Lewis Bayly (Royal Navy officer)
Encyclopedia
Sir Lewis Bayly KCB
, KCMG
, CVO
, was a British admiral during the First World War.
on 28 September 1857. He was a greatgreatnephew of Admiral Keats
. Bayly joined the Royal Navy
in 1870. He served in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War (1873) and against pirates in the Congo bassin (1875). He later served on HMS Agincourt
and in the Anglo-Egyptian War (1882). Bayly married in 1892 Yves Henrietta Stella, daughter of Henry Annesley Voysey; there was no issue of the marriage.
Bayly was given command of the destroyers of the Home Fleet in HMS Attentive
(1907–1908). On 22 March 1908, Bayly was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII
. He was then given a shore command as President of the Royal Navy War College (1908–1911). Before the outbreak of the war he was given command of the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron
(1911–1912) and of the 3rd Battle Squadron
(1913–1914).
and was in command of the rescue operation when the modern battleship HMS Audacious
was mined and sunk in October 1914. In December 1914 he was appointed to command the Channel Fleet
flying his flag in HMS Lord Nelson
.
Under the command of Bayly , the 5th Battle Squadron spent 31 December participating in gunnery exercises off the Isle of Portland
, supported by the Topaze class
light cruiser
s HMS Topaze and HMS Diamond. After the exercises, that night the fleet remained at sea on patrol even though submarine
activity had been reported in the area. With rough sea conditions and the wind increasing, submarine attacks would have been difficult to carry out effectively and so were not thought to be a significant threat. Nonetheless the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Formidable
was hit and sunk by SM U-24
. Bayly was later criticized for not taking proper precautions during the exercises, but was cleared of the charge of negligence.
In 1915 he was made President of the Royal Navy College
in Greenwhich. In 1915 he was made Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches
, Queenstown Command, Ireland (1915–1919). In this function Bayly was tasked with keeping the approches to Britain safe from U-boats attacks. In 1917, Bayly, promoted to admiral, was given command of a mixed British-American force defending the Approaches. He took as his chief-of-staff the American captain Joel R. P. Pringle
. Bayly had a good working relation with his US counterpart William Sims
.
Admiral Bayly retired in 1919. He died in London
in 1938.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, CVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, was a British admiral during the First World War.
Early life
Bayly was born at WoolwichWoolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
on 28 September 1857. He was a greatgreatnephew of Admiral Keats
Richard Goodwin Keats
Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland from 1813 to 1816. In 1821 he was made Governor of...
. Bayly joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1870. He served in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War (1873) and against pirates in the Congo bassin (1875). He later served on HMS Agincourt
HMS Agincourt (1865)
HMS Agincourt was one of three Minotaur class ironclads, the sistership of HMS Minotaur and a near sister to HMS Northumberland...
and in the Anglo-Egyptian War (1882). Bayly married in 1892 Yves Henrietta Stella, daughter of Henry Annesley Voysey; there was no issue of the marriage.
Bayly was given command of the destroyers of the Home Fleet in HMS Attentive
HMS Attentive (1904)
HMS Attentive was an Adventure class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong Whitworth at their yards at Elswick, Tyne and Wear and launched on 24 November 1904...
(1907–1908). On 22 March 1908, Bayly was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
. He was then given a shore command as President of the Royal Navy War College (1908–1911). Before the outbreak of the war he was given command of the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron
1st Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The First Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War. It was created in 1909 as the First Cruiser Squadron and was renamed in 1913 to First Battle Cruiser Squadron. It participated in the battles of...
(1911–1912) and of the 3rd Battle Squadron
3rd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British Royal Navy 3rd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron consisting of battleships and other vessels, active from at least 1914 to 1945. The 3rd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. During the First World War, the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet...
(1913–1914).
First World War
During the early months of the First World War he commanded the 1st Battle Squadron1st Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British 1st Battle Squadron was a squadron of battleships, initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, renamed the Grand Fleet during World War I...
and was in command of the rescue operation when the modern battleship HMS Audacious
HMS Audacious (1912)
HMS Audacious was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy. The vessel did not see any combat in the First World War, being sunk by a German naval mine off the northern coast of Donegal, Ireland in 1914.- Design :...
was mined and sunk in October 1914. In December 1914 he was appointed to command the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
flying his flag in HMS Lord Nelson
HMS Lord Nelson (1906)
HMS Lord Nelson was a predreadnought battleship launched in 1906 and completed in 1908. She was the Royal Navy's last predreadnought. The ship was flagship of the Channel Fleet when World War I began in 1914. Lord Nelson was transferred to the Mediterranean Sea in early 1915 to participate in the...
.
Under the command of Bayly , the 5th Battle Squadron spent 31 December participating in gunnery exercises off the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, supported by the Topaze class
Topaze class cruiser
The Topaze-class cruisers were a class of third-class protected cruisers. They were the last class of protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy...
light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s HMS Topaze and HMS Diamond. After the exercises, that night the fleet remained at sea on patrol even though submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
activity had been reported in the area. With rough sea conditions and the wind increasing, submarine attacks would have been difficult to carry out effectively and so were not thought to be a significant threat. Nonetheless the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Formidable
HMS Formidable (1898)
HMS Formidable —the third of four ships of that name to serve in the Royal Navy—was the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships. She was the second British battleship to be sunk by enemy action during the First World War...
was hit and sunk by SM U-24
SM U-24
SM U-24 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She was engaged in commerce warfare during the First Battle of the Atlantic....
. Bayly was later criticized for not taking proper precautions during the exercises, but was cleared of the charge of negligence.
In 1915 he was made President of the Royal Navy College
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as being of “outstanding universal value” and reckoned to be the “finest and most...
in Greenwhich. In 1915 he was made Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
, Queenstown Command, Ireland (1915–1919). In this function Bayly was tasked with keeping the approches to Britain safe from U-boats attacks. In 1917, Bayly, promoted to admiral, was given command of a mixed British-American force defending the Approaches. He took as his chief-of-staff the American captain Joel R. P. Pringle
Joel R. P. Pringle
Vice Admiral Joel Roberts Poinsett Pringle was a distinguished officer of the United States Navy, serving from 1894 to 1932.-Biography:...
. Bayly had a good working relation with his US counterpart William Sims
William Sims
William Sowden Sims was an admiral in the United States Navy who sought during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to modernize the Navy. During World War I he commanded all United States naval forces operating in Europe...
.
Admiral Bayly retired in 1919. He died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1938.
Honours and awards
- Knight Commander of the Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
- Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
- Commander of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
- Grand Cross of the Order of the DannebrogOrder of the DannebrogThe Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
(Denmark) - Commander of the Legion of Honour (France)
- Distinguished Service Medal (United States)Distinguished Service Medal (United States)The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...