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David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty

Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, (17 January 1871 – 12 March 1936) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Mahdist War and then the response to the Boxer Rebellion, he commanded the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, a tactically indecisive engagement after which his aggressive approach was contrasted with the caution of his commander Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. He is remembered for his comment at Jutland that "There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today", after two of his ships exploded. Later in the war he succeeded Jellicoe as Commander in Chief of the Grand Fleet, in which capacity he received the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet at the end of the war. He then followed Jellicoe's path a second time, serving as First Sea Lord—a position that Beatty held longer (7 years 9 months) than any other First Sea Lord. While First Sea Lord, he was involved in negotiating the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 in which it was agreed that the United States, Britain and Japan should set their navies in a ratio of 5:5:3, with France and Italy maintaining smaller ratio fleets of 1.75 each.

Family and childhood
Beatty was born into an Anglo-Irish family at Howbeck Lodge in the parish of Stapeley, near Nantwich, Cheshire, on 17 January 1871. He was the second son of five children born to Captain David Longfield Beatty and Katherine (or Katrine) Edith Beatty (née Sadleir), both from Ireland: David Longfield had been an officer in the Fourth Hussars where he formed a relationship with Katrine, the wife of another officer.

After the affair between David Longfield and Katrine became known, David Longfield's father (Beatty's grandfather), David Vandeleur Beatty (1815–1881), arranged for his son to be posted to India in the hope that the scandalous relationship might end. David Longfield resigned from the regiment on 21 November 1865, with the honorary rank of Captain. He took up residence with Katrine in Cheshire and in 1869 sold his commission. David Longfield was unable to marry Katrine until Katrine had obtained a divorce on 21 February 1871, after the birth of their first two sons. Beatty's birth certificate recorded his mother's surname as Beatty, and his parents' eventual marriage at St Michael's Church in Liverpool was kept secret.

Beatty's early education concentrated on horsemanship, hunting and learning to be a gentleman. Beatty had a close relationship with his elder brother Charles, who became his ally against their oppressive and overbearing father. They remained close throughout life, so much so that the only time Beatty felt despair was at his brother's death. Beatty later wrote to his wife about Charles, we lived together, played together, rode together, fought together. His brothers would later join the British Army, but early on young David developed an interest in ships and the sea and expressed a desire to join the Royal Navy. In 1881 Beatty's grandfather died and David Longfield succeeded to the 18th century mansion, 'Borodale', outside Enniscorthy, in County Wexford. After retiring from the army David Longfield established a business training horses first in Cheshire and then at 'The Mount', near Rugby, Warwickshire. On inheriting and following the death of his wife at 'The Mount', David Longfield returned to Ireland abandoning the training business.

Beatty was educated at Kilkenny College and in 1882 entered Burney's Naval Academy at Gosport, which was a 'crammer' for boys wishing to take the entrance examinations for the Royal Navy.

Early career
Beatty joined the Royal Navy as a cadet passing into the training ship HMS Britannia tenth out of ninety-nine candidates in January 1884. During his two years at Britannia, moored at Dartmouth, he was beaten three times for various infractions. He passed out of Britannia eighteenth out of the thirty-three remaining cadets at the end of 1885. Beatty's letters home made no complaint about the poor living conditions in Britannia, and generally he was extrovert, even aggressive, and resented discipline. However, he understood how far he could transgress without serious consequences, and this approach continued throughout his career.

Beatty was given orders to join the China Station in January 1886, but the posting did not appeal to his mother, who wrote to Lord Charles Beresford, then a senior naval officer, member of parliament and personal friend, to use his influence to obtain something better. Beatty was, in February 1886, instead appointed to HMS Alexandra (1875), flagship of Admiral the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Victoria's second son, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Squadron. This proved an excellent social opening for Beatty, who established a longstanding relationship with the Duke's eldest daughter, Marie, and with other members of the court. Alexandra was a three-masted sailing ship with auxiliary steam power, nonetheless, remaining flagship in a navy which was steadily transitioning from sail to steam. Life in the Mediterranean fleet was considerably easier than cadet life, with visits to friendly ports all around the Mediterranean, but Beatty was concerned to work diligently towards naval examinations, which would determine seniority and future promotion prospects. Beatty was promoted to midshipman on 15 May 1886 and assigned to assist Lieutenant Stanley Colville on watchkeeping duties: Colville was to play an important part in Beatty's future career.

