Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield

Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield

Infobox Military Person
name= The Lord Chatfield
lived= 27 September 1873 – 15 November 1967
placeofbirth= Southsea, Hampshire, England
placeofdeath= Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, England


caption= Admiral of the Fleet Sir Ernle Chatfield
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
serviceyears= 1886 - 1938
rank= Admiral of the Fleet
branch=
branch
commands=Atlantic Fleet
Mediterranean Fleet
unit=
battles=World War I
awards=GCB, OM, KCMG, CVO
laterwork=

Admiral of the Fleet Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, GCB, OM, KCMG, CVO, PC (27 September 1873 - 15 November 1967) was a Royal Navy officer and held the position of First Sea Lord from 1933 to 1938. He subsequently served as Minister for Coordination of Defence between 1939 and 1940.

Early Royal Navy Career

Chatfield was born in Southsea, the only son of Admiral Alfred John Chatfield, and entered the Royal Navy in 1886. During the First World War he served as Flag Captain of HMS "Lion" and was present at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914, at the Battle of Dogger Bank (1915) in 1915 and at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

After the war Chatfield served as Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy from 1925 to 1928, as Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet from 1929 to 1930 and of the Mediterranean Fleet from 1930 to 1932, and as First Sea Lord from 1933 until 1938. He was promoted to Admiral in 1930 and to Admiral of the Fleet in 1935, and in 1937 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Chatfield, of Ditchling in the County of Surrey.

Minister for Coordination of Defence

In 1939 Lord Chatfield succeeded Sir Thomas Inskip as Minister for Coordination of Defence in the government of Neville Chamberlain, despite having a non-political background. In this role his view of Russia in 1939 as a possible ally against Germany was that she "would be of considerable, though not of great, military value". However as the Cabinet continued to discuss a possible alliance he said that:

"..."if for fear of making an alliance with Russia we drove that country into the German camp we should have made a mistake of vital and far-reaching importance".

Chatfield chaired the Expert Committee on the Defence of India which, using the work of the 1938 Auchinleck Committee, outlined in 1939 the re-equipment, modernisation and expansion of the British Indian Army (which grew to over 2,250,000 men by the end of the war from 183,000 in 1939). He also advocated transforming the British economy into war production before war broke out in 1939 by curtailing domestic consumption. However Oliver Stanley at the Board of Trade refused, arguing that such a move would be 'revolutionary' in peacetime. Chatfield served as Minister for Coordination of Defence through the outbreak of the Second World War, but exercised little influence. He was asked to resign in April 1940 and the post was abolished.

References

* Heathcote, T. A. (2002). "The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 - 1995". Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0 85052 835 6
* Murfett, Malcolm H.(1995). "The First Sea Lords from Fisher to Mountbatten". Westport. ISBN 0-275-94231-7

External links

* [http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/fleet/chatfieldaem.php Transcription of Official Service Records on www.admirals.org.uk]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ernle — was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the place where their estates lay. Origins OnomasticOnomasticians say that the surname s origin, in… …   Wikipedia

  • Baron Chatfield — Baron Chatfield, of Ditchling in the County of Sussex, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1937 for the naval commander Ernle Chatfield. His son, the second Baron, succeeded in 1967, but the title became extinct… …   Wikipedia

  • Chatfield — may refer to: Places Chatfield, Minnesota Chatfield, Ohio Chatfield, Texas Chatfield State Park People Bianca Chatfield Edward Chatfield Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield Ewen Chatfield Jason Chatfield John Lyman Chatfield Levi S. Chatfield… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty — This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was… …   Wikipedia

  • Army and Navy Club — The Army and Navy Club in London is a gentlemen s club founded in 1837, also known informally as The Rag. [http://www.armynavyclub.co.uk/ Main page of Army and Navy Club web site] at armynavyclub.co.uk (accessed 18 January 2008)] Foundation and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of senior officers of the Royal Navy — This is a list of senior officers of the Royal Navy.Lord High Admirals, 1413 ndash;1628*Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter 1413 ndash;1426 *John, Duke of Bedford 1426 ndash;1435 *John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter 1435 ndash;1447 *William de la Pole,… …   Wikipedia

  • Minister for Co-ordination of Defence — Lord Chatfield served as the second and final Minister for Coordination of Defence. The position of Minister for Coordination of Defence was a British Cabinet level position established in 1936 to oversee and co ordinate the rearmament of Britain …   Wikipedia

  • William Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork — Infobox Military Person name= The Earl of Cork and Orrery lived= 30 November 1873 ndash; 19 April 1967 placeofbirth= Farnham, Surrey placeofdeath= London caption= Admiral of the Fleet Lord Cork nickname= allegiance= flagicon|United Kingdom United …   Wikipedia

  • Minister for Coordination of Defence — The position of Minister for Coordination of Defence was a British Cabinet position established in 1936 to oversee and co ordinate the rearmament of Britain s defences.The position was established by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin in response to… …   Wikipedia

  • Winston Churchill — For other uses, see Winston Churchill (disambiguation). Churchill redirects here. For other uses, see Churchill (disambiguation). The Right Honourable Sir Winston Churchill …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”