The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.
Even in official documents, the term East Indies Station was often used. In 1941, the ships of the China Squadron and East Indies Squadron were merged to form the Eastern Fleet under the control of the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet. The China Station then ceased as a separate command. The East Indies Station was disbanded in 1958.
It encompassed Royal Navy Dockyards and bases in East Africa, Middle East, India and Ceylon, and other ships not attached to other fleets. For many years under rear admirals, from the 1930s the Commander-in-Chief was often an Admiral or a Vice-Admiral.
History
The East Indies Station was established as a Royal Navy command in 1744. From 1831 to 1865, the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station. The East Indies Station, established in 1865, was responsible for British naval operations in the Indian Ocean (excluding the waters around the Dutch East Indies, South Africa and Australia) and included the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. From 1913, the station was renamed the Egypt and East Indies Station until 1918.
Anti-slavery activities in East Africa
During the 1850s and 1860s, the Royal Navy fought to suppress the slave trade operating out of Zanzibar up to the North Coast of the Arabian Sea. An East African Squadron, which was part of the East Indies Station, was active in suppressing slavery in 1869. The mission of Sir Bartle Frere in 1869 "produced... a recommendation that a guardship be permanently stationed off the Zanzibar coast." Britain's real intentions in East Africa was to stop other European naval powers from establishing any similar bases in the region, and the station's purpose was to protect British trade interests passing through the Western Indian Ocean. Rawley writes that Captain George Sulivan and his successor directed the activities of the old ship-of-the-line , reequipped as both prison and hospital, with some success. London served as a base for cruisers operating against the slaving dhows, for four years.Rawley 1988, 184.
By 1873, London was a hulk, serving as a depot ship in Zanzibar Bay, off the east coast of Africa. In March 1878, she was recommissioned and involved in the suppression of the slave trade in the area, serving as a central depot for many smaller steam screw boats; she functioned as a repair depot, a hospital and a storage ship. At this time, there were Africans from West Africa (Kroomen or Krumen) and East Africa (Seedies or Sidis) serving on board. There were also Zanzibari and Arab interpreters and cooks from Portuguese Goa (India). London was sold and broken up in 1884.Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 190.
The East Indies Station had bases at Colombo, Trincomalee, Bombay, Basra and Aden.
Second World War In early May 1941, the Commander-in-Chief directed forces to support the pursuit of Pinguin, the German raider that eventually sank after the action of 8 May 1941 against . On 7 December, cruisers on the station included the heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall, , and ; the light cruisers , , , , and (some sources also place the heavy cruiser as being on station on that date, while others report her being under refit and repair in the UK between early November 1941 & May 1942), and six armed merchant cruisers. Also assigned to the station was 814 Naval Air Squadron at China Bay, Ceylon, which unit was at that time equipped with Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers. Japanese threats, led to the East Indies Station merging with the China Station in December 1941, to form the Eastern Fleet. Later the Eastern Fleet became the East Indies Fleet. In 1952, after the Second World War ended, the East Indies Fleet became the Far East Fleet.
A separate Commander-in-Chief for the East Indies was reappointed. During the 1950s, the task for Royal Navy vessels in the East Indies "..was to deliver fighting power in support of British foreign policy, be that in major warfighting (Korea) or low intensity operations such as counterinsurgency (Malaya), and to offer a British military presence in support of national policy."Ashley Jackson (2006), The Royal Navy and the Indian Ocean region since 1945, The RUSI Journal, Vol. 151, No. 6, December 2006, 79. But disagreement over Suez meant that the Ceylonese Government did not wish to let British naval forces use their bases in an emergency, and this policy was reaffirmed by the new government installed after the 1956 Ceylonese parliamentary election.Ashley Jackson (2006), The Royal Navy and the Indian Ocean region since 1945, The RUSI Journal, Vol. 151, No. 6, December 2006, 81, also drawing upon Cecil Hampshire, "The Royal Navy Since 1945: Its Transition to the Nuclear Age" (London William Kimber, 1975), p. 140-144. The Navy Yard, and Admiralty House were handed over on 15 October 1957, the flag was lowered over the shore establishment , and the next day, 16 October 1957, the last flagship, , left Trincomalee. The station was temporarily relocated to Bahrain. The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf was to become an independent commander with the title Commodore, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf. "At nine o'clock on the morning of 7 September 1958, 'the flag of the one-hundredth Commander in Chief of the East Indies Station, Vice Admiral Sir Hilary Biggs, was hauled down over ,'" the Royal Navy base in Bahrain.
Subordinate Commands Flag Officer, East Africa Originally established by the Royal Navy as East Coast of Africa Station (1862–1919) was administered by the Flag Officer, East Africa. This officer was subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station, then later came under the Eastern Fleet from 1862, from April 1942 to September 1943, and then the command's name changed back to the East Indies station.
Rank Flag Name Term Notes/Ref Flag Officer, East Africa1 Rear-Admiral Charles G. StuartSeptember, 1943 – 11 January 1944.4 Rear-Admiral Richard Shelly Benyon11 January 1944 - November 19445 Commodore Sir Philip Bowyer November 1944 - 1945
Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India from 1 May 1830 to 26 January 1950. It came under the East Indies Station at the outbreak of the Second World War on 3 September 1939. In December 1941 it came under the command of the new Eastern Fleet.
Vice-Admiral Sir Herbert Fitzherbert was the Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy, from September 1939 to December 1941.
Red Sea The Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea, was responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, and during the Second World War for a period flew his flag afloat in .
At the beginning of the war, Rear Admiral A.J.L. Murray was Senior Officer, Red Sea Force.I.S.O. Playfair, Annex 9: Principal Commanders and Staff Officers in the Mediterranean and Middle East, The Mediterranean and Middle East, Vol I.
