 1923 Admiral Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe
1923 – 1926 Admiral Sir Sydney Fremantle
1926 – 1929 Admiral Sir Osmond Brock
1929 – 1931 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes
1931 – 1934 Admiral Sir Arthur Waistell
1934 – 1936 Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Kelly
1936 – 1937 Admiral Sir William Fisher
1937 – 1939 Admiral of the Fleet The Earl of Cork and Orrery
1939 – 1942 Admiral Sir William James
1942 – 1945 Admiral Sir Charles Little
1945 – 1947 Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton
1947 – 1948 Admiral The Lord Fraser of North Cape
1948 – 1950 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Algernon Willis
1950 – 1952 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Power
1952 – 1954 Admiral Sir John Edelsten
1954 – 1957 Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Creasy
1957 – 1959 Admiral Sir Guy Grantham
1959 – 1961 Admiral Sir Manley Power
1961 – 1963 Admiral Sir Alexander Bingley
1963 – 1965 Admiral Sir Wilfrid Woods
1965 – 1966 Admiral Sir Varyl Begg
1966 – 1967 Admiral Sir Frank Hopkins
1967 – 1969 Admiral Sir John Frewen
Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command
1969 – 1970 Admiral Sir John Frewen
1970 – 1972 Admiral Sir Horace Law
1972 – 1974 Admiral Sir Andrew Lewis
1974 – 1975 Admiral Sir Derek Empson
1975 – 1976 Admiral Sir Terence Lewin
1976 – 1979 Admiral Sir David Williams
1979 – 1981 Admiral Sir Richard Clayton
1981 – 1983 Admiral Sir James Eberle
1983 – 1984 Admiral Sir Desmond Cassidi
1984 – 1987 Admiral Sir Peter Stanford
1987 – 1989 Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward
1989 – 1991 Admiral Sir Jeremy Black
1991 – 1994 Admiral Sir John Kerr
Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command
1994 – 1995 Admiral Sir Michael Layard
1995 – 1997 Admiral Sir Michael Boyce
1997 – 2000 Admiral Sir John Brigstocke
2000 – 2003 Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Spencer
2003 – 2005 Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent
2005 – 2008 Vice-Admiral Sir Adrian Johns
2008 – 2010 Vice-Admiral Sir Alan Massey
2010 – 2012 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Montgomery
In 2012 the appointment of separate Commanders-in-Chief was discontinued with full operational command being vested in the First Sea Lord.