1st | Sir James Rivett-Carnac 1784-1846 | Eldest son of James Rivett-Carnac formerly James Rivett (see above). His younger brother was Admiral John Rivett-Carnac 1796-1869 famous for his discoveries in Western Australia. Sir James' grandson, Charles Rivett-Carnac (1853-1935) remains the oldest Briton, at 55, to have won an Olympic Gold Medal (for Yachting) achieved at the 1908 London Olympics. |
2nd | Sir John Rivett-Carnac 1818-1883 | |
3rd | Sir James Henry Rivett-Carnac 1846-1909 | |
4th | Sir Claude James Rivett-Carnac 1877-1909 | Sir Claude went missing for over two years and on the 31st December 1909 he was declared as "assumed dead" by the Chancery Division. He fought in the Boer War as a private soldier in the Cape Mounted Rifles. |
5th | Sir William Percival Rivett-Carnac 1847-1924 | 6th | Sir George Rivett-Carnac 1850-1932 |
7th | Sir Henry George Crabbe Rivett-Carnac 1889-1972 | Succeeded by his nephew, Nicholas, elder son of Vice Admiral James William Rivett-Carnac C.B., C.B.E., D.S.C., DL., Legion D'Honneur., Croix de Guerre., commemorated on the church plaque. |
8th | Canon Sir (Thomas) Nicholas Rivett-Carnac 1927-2004 | Army (Guards) for 10 years. Various jobs before Ordination in 1963 aged 35. Married in 1977 aged 49. No issue, and was succeeded by his brother. |
9th | Sir Miles James Rivett-Carnac 1933-2009 | Second son of Vice Admiral James William Rivett-Carnac. A former High Sheriff of Hampshire, a Vice Lieutenant of Hampshire and later a merchant banker. He was also a naval officer and a Long Course Signals Officer - this adds the second piece to the jig saw because of the signals officer connection but also because Sir Miles at one stage in his early life lived on "my patch" at Fornham House. Left the navy in 1970 and became the 9th Bt, Sir Miles, in May 2004. |
10th | Sir Jonathan James Rivett-Carnac Born 1962 |
Navy List Year | Rank & Seniority Date | Ship or Establishment | Date Joined | Under Command of(if stated) |
1950 | Not listed | Dartmouth | Age 17 | - |
1952 | Sub Lieutenant (Executive Branch, Communications specialisation) 1/9/1952 | HMS GAMBIA | 1/5/1951 | Captain P W Gretton DSO++ DSC OBE |
1954 | ditto | ditto | - | - |
1956 | Lieutenant (Executive Branch, Communications specialisation) 16/2/1955 | HMS DUCHESS | 19/2/1956 | Lt Cdr H G Austen DSO + |
1958 | ditto | HMS MERCURY, Petersfield | - | Captain C B Brooke |
1960 | ditto | HMS FORTH | - | Captain T E Barlow DSC |
1961 | ditto | ditto | - | Captain M L C Crawford DSC |
1962 | ditto | Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth | - | - |
1963 | ditto | ditto | - | - |
1964 | Lieutenant Commander (Executive Branch, Communications specialisation) 16/2/1963 | HMS WOOLASTON | 20/2/1964 | In Command |
1965 | ditto | ditto | ditto | In Command |
1966 | ditto | HMS WOOLASTON | - | - |
1967 | Commander (Executive Branch, Communications specialisation) 30/6/1966 | HMS SAKER, Washington DC USA | - | Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson KCB OBE |
1968 | ditto | HMS DAINTY | 1/5/1967 | In Command |
1969 | ditto | Directorate of Naval Signals | 20/9/1968 | Captain J E Pope |
1970 | ditto | ditto | ditto | Captain D A Poynter CVO MBE |
Title of or part of record | Entry | My Comment |
Dates of Orders and Commissions | 25.11.46 placed on retirement list as a rear admiral. 3.5.47 vice admiral retired. | This was common and often used today. Shortly after leaving active service (placed on retirement list by the Admiralty), a complementary promotion is granted in retirement as a thank you and recognition for excellent services rendered. From the 3rd May 1947 he was always called and referred to as a vice admiral. This equates with a civilians ex gratia payment called a 'golden hand shake' but rather less than a serviceman can hope for. |
Rewards and distinctions | Packed full of meritorious service and the awards/rewards associated with an outstanding career. | Note that because of his brilliant junior officer results he was granted two months seniority for subsequent promotions. That meant that he could become a lieutenant (for example) two months before his basic course peers which could roll-up into other ranks as he progressed. Note the bottom 'bold inked' entries, which tell a tale of James' rewards for his total commitment and resolve in the face or "war adversity" His main London Gazetted awards have been copied and are displayed on this website. |