Beatty left HMS Alexandra in March 1889 and joined the cruiser HMS Warspite (1884) in July 1889 for manoeuvres before joining the sailing corvette HMS Ruby (1876) in September 1889, in which he was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 14 May 1890. Next he attended courses at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich during which he was somewhat distracted from his naval career by the delights of London. Beatty scored a first-class examination pass in Torpedoes, but only seconds in Seamanship, Gunnery and Pilotage, and a third in Navigation. A biography states that "his cabin at Greenwich was full of photographs of actresses, some of which were signed in the most endearing terms". After attending the gunnery school, HMS Excellent (shore establishment), he undertook a posting to a torpedo boat in July 1891 and then a tour in HMS Nile (1839) from 19 January 1892.

Beatty joined the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert in July 1892 while Queen Victoria was holidaying in the Mediterranean: Victoria was in mourning for her grandson, Albert Duke of Clarence, who had died January 1892. Promoted to lieutenant on 25 August 1892, he rejoined HMS Ruby in August 1892 and then transferred to the battleship HMS Camperdown (1885) in September 1893 (which had only recently been involved in the fleet accident where she had rammed and sunk the battleship HMS Victoria (1887)). He transferred to the battleship HMS Trafalgar (1887) in September 1895.

Sudan Campaign
Beatty gained recognition during the Mahdist War for his actions in the campaign to recapture the Sudan. Stanley Colville was placed in command of the gunboats attached to the British expeditionary force in Egypt and as Beatty's former commander in HMS Trafalgar and superior in HMS Alexandra he requested that Beatty join him. Control of the river Nile was considered vitally important for any expedition into Egypt and the Sudan. Beatty was seconded to the Egyptian government on 3 June 1896 and appointed second in command of the river flotilla. Colville was wounded during the operation, leaving Beatty in command of the gunboats for the successful attack on Dongola. The campaign halted at Dongola to regroup and Beatty returned to Britain on leave. He was commended by Kitchener for his part in the campaign and as a result was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

Beatty was again seconded to the Egyptian government for the next phase of the campaign. This was now at Lord Kitchener's specific request, for the Khartoum expedition. Beatty first commanded the gunboat El Teb but this was capsized attempting to ascend the Fourth Cataract. Beatty then took command of gunboat Fateh between October 1897 and August 1898: the gunboats were frequently in action advancing along the Nile ahead of the army and saw action at the Battle of Omdurman, where Beatty made the acquaintance of Winston Churchill who had become a cavalry officer in Beatty's father's old regiment, the 4th Hussars, and had there learnt his family history. In a few hours 10,000 Dervishes were killed by rifle and machine gun fire without any of them getting within 600 yards of the British force. This battle marked the effective end of resistance to the expeditionary force, but the gunboats were called into service to transport troops to Fashoda, 400 mi south along the White Nile, where a small force of French troops had made a difficult land crossing and staked a claim to the area. Despite the ensuing crisis, the French were persuaded to withdraw without incident. Kitchener commended Beatty for his efforts in the campaign and as a result Beatty was promoted to commander, ahead of 400 other lieutenants, on 15 November 1898.

Boxer Rebellion
Beatty was appointed executive officer of the small battleship HMS Barfleur (1892), flagship of the China Station, on 20 April 1899. The first year of his tour of duty was uneventful, but unrest against foreigners was growing in China. The Boxer movement was a secret Chinese peasant society committed to resisting oppression both from foreigners and from the Chinese government. The Empress Dowager Tzu-hsi partly encouraged the Boxer's opposition to foreigners in an attempt to turn their attention away from herself. The name was derived from ritual exercises supposed to make their users immune to bullets, which resembled boxing.

In the summer of 1900 the rebellion reached Peking, where the German legation was attacked and foreign nationals withdrew to the relative safety of the Legation Quarter. Government troops joined forces with the rebels and the railway to the Treaty Port of Tientsin was interrupted. Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, then the Commander-in-Chief of the China Station, sent reinforcements to Peking, but they were insufficient to defend the legation. An attempt was therefore made to send more troops from Tientsin, where British ships had been joined by French, German, Russian, American, Austrian, Italian and Japanese. The international naval brigade force of naval marines placed itself under the senior officer present, which was Seymour. After an urgent call for help from the legation, Seymour set out on 10 June 1900 with 2,000 troops to attempt to break through to Peking in the Seymour Expedition. The force got about halfway before abandoning the attempt because the railway line had been torn up. By now rebels had begun destroying the track behind the force, cutting it off from Tientsin.

On 11 June 1900, Beatty and 150 men from HMS Barfleur landed as part of a force of 2,400 defending Tientsin from 15,000 Chinese troops plus Boxers. On 16 June 1900 the Taku forts were bombarded and captured to ensure ships could still reach the port. Fierce fighting broke out throughout the foreign areas and railway station, and Beatty was injured. He later took part in the successful relief of the naval brigade and was promoted to captain on 8 November 1900. Beatty returned to Britain, where he required an operation to restore proper use of his left arm.

