"Royal Review of the Combined British Fleets; 1909 "

Limited Edition Print on Paper

Edition of 49

Image size: 9 x 22 inches (23 x 56 cm)

Framed size: 17 x 30 inches (43 x 76 cm) (approximate)

The two divisions of the Home Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet arrived in the Solent on the afternoon of 31 July 1909 to take part in the Royal review that was held on the following Saturday.

As the combined fleets approached Spithead the ships split into six lines to take up their anchor berths. This was to be the first Review at which battle cruisers (then known as 'dreadnought cruisers') appeared, the original ship of the type, Indomitable, having in the previous year made her record run to Canada and back with H.M. The King embarked.

At Spithead that afternoon there were in total 27 battleships and dreadnought cruisers, 16 armoured cruisers, 8 protected cruisers, 48 destroyers and 42 submarines,indicating the high value finally placed by the Admiralty on this new type of warship, the submarine. Despite being the last major maritime nation in the world to adopt the submarine, by the time of this review the Royal Navy was leading the world in the development of this weapon.

Frank Wood's water colour shows the scene on the day of the review. In the centre of the painting is H.M. Yacht Victoria & Albert wearing the Standard of H.M. The King, who was accompanied by H.M. The Queen and T.R.H.'s The Prince and Princess of Wales. The Royal Yacht is flanked on either side by torpedo boat destroyers as she proceeds through the lines of assembled warships. To the right of the painting at the head of line A is the world?s first dreadnought battleship, H.M.S. Dreadnought herself, wearing the flag of the Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet (Admiral Sir William May KCB KCVO). Dreadnought (Captain Archibald Moore) had started to transform the world's fleets with her revolutionary features. So swift was the Royal Navy to capitalise on her attributes that less than 3 years after she was first commissioned there were a further six dreadnoughts at sea and in this review. Seen astern of Dreadnought are three further dreadnoughts of the 1st Division, Bellerophon (Captain Evan-Thomas), Superb (Captain Tudor) and Temeraire (Captain Duff). At the head of Line B, to starboard of the Royal Yacht, are H.M.S. King Edward VII (Captain Osmond de B Brock). Astern of her are Britannia (Captain Morgan), Hindustan (Captain Calthorpe), Dominion (Captain J M de Robeck) and Hibernia (Captain Ley) flying the flag of Rear Admiral James Startin. Line C, over to the left of the picture, is headed by H.M.S. Prince of Wales (Captain Phillpotts), Atlantic Fleet flagship of His Serene Highness Prince Louis of Battenberg. Shown astern of C-in-C Atlantic Fleet is H.M.S. Queen (Captain Beatty). On the extreme left at the head of Line D lies Boadicea (Commodore in Charge First Destroyer Flotilla, Commander Leake) and on the extreme right of the painting is the 2nd Class protected cruiser Sappho (Commander H F Christian RN).

That evening, Saturday, the entire fleet was illuminated as it was again on Monday night when the Czar and Czarina of Russia were aboard their yacht, Standart.