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Admirals of the Royal Navy Who Served In or Who Were Responsible For Canada

by John M. MacFarlane 2011

The Royal Navy had the duty of defending Canada's waters prior to 1910. Admirals and Commodores of the Royal Navy have been serving in North America for several hundred years. During that time 124 of them served there. Prior to the Nineteenth Century admirals with responsibility for North Atlantic waters off what is now Canada carried various titles which corresponded to particular appointments. In 1812 it was decided to unite the seperate commands of Halifax, Jamaica and the Leeward Islands as the North America and West Indies Station. One of the bases of the North American Station was Halifax (the other one was Bermuda). The Admiral appointed to the Station was provided with an officer's residence - Admiralty House - above the Dockyard.

In the Pacific the Royal Navy had a station as a Rear-Admiral's command between 1837 and 1905. Between 1846 and 1910 there was a more or less continuous presence of British warships on the Pacific Coast. The bases of operations were at Esquimalt British Columbia and Valparaiso Chile. A Residence ashore was not provided and only three of the Admirals brought their families out to live in rented accomodations. During the first decade of the Twentieth Century Britain's naval stations were reduced as the fleet was concentrated in Home Waters. The naval bases at Halifax and Esquimalt were transferred to Canada following the creation of the Royal Canadian Navy in 1910.