John Garnet Armstrong

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Vice-Admiral John Garnet Armstrong, Royal Navy, Retired (19 July, 1870 – 30 April, 1949) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Armstrong was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant with seniority of 13 November, 1892.[1]

He married Ethel M. Heath on 23 February, 1893 at Kensington.[2]

He was appointed in command of the destroyer Lynx on 3 August, 1897.[3]

On 15 October, 1897, Armstrong was tried at a Court Martial for negligently stranding Lynx while following Thrasher in dense fog off the Cornish coast. He was acquitted.[4][5][6][7]

In September, 1902, Armstrong was credited with the "cleaver capture" of a pair of pirate dhows at Bussorah.[8]

He was promoted to the rank of Commander dated 1 January, 1903.[9]

After commanding Lively in the 1903 manoeuvres, Armstrong undertook a war course and a senior officers' gunnery course and was then appointed to the second class protected cruiser Challenger on 3 May, 1904. Upon paying her off on 20 July, 1906, he was appointed to Hyacinth, to assume command, temporarily for one month from 20 December, 1906.[10]

Armstrong was promoted to the rank of Captain on 31 December, 1908.[11]

On 12 February, 1910, he was appointed in command of the repair ship Cyclops.[12]

He was appointed Captain of the battleship London on 18 February, 1914,[13] and directed her in operations in the Channel and in the Dardanelles. In March 1917 he was appointed a Commendatore dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia.[14]

Armstrong was captain of the armoured cruiser Bacchante from February to August in 1917. On 1 September 1917, he took command of the armoured cruiser King Alfred, serving in her until April 1918.[15]

He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 28 January, 1920, vice Grant, and was placed on the Retired List at his own request the following day.[16]

Armstrong died age 78 on 30 April, 1949 of a ruptured aorta. He was cremated on 4 May at Golders Green Crematorium.[17]

Who was Who

ARMSTRONG, Vice-Admiral John Garnet Born 19 July 1870; s of Surgeon-General W. N. Armstrong; m 1893, Ethel Mary (d 1923), d of Comdr G. P. Heath, RN, OBE; two s ; died 30 April 1949

retired

EDUCATION Burneys; HMS Britannia

CAREER Served in China during the China-Jap. War 1894, also in Boxer War 1899; in European War in command of HMS London in the Channel and Dardanelles and afterwards in HMS King Alfred, and after the war as Superintendent of Pembroke Dockyard; retired 1920; at present doing voluntary work for the SOS Society and others

CLUB United Service

ADDRESS 23 Gordon Square, WC1 Euston 3980

Service Records

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Oscar V. de Satgé
Captain of H.M.S. Lynx
3 Aug, 1897[18] – 1 Dec, 1897[19]
Succeeded by
Stephen H. Radcliffe
Preceded by
Robert H. Travers
Captain of H.M.S. Skate
1 Dec, 1897[20] – 10 Aug, 1898[21]
Succeeded by
Francis E. Walters
Preceded by
Percy S. St. John
Captain of H.M.S. Peacock
18 Jul, 1899[22] – mid 1900[23]
Succeeded by
Sholto G. Douglas
Preceded by
Roger J. B. Keyes
Captain of H.M.S. Hart
21 Jun, 1900[24] – after 27 Jul, 1900
Succeeded by
James U. Farie
Preceded by
Cecil F. Lambert
Captain of H.M.S. Lapwing
22 Apr, 1901[25] – 1 Jan, 1903[26]
Succeeded by
Arthur H. Oldham
Preceded by
Ernest E. Parker
Captain of H.M.S. Lively
21 Jul, 1903[27][28] – 18 Aug, 1903[29]
Succeeded by
Walter H. Cowan
Preceded by
Price V. Lewes
Captain of H.M.S. Hyacinth
20 Dec, 1906[30] – 10 Jan, 1907[31]
Succeeded by
Algernon W. Heneage
Preceded by
Cunningham R. de C. Foot
Captain of H.M.S. Cyclops
12 Feb, 1910[32][33] – 28 Feb, 1912[34]
Succeeded by
Alexander Farrington
Preceded by
Hughes C. Lockyer
King's Harbour Master, Malta
20 Apr, 1912[35] – 24 Jul, 1912[36]
Succeeded by
Francis A. L. Andrews
Preceded by
Thomas L. Thorpe-Doubble
Captain of H.M.S. Egmont
24 Jul, 1912[37][38] – 13 Mar, 1913[39]
Succeeded by
George B. Powell
Preceded by
Thomas W. Kemp
Captain of H.M.S. London
18 Feb, 1914[40][41] – 27 Oct, 1916[42]
Succeeded by
Charles A. Radcliffe
Preceded by
John R. Segrave
Captain of H.M.S. Bacchante
5 Feb, 1917[43] – 1 Sep, 1917[44]
Succeeded by
Frank O. Lewis
Preceded by
Frank O. Lewis
Captain of H.M.S. King Alfred
1 Sep, 1917[45] – 2 May, 1918[46]
Succeeded by
John C. H. Lindsay
Preceded by
Frederick D. Gilpin-Brown
Captain Superintendent, Pembroke Dockyard
1 Nov, 1918[47][48] – 17 Feb, 1920[49]
Succeeded by
David M. Anderson

Footnotes

  1. The London Gazette: no. 26359. p. 2. 2 January, 1893.
  2. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  3. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Thursday, 5 August, 1897. Issue 35274, col D, p. 11.
  4. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  5. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Thursday, Oct 14, 1897; pg. 4; Issue 35334.
  6. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Friday, Oct 15, 1897; pg. 8; Issue 35335.
  7. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Saturday, Oct 16, 1897; pg. 10; Issue 35336.
  8. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  9. The London Gazette: no. 27512. p. 4. 2 January, 1903.
  10. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  11. The London Gazette: no. 28211. p. 32. 1 January, 1909.
  12. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 7 February, 1910. Issue 39189, col F, p. 4.
  13. The Navy List. (December, 1914). p. 349.
  14. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/89.
  15. HMS BACCHANTE – June 1917 to April 1919, Central and South Atlantic [ship's log]. Available at https://www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-05-HMS_Bacchante.htm, accessed on 7 December 2020.
  16. The London Gazette: no. 31779. p. 1832. 13 February, 1920.
  17. "Deaths" (Deaths). The Times. Tuesday, 3 May, 1949. Issue 51371, col B, p. 1.
  18. "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Thursday, 5 August, 1897. Issue 35274, col D, p. 11.
  19. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  20. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  21. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  22. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  23. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  24. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160. This is noted in the lower comments field.
  25. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  26. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  27. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  28. "APPOINTMENTS FOR THE NAVAL MANOEUVRES." The Times (London, England), Thursday, Jul 16, 1903; pg. 8; Issue 37134.
  29. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  30. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  31. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  32. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  33. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 298.
  34. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  35. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  36. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  37. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  38. The Navy List. (March, 1913). p. 307.
  39. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  40. The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 395n.
  41. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  42. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  43. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  44. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  45. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  46. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  47. The Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 1851.
  48. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.
  49. Armstrong Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 160.