Sydney Fremantle

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Sir

Sydney Robert Fremantle
Born(1867-11-16)16 November 1867
Died29 April 1958(1958-04-29) (aged 90)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branch
Commander of the Légion d'honneur (France)
Commander of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece)
Commander of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)
Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
(Italy)

Second World War
, and donated many of his papers to institutions before his death in 1958.

Family

Sydney was born into a naval family on 1 January 1867, the eldest son of Admiral Sir Edmund Robert Fremantle and his wife Barberina Rogers Isaacs.[1][2]

Prewar service

Fremantle followed his father into the navy, joining up in 1881.

Mediterranean Fleet.[3]

Fremantle joined the

Admiralty in 1910 as the Head of the War Division, and by 1912, he was at Portsmouth as President of the Signal Committee.[2] While in this role, Fremantle was charged with overseeing the overhaul of the existing signal systems and books to incorporate the latest advances made possible through wireless telegraphy.[4] He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1913, and though his suggestion for a dedicated communications department was overtaken by the outbreak of war, a Signals Division was established at the Admiralty in 1914, with Fremantle as its head.[2][5]

First World War

Fremantle became second-in-command of the

Rear-Admiral Commanding, British Aegean Squadron in August 1917, and in December advocated the resumption of raids on the Turkish coast, a proposal rejected by the Admiralty on the grounds that no significant benefits were anticipated.[2][6][7] In January the following year, Fremantle received a promotion to vice-admiral, and an appointment as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.[2][6] As the war drew to a close, Fremantle was one of the officers who advocated the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet as a condition for an armistice. In October 1918, he made the case for the Royal Navy, stating that the naval disarmament of Germany was necessary, lest they be tempted into a 'recommencement of warlike operations'.[8] Fremantle's proposals did not find favour with the American planners, who were keen to limit British naval domination.[8]

He was

Commander of the Légion d'honneur, while he was also made a Commander of the Greek Order of the Redeemer, the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, and the Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.[1]

Postwar

Scapa Flow and the scuttling of the fleet

The German battleship Bayern sinking in Scapa Flow after being scuttled by her crew

Fremantle continued in the navy, becoming commander of the

scuttling of the fleet began just before midday. When the British realised what was happening, a message was immediately despatched to Fremantle, who returned to Scapa Flow at full speed.[12]

Fremantle had destroyers tow sinking ships ashore and beach them, while boarding parties attempted to reverse the scuttling or order the Germans aboard to do so. Those Germans who abandoned ship were picked up. Reuter was brought aboard Fremantle's flagship, HMS Revenge, where he and Fremantle engaged in a brief argument with the aid of an interpreter.[13] The following day, Fremantle assembled Reuter and his officers on the deck of Revenge, and through an interpreter informed them of their breaches 'of faith and honour' and accused them of recommencing hostilities by sinking their ships.[14] The prisoners were then led into captivity.[14]

Later life

Fremantle received a promotion to full admiral in 1922, and in 1923 was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, a post he held until 1926.[2][6] He retired from the Navy in 1928, having been appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and a Member of the Royal Victorian Order.[15]

He eventually wrote his memoirs, entitled My Naval Career: 1880-1928, and published them in 1949.[2][6]

He married Lelia Hope Fremantle on 1 December 1896, and on 1 August 1931, he married for the second time, this time to Geraldine Margaret Cooke-Collis.[16] He had three children by his first wife, one of whom, Edmund Seymour Denis Fremantle, also served in the Navy, receiving the Distinguished Service Order for service in the Second World War and twice being mentioned in despatches.[17]

Admiral Sydney Fremantle died on 29 April 1958 at the age of 90.[1] He donated most of his papers, which are held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum, and King's College London.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Mosley (ed.). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition. p. 918.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Fremantle, Sir Sydney Robert, Admiral, 1867-1958". Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  3. ^ Humble. Fraser of North Cape. p. 23.
  4. ^ Kent. Signal!. p. 67.
  5. ^ Kent. Signal!. p. 68.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "FREMANTLE, Sir Sydney (Robert) (1867–1958), Admiral". Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  7. ^ Halpern. A Naval History of World War I. p. 68.
  8. ^ a b Rose. Power at sea. p. 5.
  9. ^ a b c van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 162.
  10. ^ van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 163.
  11. ^ van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 169.
  12. ^ van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 175.
  13. ^ van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 179.
  14. ^ a b van der Vat. The Grand Scuttle. p. 180.
  15. ^ Mosley (ed.). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition. p. 917.
  16. ^ Mosley (ed.). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition. pp. 917–8.
  17. ^ Mosley (ed.). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition. p. 919.

Bibliography

External links
Military offices
Preceded by Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
1918–1919 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
1923–1926 		Succeeded by
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