Marriage
Beatty had returned from leave after the Sudan campaign, but finding life in Ireland at the family home not to his taste, stayed instead with his brother at Newmarket, Suffolk. The location allowed him good hunting, and access to aristocratic houses where his recent heroic reputation from the campaign made him an honoured guest. Out hunting one day he chanced to meet Ethel Tree, daughter of Chicago department store founder Marshall Field. Beatty was immediately taken with her, for her good looks and her ability to hunt. The immediate difficulty with the match was that Ethel was married already to Arthur Tree, with a son, Ronald Tree.

After the Boxer Campaign, the couple had at first exchanged letters, which Beatty signed 'Jack', as Ethel was still a married woman and discretion was advised. Ethel became involved with another man and the exchange of letters ceased but on Beatty's return she sent him a telegram and letter inviting him to resume their friendship. Beatty did not respond until after surgery on his arm in September 1900 when he wrote, "I landed from China with my heart full of rage, and swore I did not care if I ever saw you again, or if I were killed or not. And now I have arrived with the firm determination not to see you at all in my own mind... Unfortunately I shall go on loving you to the bitter end... To me always a Queen, if not always mine, Good-bye."

Despite this estrangement, the couple again met foxhunting and resumed a discreet relationship. Marshall Field was at first unimpressed by the impecunious Beatty as a future son-in-law, but was persuaded by his heroic reputation, impressive record of promotion and future prospects. There was the possibility that Field might revoke the settlement he had made on his daughter at the time of her first marriage and the new couple would have no means of support. Beatty's father was also unhappy about the match, fearing a repeat of the difficulties he had faced with his own relationship with a married woman, but with the added risk of publicity because both Beatty and Ethel were famous and the risk that Beatty's illegitimacy might be exposed. Beatty went so far as to consult a fortune teller, Mrs. Roberts, who predicted a fine outcome to the match. Ethel wrote to Arthur, telling him that it was her firm intention never to live with him again as his wife, though not naming any particular person or reason. Arthur agreed to co-operate, and filed for divorce in America on the grounds of desertion, which was granted 9 May 1901. Beatty and Ethel married on 22 May 1901 at the registry office, St. George's, Hanover Square, London, with no family attending. Although Arthur Tree was himself from a wealthy American family, he now had to adjust to reduced circumstances without Ethel's support. He elected to remain in Britain and their son Ronald remained with him. Ronald and his mother were never reconciled from his perception that she had deserted his father, but he visited in later life and became friendly with Beatty. Ronald later became a member of parliament and, during the Second World War became a link between the British and United States governments, lending his country house, Ditchley Park near Oxford, to Winston Churchill for weekend visits when the official residences were considered unsafe. Beatty and Ethel set up home at Hanover Lodge in Regent's Park, London.

The couple had two sons, David Field Beatty, 2nd Earl Beatty (1905–1972) born at the Capua Palace in Malta, and the Hon. Peter Randolph Louis Beatty (1910–1949). His marriage to a very wealthy heiress allowed Beatty an independence that most other officers lacked. She is reputed to have commented after he was threatened with disciplinary action following the straining of his ship's engines, "What? Court-martial my David? I'll buy them a new ship."

Advancement
In May 1902 Beatty was passed fit for sea duty and was appointed captain of the cruiser HMS Juno (1895) on 2 June, spending two months in exercises with the Channel Fleet under Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson before joining the Mediterranean Fleet. Beatty worked hard to raise efficiency so that she was highly rated in gunnery and other competitions by the time he left the ship 19 December 1902. Ethel decided not to be left behind so rented the Capua Palace on Malta, home port of the Mediterranean Fleet, where she became part of the island's high society.