On 21 October 1941, the title was changed to Flag Officer, Red Sea, and that officer was resubordinated to the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, until 17 May 1942. On 18 May 1942 the title was changed again to Flag Officer, Commanding Red Sea and Canal Area, and transferred again to the Eastern Fleet.
Persian Gulf The Royal Navy's presence in the Persian Gulf was originally located at Basidu, Qishm Island, in Persia (c. 1850–1935), then later Juffair, Bahrain. It was commanded by the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf. It included a naval base, depot and naval forces known as the Persian Gulf Patrol, then the Persian Gulf Squadron later called the Persian Gulf Division. It was a sub-command of the East Indies Station until 1958 when it was merged with the Red Sea Station under the new appointment of Commodore, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf.
Naval officers, ports and bases
# Location In command Dates Notes 1 Aden Naval Officer-in-Charge, Aden 1839 to 19171921 to 19431945 naval base/shore establishment 2 Addu Atoll Naval Officer in Charge, Addu Atoll 1942 to 1945 fleet base 3 CalcuttaNaval Officer in Charge, Calcutta 1939 to 1945 during WW2 only normally under FOCOMM, Royal Indian Navy 4 Colombo General Staff Officer, Colombo 1938 to 1939 5 Diego Suarez Naval Officer in Charge, Diego Suarez 1935 to 1945 fleet base Jackson, p. 274 6 Kilidini, Mombasa Senior British Naval Officer, Kilindini 1935 to 1945 shore establishment 7 Port Louis Naval Officer-in-Charge, Port Louis 18 shore establishment 8 Port Sudan Naval Officer-in-Charge, Port Sudan 1935 to 1945 9 Seychelles Naval Officer-in-Charge, Seychelles 1915 to 1945 fleet base Jackson, p. 274 10 TanganyikaNaval Officer-in-Charge, Tanganyika 1915 to 1945 11 Trincomalee Captain-in-Charge, Ceylon 1915 to 1945 12 Zanzibar Naval Officer-in-Charge, Zanzibar 1915 to 1945
Subordinate naval formations
Naval Units Based at Date Notes4th Cruiser Squadron Colombo/Trincomalee, Ceylon August to December, 1916 4th Light Cruiser Squadron Colombo/Trincomalee, Ceylon November 1918 to April 1919 Arabian Bengal Ceylon Escort Force (ABCEF ) Aden, Colony of Aden 1941 to 1942 Under the Eastern Fleet command from April 1942 to November 1943.East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron Port Said, Egypt 1916 to 1918 Royal Navy's first carrier squadronRed Sea Division Port Tawfik, Egypt August 1914 to November 1918 Red Sea Force Port Tawfik, EgyptApril 1940 to 1944 Naval base HQ Red Sea Force Persian Gulf Division Basidu, Persia,(1818-1935), Ras Al-Jufair, Bahrain 1885 to 1958 Persian Gulf Squadron Basidu, Persia/ Ras Al-Jufair, Bahrain 1818 to- 1885
Shore establishments # Unit name Location Dates Notes1 Admiralty House Trincomalee, Ceylon 1813 to 1958 Official residence of the Commander-in-Chief2 HM Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee Trincomalee, Ceylon 1813 to 1939, 1945-1958 Headquarters East Indies Station - 3 HMS Gloucester II HM Naval Office, Colombo, Ceylon 1939-1945Headquarters East Indies Station Also linked to Navy House, Colombo, Official residence of the Commander-in-Chief in Colombo.4 HM Naval Dockyard, Madras Madras, India 1796 to 1813 Headquarters, East Indies Station 5 Colombo, Ceylon 1939 to 1949 Electronic listening station of the Far East Combined Bureau built on Anderson Golf Club; reverted to previous use after war.6HM Naval Base, Basra Basra, Iraq 1939 to 1949 Naval base7 HM Naval Dockyard, Bombay Bombay, India 1811 to 1958 naval base during WW2 known as HMS Braganza8 HM Naval Base, Calcutta Calcutta, India 1811 to 1958 Naval base during WW2 known as HMS Braganza9 HMS Lanka Colombo, Ceylon 1939 - 1958 Naval base and shore station10 HMS Mauritius Tombeau Bay, Mauritius 1810 to 1958 Telegraphic then Wireless Station 11 HM Naval Base, Port Jackson Port Jackson, New South Wales1785 to 1865 Naval base transferred to China Station12 Port Louis Port Louis, Mauritius 1810 to 1968 Naval base13HM Naval Base, Port Tawfik Port Tawfik, Red Sea, EgyptAugust 1914 to 1944 Naval base HQ Red Sea, Patrol/Division/Force14 Steamer Point (now Tawahi) in Aden Example Naval and shore base till 195815RNAS China Bay Trincomalee, Ceylon1938 to 1945 Air Station 16 RNAS Colombo Racecourse Prince of Wales Island, George Town, Penang1943 to 1945 Naval air station - 17 RNAS Katukurunda Katukurunda, Ceylon 1938 to 1945 Naval air station - 18 RNAS Mackinnon Road Mackinnon Road, Kenya, East Africa 1942 to 1944 Naval air station - then 19 RNAS Puttalam Puttalam Ceylon 1942 to 1944 Naval air station - 20 RNAS Port Reitz Port Reitz, Mombasa, Kenya 1942 to 1944 Naval air station, Aircraft Repair Yard, Reserve aircraft storage - then HQ of Commdre-in-Charge, NAS, (Eastern Stations.).21 RNAS Tanga Tanga Tanganyika 1942 to 1944 Naval air station - HMS Kilele
Commanders = died in post
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies