Commander-in-Chief, English Channel (Royal Navy)

The Commander-in-Chief, English Channel or formally Commander-in-Chief, of His Majesty's Ships in the Channel was a senior commander of the Royal Navy. The Spithead Station was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post from 1512 to 1746. Following Admiral Lord Anson new appointment as Commander-in-Chief, English Channel this office was amalgamated with the office of Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.

History
Initially the English Navy had organized its fleet into sub-commands namely squadrons from at least 1205 and certainly during the 16th century. A channel squadron was operating out of Portsmouth from around 1523 by 1560 The Navy Royal had three functioning squadrons one in the Channel, and the Irish Sea and another in the North Sea. From 1709 the Channel Squadron was coordinated out of Spithead, Hampshire, England under the command of Sir John Norris. In 1715 Norris was reassigned to command the British Baltic Fleet and sent to the Baltic Sea to support a coalition of naval forces from Russia, Denmark and Hanover taking in the Great Northern War. In 1729 Admiral Norris returned to the Spithead Station for a second tenure as CINC. In March 1744 he resigned his post over the Admiralty's attempts to override his authority in setting strategy in response to renewed hostilities against France. Following Admiral Norris's resignation the station was then commanded by Sir John Balchen until 1746 when the Admiralty issued orders to centralize all existing naval commands in the English Channel including Spithead and those at the Downs, Narrow Seas, Portsmouth , and Plymouth, to be under the control of Admiral Lord Anson then the Commander-in-Chief, Western Squadron. He then assumed the post of Commander-in-Chief, English Channel, The Spithead Station was then merged with Portsmouth Station.

Admiral-Vice-Admiral, in the Channel

 * Incomplete list of post holders included:


 * Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Howard, 1512-1514.
 * Vice-Admiral, William FitzWilliam, 1523-1524 (also V.Adm at the downs/narrow seas)
 * Vice-Admiral Sir George Carew, 1544-1545
 * Vice-Admiral, Sir William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, May 1545
 * Vice-Admiral, Sir William Wynter, 1545-1546
 * Vice-Admiral, John Clere, 1548 (c-in-c, channel and on patrol).
 * Vice-Admiral Sir Ralph Chamberlain 1556- October 1558
 * Vice-Admiral Sir William Woodhouse, October 1558 - January 1559
 * Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Drake, 1588-1589
 * Rear-Admiral, Sir Robert Mansell, 1600-1601
 * Admiral, Sir Edward Cecil 1625
 * Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, 1626-?
 * Vice-Admiral, Sir Thomas Rainsborough, May–June 1648 (also vadm narrow seas)
 * Vice-Admiral Sir William Batten, June 1648 - 1650
 * Admiral and General-at-Sea, Sir Robert Blake, 1652-1657 (commanding, channel squadron and at the downs/narrows seas)

Commander-in-Chief, English Channel

 * Vice-Admiral, Sir John Norris, 5 March 1709 – 1715.
 * Vice-Admiral, James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley, 1719. (as C-in-C, British Channel Fleet)
 * Admiral Sir John Norris, 1729-1744 (second time - appoint adm. of the fleet and c.-in-c. then resigned)
 * Admiral Sir John Balchen, 14 July 1744 – 1746