Beatty took command of the cruiser HMS Arrogant (1896) in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1903 and then commanded the cruiser HMS Suffolk (1903) in the Mediterranean Fleet from October 1904. He then became the naval advisor to the Army Council in 1906 and, after having been appointed a naval Aide-de-Camp to the King on 5 November 1908, he became captain of the battleship HMS Queen (1902) in the Atlantic Fleet in December 1908. At the request of Alfred Winsloe, the Fourth Sea Lord, he was promoted to rear-admiral on 1 January 1910 by a special order in council since he had not completed the requisite time as a captain. He was offered the post of second-in-command of the Atlantic Fleet, but declined it and asked for one in the Home Fleet. As the Atlantic Fleet post was a major command, the Admiralty were very unimpressed and his attitude nearly ruined his career. Beatty, as a rapidly promoted war hero, with no financial worries and with a degree of support in Royal circles, felt more confident than most naval officers in standing firm on requesting a posting nearer home. He was approaching two years on half pay (which would trigger automatic retirement from the navy) when on 8 January 1912 his career was saved by the new First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. Churchill had met Beatty when Beatty was commander of a gunboat on the Nile supporting the army at the Battle of Omdurman, in which Churchill took part as a cavalry officer. A "probably apocryphal" story relates that as Beatty walked into Churchill's office at the Admiralty, Churchill looked him over and said, "You seem very young to be an Admiral." Unfazed, Beatty replied, "And you seem very young to be First Lord." Churchill – who was himself only thirty-eight years old in 1912 – took to him immediately and he was appointed Naval Secretary.

Beatty became Rear-Admiral Commanding the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron on 1 March 1913. Beatty was late taking up his new post, choosing not to cut short a holiday in Monte Carlo. On his eventual arrival, he set about drafting standing orders regarding how the squadron was to operate. He noted, "Captains...to be successful must possess, in a marked degree, initiative, resource, determination, and no fear of accepting responsibility". He went on "...as a rule instructions will be of a very general character so as to avoid interfering with the judgement and initiative of captains...The admiral will rely on captains to use all the information at their disposal to grasp the situation quickly and anticipate his wishes, using their own discretion as to how to act in unforeseen circumstances..." The approach outlined by Beatty contradicted the views of many within the navy, who felt that ships should always be closely controlled by their commanding admiral, and harked back to reforms attempted by Admiral George Tryon. It is argued that Tryon had attempted to introduce greater independence and initiative amongst his captains, which he believed would be essential in the confusion of a real war situation, but had ironically been killed in an accident caused by captains rigorously obeying incorrect but precise orders issued by Tryon himself.

Beatty chose Lieutenant Ralph Seymour as his flag lieutenant, despite Seymour being unknown to him. Seymour had aristocratic connections, which may have appealed to Beatty since he sought connections in society, but it was also the case that Seymour's sister was a longstanding close friend of Churchill's wife. Appointments by influence were common in the navy at this time, but the significance of Beatty's choice lay in Seymour's relative inexperience as a signals officer, which later resulted in difficulties in battle.

First World War
On the eve of the First World War in 1914, Beatty was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and promoted to acting vice-admiral in February 1915 and given command of the Battle Cruiser Fleet a month later. He was confirmed in the rank of vice-admiral on 9 August 1915. He led the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron at the actions at Heligoland Bight (1914), Dogger Bank (1915) and Jutland (1916).

Jutland proved to be decisive in Beatty's career, despite the loss of two of his battlecruisers. Beatty is reported to have remarked (to his Flag Captain, Ernle Chatfield, later First Sea Lord in the early 1930s), "there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today," after two of them had exploded within half an hour during the battle. In any case Beatty's actions succeeded in drawing the German High Seas Fleet into action against the British Grand Fleet.

Beatty succeeded Admiral John Jellicoe as commander-in-chief of the Grand Fleet and received promotion to the acting rank of admiral in December 1916. With his dashing style, he was the antithesis of his predecessor. Beatty's marriage was failing disastrously at the time, and the result was to be a decade-long love affair between Beatty and Eugénie Godfrey-Faussett, wife of Captain Bryan Godfrey-Faussett. Under Beatty's command the Grand Fleet maintained its dominance of the North Sea until the end of the War.

Beatty escorted the German High Seas Fleet to internment at Scapa Flow in November 1918 giving the order from his flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913) that "the German Flag will be hauled down at sunset and will not be raised again without permission". This was not a lawful order, as the fleet remained the property of the German Government having been interned rather than having surrendered, but nevertheless Beatty enforced it.

First Sea Lord
Beatty was promoted to substantive full admiral on 1 January 1919 and to Admiral of the Fleet on 1 May 1919. He was created 1st Earl Beatty, Viscount Borodale and Baron Beatty of the North Sea and Brooksby on 18 October 1919. He became First Sea Lord on 1 November 1919. In this capacity he was involved in negotiating the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 in which it was agreed that the United States, Britain and Japan should set their navies in a ratio of 5:5:3, with France and Italy maintaining smaller fleets.

During the First Labour Government of 1924, with Japan increasingly hostile to the UK, Beatty lobbied the Clynes Committee for construction of the Singapore Naval Base to continue. Beatty wrote out, but did not send, a threat of resignation. The government were trying to cut back on the numbers of cruisers constructed; the other Sea Lords attributed the building of the Kent class to Beatty's lobbying, but government desire to alleviate shipyard unemployment was probably a more important factor.

