British North Russia Squadron
The British North Russia Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy based at Murmansk from 1917 to 1919.[1]
The squadron was formed as part of an allied movement to keep Russia in World War One by protecting the large stockpiles of Allied material that had begun stockpiling at the ice-free port at Murmansk. Russia's position in the war was threatened externally by German advances into the East and internally by the continuing Russian Civil War (Bolshevik Revolution). The squadron would remain in Russia throughout most of the Allied North Russia Intervention however it served no real role in this.[1] The squadron returned to England in September 1919, shortly after the ratification of peace with Germany, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
The squadron was originally placed under the command of Rear Admiral Thomas Kemp with the HMS Glory as his flagship. This battleship had been refitted, with some guns being removed to allow for more accommodation for marines. There was also a depot ship, an armed boarding vessel and a variety of trawlers and drifters which had been converted to function as minesweepers.[1]