Examinations | Dec 1916. Examinations for gunnery lieutenants (failed), achieving only 870 marks out of 1200 = 72.5% | He sat this exam, and studied to do so, during the uncertainties of WW1 and not long after the Battle of Jutland in which he served in the new Dreadnought battleship HMS Orion. Ordinarily, that would spell a specialist change and a set-back for further promotions, but for James, it propelled him into great fame of gunnery procedures, and eventually he was acclaimed (militarily and publicly) the gunnery "Range Finder of the navy personified" well able to advise upon finding and destroying targets via naval gunnery. He held and maintained that adulation until the end of WW2 and was consulted on all aspects of naval big gun aspects, be they intra-RN or pan allies. On the naval operational side he scored many hits other gunner officers might have missed, and on the logistics side he avoided wasting shells, cordite and warped gun barrels which needed to be unscrewed and replaced, bringing the distorted barrels back home for dockyard re-lining. |
Special attainments | July 1921 | James qualified at the Warfare staff officers course with a pass mark of 830 out of 1000 marks, an 83% overall achievement, which set him up for a successful middle rank understanding of of all aspects of warfare. |
Under most of 'the ship area' | Which reflect his service throughout the whole of WW1 and WW2 without a break. | By consulting the official Navy List, one would be confused with his appointments during the world wars. By consulting his original whole career records one sees the sheer enormity of his service to this country for, believe it or not, the whole of the first and second world wars. One of the ' iconic services' in the navy of WW1 was whether one was at Jutland. James was, having first joined the battleship HMS Orion in 1914 and leaving it on the 9th July 1916. Other ships in WW1 times were the Amphion, HMS Excellent for gunnery courses, and back to sea in yet two more battleships HMS Benbow, followed by the HMS Queen Elizabeth. Finally, in WW1, after a stressful time, he saw service in the cruiser HMS Cleopatra in the Baltic fighting Bolshevik's. In between wars he stayed in big ships (battleships and cruisers mainly) notably the Kent, the Queen Elizabeth, the Coventry, the Carysfort, and then to be appointed the Commodore of the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, an appointment he was extremely proud of. All and every one of these appointments at a time of peace , boredom and flux, brought varying pressures, peer pressures, and morale, both upper and lower deck. Overall, he was clearly and regularly assessed as a good and highly capable officer. At no stage is there an adverse or derogatory remark and all is set fair for a good and long career. |
Special Reports or Service | Many entries of merit and adventure. | W/K =watch keeping certificate December 1911, the start of a professional seaman officer's career being trusted on the bridge of the ship to carry out the CO's instructions without ambiguity in all states of operations whilst at sea, as part of a team of trusted officers usually in a watch system of four hours on and six hours off. On the 7.3.13 he is directed to return home to the UK. He leaves Malta in the Carole arriving in Rome 16.3.1913. He is warmly thanked for the his efforts in improving gunnery fire control. He is chosen as a candidate for the prestigious naval gunnery (G) course. Many further acclaims are repeatedly lavished upon him. Then there is much crossings out of written data from a 21/11/18 entry, but this is what I believe was written and intended " CW - query range finding............it is a comment about his failure of his gunnery exams as lieutenant (G) in HMS excellent in 1916 given his inherent merit and understanding of gunnery per se. There are many explicit and implicit commendations for his abilities to finesse naval gunnery. Note entry 24.4.19 - causing unnecessary obstruction with motor car. Note fined eight shillings at London's Bow Street Magistrates Court. Note award of mention in dispatches for bravery and distinguished service in the North African landings. Again for gallant and distinguished services in HMS Rodney in operating in the Mediterranean from the time of entry of Italy into the war until the surrender of the Italian fleet. CBE for distinguished services in operations which led to the successful landings of Allied Forces in Normandy . Gazetted 18.12.45. Awarded CB for distinguished services throughout the war in Europe. |
That's it - a very quick de-cypher of an almost incoherent script, but you have an insight into the long record of this dedicated officer. I particularly like the traffic offence, and that police station is in the heart of the City of London almost literally under the Royal Opera House! |