Despite further rumours that he would resign, Beatty remained in office when the Conservatives took power in the autumn of 1924. Supported by the First Lord of the Admiralty William Bridgeman, he clashed with the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill, once again over the number of cruisers required by the Royal Navy. At this stage of his career Churchill was opposed to what he saw as excessive defence spending. This may seem odd in light of his previous and subsequent reputation, but in the 1920s no major war seemed to be on the horizon. Beatty also at this time pressed hard for the return of responsibility for naval aviation from the newly formed Royal Air Force to the Royal Navy.

In 1926 Beatty was considered for the post of Governor General of Canada but was rejected by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery as he had "no manners and an impossible American wife".

By the time of his retirement from the Royal Navy in July 1927 a great deal of time was being spent preparing for the Coolidge Conference in Geneva, although Beatty did not himself attend as he had to remain in London to supervise the deployment of naval and marine forces against nationalist unrest in China and Egypt. On his last day in office (30 July) he attended a Cabinet at which Bridgeman reported the breakdown of the Geneva Conference as the Americans refused to accept any gun smaller than 8-inch for their cruisers, and after leaving office he congratulated Bridgeman that the Americans had not been able to achieve "command of the sea at any cost". Beatty was appointed a member of the Privy Council on 25 July 1927. Stephen Roskill wrote that whilst Beatty and his disciple Chatfield deserve some praise for the Royal Navy's comparative readiness in 1939, his main achievement was to maintain the morale of the Navy at a time of serious defence cuts, and that without his strong leadership the Royal Navy might have suffered more events like the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931.

Retirement and death
Beatty spent much of his life (when not at sea) in Leicestershire, and lived at Brooksby Hall and Dingley Hall. In July 1930 he denounced the London Naval Treaty in the House of Lords as "a great and deplorable blunder to which we are about to be committed by signing away the sea power by which the British Empire came into being". Beatty also claimed: "If any sane man erects an edifice, or has great possessions, he protects them by insurance. The Navy is the insurance company of the economic unity of the Empire. Under the Naval Treaty of London the Navy will be totally and entirely inadequate to provide that insurance".

Beatty's old commander Admiral John Jellicoe died on 19 November 1935. Already suffering from heart failure, and sick with influenza, Beatty defied doctors' orders and left his bed to act as a pallbearer, saying, "What will the Navy say if I fail to attend Jellicoe's funeral?" He was so obviously ill that, as the funeral procession passed up Fleet Street, a bystander sent a glass of brandy out to him. He also insisted on attending the funeral of King George V in January 1936. These acts hastened his own death. Beatty died at around 1 am on 12 March 1936.

At Beatty's funeral his coffin was draped in the Union Flag flown by his flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913) in 1919. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang, said "In him something of the spirit of Nelson seemed to have come back". The Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, called in the House of Commons for a public memorial to Beatty to be erected, but no action was taken until after the Second World War, when busts of Beatty and Jellicoe were unveiled in Trafalgar Square on 21 October (Trafalgar Day) 1948.

Beatty had requested in his will that he would like to be buried next to his wife Ethel at Dingley: however he was actually buried at St Paul's Cathedral and therefore the double grave at Dingley Church contains only his wife's body.

Assessment
The outcome of the Battle of Jutland was inconclusive, leading to controversy and a search for someone to blame, especially since the British lost more ships. Beatty was particularly unhappy with the official account of the battle and other historians took sides in support of him or Jellicoe. Beatty did not publish his analysis of the battle, while Jellicoe wrote two memoirs.

