Patey served as a
midshipman aboard as part of the
British Pacific Squadron under Admiral
de Horsey during the
Battle of Pacocha, an action in company with the corvette on 29 May 1877 with the
Peruvian armoured turret ship
Huáscar which had been taken over by rebels opposed to the Peruvian Government and, it was feared, could be used to attack British shipping. He was promoted to
sub-lieutenant on 21 March 1878, and while upon the voyage home HMS
Shah was diverted to South Africa to assist in the
Anglo-Zulu War. Patey served in the
naval brigade which was formed to fight ashore, for which he received the
South Africa Medal. he went to gunnery school at between February 1889 and February 1892. and became Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence. After being promoted to
captain on 1 January 1900, he returned in March that year to the
Excellent for senior officers' gunnery course. He went on to serve as Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence. As such he was assistant to the Director,
Reginald Custance, who asked Patey to join him when he was appointed second in command of the
Mediterranean Fleet in November 1902. Patey was therefore appointed in command of the
battleship on 12 November 1902, for her first commission after completion, as second
flagship on the Mediterranean Station. In command of the
Venerable, he was appointed a
Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) by King
Edward VII during his visit to
Naples on 23 April 1903, and was awarded the
Order of the Redeemer from
George I,
King of Greece the same year. Later he went on to command between 1905 and 1907. On 2 January 1909, he was promoted to
rear admiral in the
British Home Fleet and was commander of the
2nd Battle Squadron until 1911. on his flagship , when
King George V visited the Australian Fleet at
Spithead on 30 June 1913 to review the fleet and watch them depart for Australia. He was promoted to vice admiral on 21 September 1914. At the outbreak of
First World War, Patey commanded the Australian naval squadron as part of the New Zealand Samoa Expeditionary Force that
captured German Samoa and the
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force that captured
German New Guinea. He sailed with HMAS
Australia to join the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron at
Rosyth, Scotland and on 8 February 1915,
Australia became the flagship of the squadron. Patey was appointed
Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station from March 1915. He was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1916. On 22 September 1916, he transferred to another ship of the Royal Navy and command of His Majesty's Australian Fleet was transferred to Rear Admiral
William Pakenham. He died on 5 February 1935. ==Notes==