Sir Charles Coke | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 October 1854 Ropsley, Lincolnshire, England |
| Died | 23 February 1945 (aged 90) Exmouth, Devon, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1868–1945 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Sirius HMS Talbot HMS <i>Terpsichore</i> HMS <i>Scylla</i> HMS Cornwallis Sheerness Gunnery School Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland Newfoundland Patrol Service |
| Battles/wars | Third Anglo-Ashanti War World War I |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order |
Admiral Sir Charles Henry Coke KCVO (2 October 1854 – 23 February 1945) was a Royal Navy officer who served during the First World War.
Early life
Coke was born on 2 October 1854 in the village of Ropsley in Lincolnshire where his father was the local rector.[1]
Coke joined the Royal Navy on 7 April 1868 when he entered the training ship Britannia, in 1872 was appointed a midshipman on the corvette HMS Druid.[1] Coke served during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War and was present during the attack on Elmina on 13 June 1873, he was awarded the Ashantee Medal.[1] He was appointed lieutenant on HMY Victoria and Albert on 5 September 1877.[2] In 1880 he served on the gun-vessel HMS <i>Fly</i> on the China Station, returning to England two years later to do a gunnery course.[1] In 1889 he took command of the sailing brig HMS <i>Pilot</i>.[1] Promoted to Commander in 1892 he moved to HMS Active before moving on to command HMS Ganges, a boys training ship at Falmouth.[1] He became commanding officer of the cruiser HMS Sirius in July 1899, Divisional Transport Officer posted to HMS Eagle in March 1900,[3] and commanding officer of the cruiser HMS Talbot in July 1900. In February 1901 he was appointed commanding officer of the cruiser HMS <i>Terpsichore</i>, serving at the Cape of Good Hope Station. He went on to be commanding officer of the cruiser HMS <i>Scylla</i> in April 1904 and of the battleship HMS Cornwallis in January 1905.[4]
After that Coke became Captain, Sheerness Gunnery School in January 1907, Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland in April 1911[5] and commander of the Newfoundland Patrol Service in March 1917.[6]
Family life
Coke married Anna Marie Madeleine Fergusson in 1883 and they had one son and a daughter.[1] Coke died at Hughenden, Exmouth, Devon on 23 February 1945 aged 90.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary." Times [London, England] 26 February 1945: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 27 December 2014
- ^ "No. 24501". The London Gazette. 7 September 1877. p. 5151.
- ^ "Naval & military Intelligence". The Times. No. 36092. London. 17 March 1900. p. 14.
- ^ "Captains commanding Royal Navy warships" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ "Senior Royal Navy appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ Milner, Marc (2010). Canada's Navy: The First Century. University of Toronto Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0802096043.
This page was last edited on 20 April 2022, at 10:58