A number of serious errors have been identified in Beatty's handling of the Battle Cruiser Fleet at the Battle of Jutland:
 * He failed to engage the German battlecruisers (the I Scouting Group) with all his ships, thus throwing away a two-to-one numerical superiority and instead fighting six-to-five. Beatty was given command of the 5th Battle Squadron to replace a squadron of battlecruisers away for training. These were four of the most powerful ships in the world, but he positioned them so far away from his six battlecruisers that they were unable to take part in most of the engagement with Admiral Hipper's squadron of five battlecruisers.
 * Beatty did not take advantage of the time available to him between sighting the enemy and the start of fighting to position his battlecruisers to most effectively attack the enemy. At the point the German ships opened fire with accurately determined ranges for their guns, Beatty's ships were still manoeuvring, some could not see the enemy because of their own smoke, and hardly any had the opportunity of a period of steady course as they approached to properly determine target range. As a result, the German ships had a significant advantage in early hits, with obvious benefit. During this time he also lost the potential advantage of the larger guns on his ships: they could have commenced firing at a longer range than the German ships.
 * He did not ensure that signals sent to his ships were handled properly and received by the intended ships. Lost signals added to the confusion and lost opportunities during the battle. This issue had already arisen in previous battles, where the same signals officer, Ralph Seymour, had been involved, but no changes had been made. Although Beatty was supposed to act as a fast armoured scout and report to Jellicoe the exact position of the German ships he encountered, or to keep in contact with the German fleet while he retreated to the main British Grand Fleet, he failed to do so. This information was important to Jellicoe to know how best to position the main fleet to make the most of its eventual engagement with the German High Seas Fleet. Despite this, Jellicoe succeeded in positioning his ships to good advantage, relying on other closer cruisers for final knowledge of the German's position, but necessitating last-minute decisions.
 * Additionally, the gunnery of Beatty's ships was generally poor compared to the rest of the fleet. This was partly a consequence of his ships being stationed at Rosyth, rather than Scapa Flow with the main fleet, since local facilities at Rosyth were limited, but this was a problem identified months before Jutland which Beatty had failed to correct.

After the war a report of the battle was prepared by the Admiralty under First Sea Lord Rosslyn Wemyss. Before the report was published, Beatty was himself appointed First Sea Lord, and immediately requested amendments to the report. When the authors refused to comply, he ordered it to be destroyed and instead had prepared an alternative report, which proved highly critical of Jellicoe. Considerable argument broke out as a result, with significant numbers of servicemen disputing the published version, including Admiral Reginald Bacon, who wrote his own book about the battle, criticising the version sponsored by Beatty and highly critical of Beatty's own part in the battle.

Besides actively encouraging the publication of books and articles designed to praise his role at the Battle of Jutland and denigrate Jellicoe's, after his retirement Beatty assisted with the preparation of a 5,200 line poem "The Epic of Jutland" by Shane Leslie.

Honours and awards
(ribbon bar, as it would look today)

British

 * Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)-17 November 1896
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)-31 May 1916 (KCB: 19 June 1914; CB: 19 June 1911)
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)-25 June 1917 (KCVO: 17 June 1916 Member Fourth Class (present-day Lieutenant)(MVO): 28 April 1905)
 * Member of the Order of Merit (OM)-3 June 1919
 * Earl Beatty, Viscount Borodale of Wexford in the County of Wexford, Baron Beatty of the North Sea and of Brooksby in the County of Leicester-18 October 1919

Beatty was granted the Freedom of the City of London on 16 June 1919 at the same ceremony as Lord Haig. In June 1920, the Great Central Railway gave the name Earl Beatty to one of their newly built 4-6-0 express passenger locomotives, no. 1164 of class 9P (LNER class B3). It carried the name until withdrawal in September 1947. In 1925, he became the President of the Society for Nautical Research.

Foreign

 * Order of Majid, 4th Class (Nishan-i-Majidieh) of the Ottoman Empire-3 October 1898
 * Order of St George, Fourth Class of the Russian Empire-25 August 1916
 * Grand Officer of the Military Order of Savoy of the Kingdom of Italy-11 August 1917
 * Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun of the Empire of Japan-29 August 1917
 * Grand Cross of the Legion d'Honneur of France-23 May 1919 (Grand Officer-15 September 1916)
 * Croix de Guerre of France-15 February 1919
 * Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania of the Kingdom of Romania-17 March 1919
 * Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer of the Kingdom of Greece-21 June 1919
 * Distinguished Service Medal (United States)-16 September 1919
 * Grand Cordon with Brilliants of the Order of the Precious Brilliant Golden Grain of the Republic of China – 22 January 1920
 * Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers of the Empire of Japan – 20 January 1922

Namesakes

 * Admiral Beatty Avenue in Mount Roskill, Auckland, was named as a tribute to Beatty in the late 1920s.
 * Beatty Secondary School (Singapore), was named after him in 1953.

Quotations
"In the afternoon [of 1 June 1916] Beatty came into the Lion's chart-house. Tired and depressed, he sat down on the settee, and settling himself in a corner he closed his eyes. Unable to hide his disappointment at the result of the battle, he repeated in a weary voice, 'There is something wrong with our ships', then opening his eyes and looking at the writer, he added, 'And something wrong with our system'. Having thus unburdened himself he fell asleep."

