First World War Dover Patrol In late July 1914, with war looming, 12
Tribal-class destroyers arrived at
Dover to join the near obsolete destroyers already at anchor in the harbour, most of them built in the late 19th century. These destroyers formed the nucleus of the fledgling
Dover Patrol, which, from its early beginnings as a modest and poorly equipped command, became one of the most important Royal Navy commands of the First World War. The command was instituted on 12 October 1914 under the command of Rear Admiral
Sir Horace Hood. Following the extra strain thrown on the
Admiral of Patrols Rear Admiral
George Alexander Ballard and his staff caused by the beginning of mine laying and the evacuation of Antwerp, the Admiralty decided to create a separate command encompassing the patrols from the naval base at Dover, the naval base itself, and the Downs Boarding Flotilla. Command was transferred to Rear-Admiral Hood on 11 October, and he hoisted his flag on 13 October. He was given the title of
Rear-Admiral Commanding the Dover Patrol and Senior Naval Officer Commanding, Dover, with the short title "Rear-Admiral, Dover Patrol". The Dover Patrol operated continuously through the end of the war, with its strength consisting primarily of the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, the Fifth Submarine Flotilla, the Downs Boarding Flotilla, and at times a collection of monitors. Its primary mission was to monitor barriers and defences at the eastern end of the English Channel to prevent U-boats from gaining access to western areas. It also harassed German fortifications on the coast of occupied Belgium. Its primary role failed disastrously during its supervision of the
evacuation from Dunkirk code-named
Operation Dynamo. In May 1940 Rear-Admiral
Frederic Wake-Walker was appointed rear-admiral in command of all ships and vessels off the Franco-Belgian coast for the evacuation of
Dunkirk. Wake-Walker reached Dunkirk in the minesweeper on 30 May. On 1 June his flagship, the destroyer , was sunk by
Ju 87 Stukas, and he thereafter directed operations from the
motor torpedo boat MTB 102 in the harbour. For his role in the evacuation he was appointed
Companion of the Bath. Once the threat of a German invasion subsided in 1941, its continued existence as a separate command from Nore Command was perceived by some quarters as more to do with prestige. The command played a prominent part in the
Normandy landings. == Senior officers ==