Arthur Waistell
{{Short description|Royal Navy Admiral (1873–1953)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Sir Arthur Waistell
| image = Captain Arthur Kipling Waistell, Cb Art.IWMART1779.jpg
| caption = 1917 portrait by Francis Dodd
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1873|3|30}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1953|10|26|1873|3|30}}
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial = Winchester, Hampshire
| birth_place =
| death_place =
| placeofburial_coordinates =
| nickname =
| allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch = {{navy|United Kingdom}}
| serviceyears =
| rank = Admiral
| unit =
| commands = China Station
Portsmouth Command
| battles = World War I
| awards = Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
Admiral Sir Arthur Kipling Waistell KCB (30 March 1873 – 26 October 1953) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.
Naval career
Waistell joined the Royal Navy in 1892.{{London Gazette|issue=26492|page=1369|date=6 March 1894}} He was a lieutenant when in May 1902 he was appointed to the senior staff at the torpedo school HMS Vernon, {{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence|date=22 April 1902 |page=12 |issue=36748}} and from 1 January 1903 he was in command of the HMS Devastation, serving as tender to the Vernon.{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence |date=15 January 1903 |page=8 |issue=36978}} He was appointed in command of the destroyer HMS Stag in the Mediterranean Fleet in 1906.[http://www.fleetorganization.com/1906rnmed.html The Royal Navy June 1906]
He was appointed to command 8th Submarine Flotilla and HMS Maidstone, the depot ship for the flotilla, on 1 September 1913. This was based at Harwich during World War I as the main offensive submarine flotilla in UK waters. The flotilla became the 9th Submarine Flotilla on 9 August 1916.{{cite book |title=Naval Staff Monographs Volume XVII. Home Waters - Part VII. June 1916 to November 1916 |date=1927 |publisher=HMSO |location=London}} He transferred to command of the battleship HMS Benbow in the Grand Fleet on 29 September 1917.The National Archives. ADM 196/43/374 Waistell service record for WW1 service
After the War, on 6 April 1920 he was appointed Director of the Torpedo Division of the Admiralty Naval Staff until April 1922. His next appointment was as Rear Admiral (D), commanding Destroyer Flotillas Atlantic Fleet from 15 July 1922 to 19 April 1923.{{cite book |last1=Parkinson |first1=Jonathan |title=The Royal Navy, China Station: 1864 - 1941: As seen through the lives of the Commanders in Chief |date=2018 |publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd |location=Leicester, United Kingdom |isbn=9781788035217 |page=379 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YxLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA379 |language=en}} He was Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff from 1923{{Cite web |url=http://www.admirals.org.uk/appointments/board/board.php |title=Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904 - 1975 |access-date=25 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221161245/http://www.admirals.org.uk/appointments/board/board.php |archive-date=21 February 2018 |url-status=dead }} and went on to be Commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron from 1924.Whitaker's Almanack 1925 He was appointed Commander in Chief, China Station in 1928[http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5037 Obituary: Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay] January 1945 and Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1931; he retired in 1934.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2327887 HMS Nelson] Canberra Times, 15 January 1934
In retirement, Waistell lived in Winchester where he was especially involved with the affairs of the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, for some time being a member of its Court of Governors.Isle of Wight County Press, 31 October 1953 His wife died in 1948 and so, being an invalid, he moved to the Isle of Wight where a sister was able to look after him.
He died on 26 October 1953; during the morning of Friday 30 October his funeral service took place at Yarmouth Parish Church, Isle of Wight. Immediately following this service his coffin was borne to the motor torpedo boat Pathfinder and then, in Yarmouth Roads, transferred to the destroyer Finisterre. His remains were taken to Southampton and later that day he was buried beside his wife in Magdalen Hill Cemetery, Winchester.
References
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{{succession box | title=Commander-in-Chief, China Station | before=Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt | after=Sir Howard Kelly| years=1928–1931}}
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{{succession box | title=Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth | before=Sir Roger Keyes | after=Sir John Kelly| years=1931–1934}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Waistell, Arthur}}
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:Lords of the Admiralty
Category:People educated at Stubbington House School
Category:19th-century Royal Navy personnel