"At 4.25, soon after we had resumed our position ahead of the Princess Royal, the third ship in the line, the Queen Mary (Captain Prowse) blew up exactly as had the Indefatigable. I was standing beside Sir David Beatty and we both turned round in time to see the unpleasant spectacle. The thought of my friends in her flashed through my mind; I thought also how lucky we had evidently been in the Lion. Beatty turned to me and said, 'There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships to-day,' a remark which needed neither comment nor answer."

title: David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty


text:
Dictum of Kenilworth

The Dictum of Kenilworth (Dictum de Kenilworth), issued on 31 October 1266, was a pronouncement designed to reconcile the rebels of the Second Barons' War with the royal government of England. After the baronial victory at the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Simon de Montfort took control of royal government, but at the Battle of Evesham the next year Montfort was killed, and King Henry III restored to power. A group of rebels held out in the stronghold of Kenilworth Castle, however, and their resistance proved difficult to crush.

A siege of the castle was started, but through papal intervention King Henry later entered on a more conciliatory path. A commission was appointed to draw up an arrangement that would be acceptable to both sides. The resulting Dictum of Kenilworth offered the rebels the right to buy back forfeited estates, at prices depending on their level of involvement in the rebellion. After initial resistance, the terms were eventually accepted. By the summer of 1267, the country was pacified, and this spirit of reconciliation would last until the 1290s. The Dictum of Kenilworth was later incorporated into the Statute of Marlborough.

Background
At the Battle of Lewes in 1264, the rebellious barons, led by Simon de Montfort, had defeated the royal army and taken King Henry III captive. For the next year, the reins of government were in Montfort's hands, but his support soon began to crumble. On 4 August 1265, Montfort faced an army led by Prince Edward (later King Edward I) and the powerful Earl of Gloucester, who had recently defected to the royalist side, at the Battle of Evesham. The battle resulted in a complete royal victory; Montfort was killed, and King Henry III was restored to full power.

Part of the rebellious forces held out, however, and their stronghold was the virtually impregnable Kenilworth Castle. In the summer of 1266, a siege of the castle was initiated, but the effort proved futile. There were rumours that Montfort's son Simon the Younger was planning an invasion of England from Normandy, and this was the hope that the rebels hung on to. It was in this situation that the papal legate Ottobuono Fieschi exerted his influence, to make the king pursue a more conciliatory policy. In August, the king summoned a parliament at Kenilworth, where the siege was ongoing. He commissioned a number of earls, barons and bishops to draft a treaty of reconciliation.

The Dictum of Kenilworth
The commission was created by parliament appointing three bishops and three barons, who then selected one more bishop, two earls, and three more barons. The final committee consisted of the bishops of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Worcester and St. David's, the earls of Gloucester and Hereford, and six barons (Philip Basset, John Balliol, Robert Walerand, Alan la Zouche, Roger de Somery and Warin Basingbourne). This committee was given until All Saints Day (1 November) to come up with provisions for a settlement. The result, known as the Dictum of Kenilworth, was made public on 31 October 1266.

The primary point of the Dictum was the re-establishment of royal authority. The Provisions of Oxford, that had been forced on the king were repudiated, and it was made clear that the appointment of ministers was entirely a royal prerogative. King Henry in turn reconfirmed Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest. At the same time, Henry was faced with the increasing veneration of the fallen Simon de Montfort, whom some were already starting to consider a martyr and a possible saint.

The rebels had previously been completely disinherited, and their land taken into the king's hands. The Dictum instead extended a pardon, and restored land to their previous owners, contingent on payment of certain penalties that were proportional to the level of involvement in the rebellion. It was traditional to value land at ten times its annual yield, and most of the rebels were subsequently fined at half of this amount: five times the annual yield of their lands.

Robert Ferrers, Earl of Derby, was singled out in particular for his central involvement in the rebellion, and for him the multiple was seven rather than five. The same was the case for Henry de Hastings, who was the commander of Kenilworth Castle. Those who had not taken part in the fighting themselves, but had incited others to rise up against the king, were fined at two years' value, while those who had been compelled to fight, or played only a minor part, had to pay one year's value of their land. The proceedings from the fines were awarded to royal supporters, some of whom had already been awarded parts of the rebels' land, and now had to give it back.

Aftermath
Hostilities did not end with the publication of the Dictum. The garrison at Kenilworth refused to accept the terms given, and held out until 14 December, when deprivation forced them to surrender. In April 1267, the earl of Gloucester – who had been central both to the royal victory at Evesham and to the drafting of the Dictum – turned against the king. He occupied the city of London, and set himself up as the champion of the disinherited. After negotiations involving both Edward and Ottobuono, Gloucester relented, and by June a settlement was reached. Gloucester had forced a change to the conditions of the Dictum, whereby the disinherited were allowed to recover their lands before they had paid their fines rather than after; an arrangement that made repayment much easier. In the summer of that year, Prince Edward moved at the Isle of Ely, where the last of the rebels still held out, and forced them into submission under terms favourable to the rebels.

