The Reserve Fleet was a Royal Navy formation of decommissioned vessels which could be brought to a state of readiness at time of war.
In the early years of the 18th century ships were "laid up in ordinary" at various British naval bases so establishing the Reserve Fleet as a repository for serviceable but decommissioned ships.
The Reserve Fleet was brought to readiness for the First World War. It continued to exist in the inter-war years but in 1930 the Admiralty reduced it in size on the basis that war was unlikely in the ensuing 10 years. At the start of the Second World War the Reserve Fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral Sir Max Horton, was again brought to a state of readiness. Some 15,000 men were called up in May 1939 to man the Reserve Fleet which became ready for service on 15 June 1939. During the 1950s ships were regularly 'cocooned' for the Reserve Fleet and it ceased to exist in 1960.
Flag Officers Commanding
Flag Officers Commanding included:
1919–1920 Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Oliver
1920–1922 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Phillimore
1922–1923 Vice-Admiral Sir Douglas Nicholson
1923–1924 Vice-Admiral Sir William Goodenough
1924–1926 Vice-Admiral Sir Victor Stanley
Mar – Oct 1926 Vice-Admiral Sir Rudolph Bentinck
1926–1928 Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Watson
1928–1929 Vice-Admiral Sir William Boyle
1929–1930 Vice-Admiral Percival Hall-Thompson
1930–1932 Vice-Admiral Sir Frank Larken
1932–1934 Vice-Admiral Sir William Kerr
1934–1935 Vice-Admiral Edward Astley-Rushton
1935–1937 Vice-Admiral Sir Gerald Dickens
1937–1939 Vice Admiral Sir Max Horton
command then disbanded until 1944
1944–1945 Rear-Admiral Charles Harris
1945–1947 Rear-Admiral Leslie Ashmore
1947–1948 Rear-Admiral Reginald Servaes
1948–1951 Vice-Admiral Sir Robin Bridge
1951–1953 Vice-Admiral Sir Henry McCall
1953–1954 Vice-Admiral Sir Ian Campbell
1954–1955 Vice-Admiral Sir John Eaton
1955–1956 Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Cazalet
1956–1958 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Onslow
1958–1959 Vice-Admiral Sir Guy Sayer
1959–1960 Rear-Admiral John Grant
Subordinate officers
Portsmouth Division
Rear-Admiral Edward F. Bruen, 1 February, 1919 – 23 April, 1919
Rear-Admiral Cole C. Fowler, 23 April, 1919 – 23 April, 1920
Rear-Admiral Clement Greatorex, 23 April, 1920 – 1 October, 1921
Rear-Admiral Edmond H. Parker, 1 October, 1921
Devonport Division
Rear-Admiral Douglas R. L. Nicholson, 1 February, 1919 – 18 March, 1919
Rear-Admiral James A. Fergusson, 18 March, 1919 – 9 April, 1919
Rear-Admiral Maurice Woollcombe, 9 April, 1919 – 9 April, 1920
Rear-Admiral Philip H. Colomb, 9 April, 1920
Rear-Admiral Charles D. Johnson, 9 April, 1921
Captain Alfred A. Ellison, 16 May, 1922 – 1 November, 1922
Captain Rowland H. Bather, 15 April, 1922 – 1 July, 1922 (temporary)
Captain John E. Cameron, 1 November, 1922 – April, 1924
Captain Herbert A. Buchanan-Wollaston, 25 July, 1927 – 17 April, 1928
Captain Edward B. Cloete, 3 November, 1929 – 4 May, 1931
Nore Division
Rear-Admiral A. Thomas Hunt, 1 February, 1919 – 8 March, 1919
Rear-Admiral Henry L. Mawbey, 17 March, 1919 – 17 March, 1920
Rear-Admiral Vivian H. G. Bernard, 17 March, 1920 – 17 March, 1921
Rear-Admiral William J. S. Alderson, 17 March, 1921 – 15 April, 1922
Captain Lawrence W. Braithwaite, 24 April, 1925 – 17 August, 1926
Captain Arthur L. Snagge, c. 1927
Captain Claude C. Dobson, 17 October, 1931 – 17 October, 1933
Captain Richard M. King, 17 October, 1933 – 16 January, 1935 (and as Captain of Cardiff)
Captain Hamilton C. Allen, 16 January, 1935 – 24 July, 1935
Captain John H. Young, 1 October, 1935 – 1 September, 1936
Rosyth Division
Vice-Admiral Sir Trevylyan D. W. Napier, 1 February, 1919 – 1 May, 1919
Rear-Admiral Charles F. Corbett, 1 May, 1919 – 1 May, 1920
Rear-Admiral Crawford Maclachlan, 1 May, 1920
Captain Henry P. Boxer, 28 January, 1937 – 1 June, 1938
Portland Division
Rear-Admiral Sir Douglas R. L. Nicholson, 1 November, 1919 – 1 April, 1920
