David Beatty was born on 17th January 1871 in the English village of Howbeck, Cheshire and
was the son of Captain D.L. Beatty. He entered the navy in January 1884. In 1896 he was
second in command of the Nile naval brigade and was personally selected by Lord
Kitchener for his 1898 Khartoum expedition. During this adventure, he was mentioned in
dispatches and promoted to Commander.
Taking part in the international response to the Boxer rebellion in China, Beatty was
with the naval brigade at Tientsin and was wounded twice in the arm. For his conduct, he
was promoted Captain at the age of 29. After returning from China, he married Ethel Field,
daughter of an American millionaire in 1901. In January 1910, Beatty was promoted to
Rear Admiral at 39, the youngest since Nelson, excluding royalty.
Soon after, he became advisor to First Lord of the Admiralty McKenna, but a difference of
opinion saw Beatty placed on half pay. In 1912 he was recalled by Churchill to become
secretary to the First Lord until March 1913 when he was given command of the
battlecruiser squadron. In this role he joined the Grand Fleet off Scotland on 30th
July 1914.
Beattys first action came on 28th August 1914 off Helgoland. Commodore
Tyrwhitts Harwich fleet of 2 cruisers and several destroyer flotillas went to attack
light German units known to be operating there. Tyrwhitt did not inform Admiral Jellicoe
of his actions, and when he did find out, he sent Beattys battlecruisers and several light
cruisers. The Helgoland Bight was covered in fog patches, and a force of more than 30
destroyers proved impossible to control and the action became a series of skirmishes.
Monitoring radio traffic, Beatty entered the fight as soon as possible, covering
Tyrwhitts withdrawal and sinking 3 German cruisers. Although hailed as a victory, there were
faults with signalling and British submarines in the area did not know of the operation
and could have attacked friendly ships.
After the battle of Coronel, Fisher had Invincible, Inflexible and Princess Royal
detached from the fleet to go and hunt for von Spee. Beatty protested this, saying
'Should the High Seas Fleet come out, our need for the missing battle cruisers will be
bitterly felt'.
On 24th January 1915 Hipper sailed for an offensive sweep of the Dogger
Bank area. Good intelligence allowed Beatty to intercept with 5 battlecruisers. Spotted by
Hipper, he assumed the ships were British battleships and turned south east, but the
speed of the battlecruisers allowed Beatty to close quickly. Firing started at 20000 yards,
but the range came down to 17500 yards before all ships could range. Then
Beatty signalled 'Engage corresponding ships in the enemy line'. There were 4 German ships to 5
British, and this confused matters to the point were Moltke was undisturbed and Blucher
was taking most of the British fire. This bravery from the Germans allowed a badly damaged
Seydlitz to escape with the other 2 battlecruisers. With the undivided attention of the British
ships, Blucher was soon sunk. Beattys flagship Lion was badly damaged, and had to be
towed away by Indomitable.
Beattys finest hour came on 31st May 1916, when he led 6 battlecruisers
at the battle of Jutland. The initial contact with the German battlecruisers gave the
Germans the upper hand with excellent shooting leading to the loss of Indefatigable and
Queen Mary. When the main German fleet was spotted, Beatty tried to lure it on to the Grand
Fleet, to the rear of the battlecruisers. Meeting with Admiral Hoods 3rd Battle Cruiser
Squadron, Invincible was sunk by German fire. Closing in on the German
ships, Beattys flagship Lion was hit by 12 heavy shells and mist soon ended this part of
the engagement.
In November 1916, Jellicoe was promoted to First Sea Lord and Beatty was chosen to succeed
him as commander of the Grand Fleet. As there were several other officers senior to Beatty,
this caused some consternation at the time.
The refusal of the German fleet to come out and fight meant that there would be no other
major action for Beattys fleet. On 21st November 1918 off Rosyth, Beatty received the
surrender of the German fleet, making the signal 'The German flag will be hauled down at
sunset today and will not be hoisted again without permission'.
In 1919 Beatty was promoted to Admiral Of The Fleet, was voted £100,000 by parliament
for his services, made an Earl and received the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh on
25th January of that year. In October he was appointed First Sea Lord, a role he held
until his retirement in 1927.
David Beatty died on 11th March 1936. Although he never commanded the fleet in battle,
he was without doubt one of Britains greatest sailors who was never afraid to meet the
enemy.
Written by Andrew Cashmore
