Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald William Skelton

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AJK
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Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald William Skelton

#1

Post by AJK » 10 Oct 2022, 00:24

Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald William Skelton became Engineer-in-Chief of the Fleet at the Admiralty in 1928, retiring in 1932. He was promoted to flag rank in 1923 - please could someone provide details of his appointments between 1923 and 1928?

Thanks,

AJK

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Steen Ammentorp
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Re: Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald William Skelton

#2

Post by Steen Ammentorp » 10 Oct 2022, 21:37

Hi AJK,

Going through the Navy Lists I have this for him:

15 Aug 1922 – (Jan. 1923): Fleet Engineer, Atlantic Fleet (HMS Queen Elisabeth)
7th Jul. 1925 – (Jan. 1928): Maintenance Commander and for P.&R/T Duties, Portsmouth Station (HMS Victory)

The Navy list for January 1924 & April 1925 does not give any appointments on him, though I must rely on searching by OCR (Ancestry/Fold3). However most likely he didn't fill any appointments, because when searching the British Newspaper Archive, articles reports that he left HMS Queen Elisabeth upon his promotion to Engineer-Rear-Admiral, and that his previous appointment on becoming Chief Technical Officer or Chief Engineering Officer at Portsmouth Station in 1925 was the one as Fleet Engineer, Atlantic Fleet. Beside this the newspaper articles 1923-1925 only tells us that he attended a short course for senior engineer officers at RN College Greenwich in 1924. The newspaper articles also reports that he stayed at Portsmouth until becoming Engineer-in-Chief 1928.
Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Generals of World War Two


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AJK
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Re: Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald William Skelton

#3

Post by AJK » 10 Oct 2022, 22:41

Hi Steen,

As always, your help is much appreciated! Back in those days it was very common for officers to serve a period of time (sometimes exceeding 2 years) on half pay, following promotion (due to a surfeit of flag officers), so almost certainly this was the case with Skelton.

Best wishes,

AJK

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Major Major
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Re: Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald William Skelton

#4

Post by Major Major » 21 Oct 2022, 16:39

Before that he had been on the British Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4, where he was Chief Engineer (and a photographer). Later on he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his work at the Battle of Jutland. Quite a career for a black gangster.

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Re: Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald William Skelton

#5

Post by AJK » 21 Oct 2022, 17:07

Thank you for the additional information.

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Re: Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald William Skelton

#6

Post by Major Major » 21 Oct 2022, 18:33

AJK wrote:
21 Oct 2022, 17:07
Thank you for the additional information.
You're welcome.

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