In November 1267, parliament met at Marlborough. Here an important provision was issued that would become known to history as the Statute of Marlborough. This statute incorporated the clauses of the Dictum of Kenilworth that dealt with the restoration of royal power, and reconciliation between the loyalists and the rebels. The Statute of Marlborough became a basis for royal government, and the relationship between the king and his subjects, and as such the Dictum lived on in English constitutional history.

The spirit of peace and reconciliation established by the Dictum of Kenilworth lasted for the remainder of Henry III's reign and into the 1290s. In 1270, Prince Edward left the country to go on crusade in the Holy Land. When his father died in 1272, Edward felt in a safe enough position to wait until 1274 before returning home to claim the throne.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Dictum of Kenilworth


text:
London Docklands

London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham and Greenwich. The docks were formerly part of the Port of London, at one time the world's largest port. After the docks closed, the area had become derelict and poverty-ridden by the 1980s. The Docklands' regeneration began later that decade; it has been redeveloped principally for commercial and residential use. The name "London Docklands" was used for the first time in a government report on redevelopment plans in 1971 and has since been almost universally adopted. The redevelopment created wealth, but also led to some conflict between the new and old communities in the area.

Establishment
In Roman and medieval times, ships arriving in the River Thames tended to dock at small quays in the present-day City of London or Southwark, an area known as the Pool of London. However, these gave no protection against the elements, were vulnerable to thieves and suffered from a lack of space at the quayside. The Howland Great Dock in Rotherhithe (built in 1696, and later to form the core of the Surrey Commercial Docks) was designed to address these problems, providing a large, secure and sheltered anchorage with room for 120 large vessels. It was a major commercial success, and provided for two phases of expansion during the Georgian and Victorian eras.

The first of the Georgian docks was the West India (opened in 1802), followed by the London (1805), the East India (also 1805), the Surrey (1807), the Regent's Canal Dock (1820), St Katharine (1828) and the West India South (1829). The Victorian docks were mostly further east, comprising the Royal Victoria (1855), Millwall (1868) and Royal Albert (1880). The King George V Dock (1921) was a late addition.

Development
Three principal kinds of docks existed. Wet docks were where ships were laid up at anchor and loaded or unloaded. Dry docks, which were far smaller, took individual ships for repairing. Ships were built at dockyards along the riverside. In addition, the river was lined with innumerable warehouses, piers, jetties and dolphins (mooring points). The various docks tended to specialise in different forms of produce. The Surrey Docks concentrated on timber, for instance; Millwall took grain; St Katharine took wool, sugar and rubber; and so on.

The docks required an army of workers, chiefly lightermen (who carried loads between ships and quays aboard small barges called lighters) and quayside workers, who dealt with the goods once they were ashore. Some of the workers were highly skilled: the lightermen had their own livery company or guild, while the deal porters (workers who carried timber) were famous for their acrobatic skills. Most were unskilled and worked as casual labourers. They assembled at certain points, such as pubs, each morning, where they were selected more or less at random by foremen. For these workers, it was effectively a lottery whether they would get work on any particular day. This arrangement continued until as late as 1965, although it was somewhat regularised after the creation of the National Dock Labour Scheme in 1947.

The main dockland areas were originally low-lying marshes, mostly unsuitable for agriculture and lightly populated. With the establishment of the docks, the dock workers formed a number of tight-knit local communities with their own distinctive cultures and slang. Due to poor communications with other parts of London, they tended to develop in some isolation. Road access to the Isle of Dogs, for example, was only via two swing bridges. Local sentiment there was so strong that Ted Johns, a local community campaigner, and his supporters, in protest at the lack of social provision from the state, unilaterally declared independence for the area, set up a so-called "Island Council" with Johns himself as its elected leader, and blocked off the two access roads.

20th century
The docks were originally built and managed by a number of competing private companies. From 1909, they were managed by the Port of London Authority (PLA) which amalgamated the companies in a bid to make the docks more efficient and improve labour relations. The PLA constructed the last of the docks, the King George V, in 1921, as well as greatly expanding the Tilbury docks. German bombing during the Second World War caused massive damage to the docks, with 380,000 tons of timber destroyed in the Surrey Docks in a single night. Nonetheless, following post-war rebuilding they experienced a resurgence of prosperity in the 1950s.

Before the later Docklands' redevelopment and gentrification, the dock workers often made ends meet with petty and not so petty criminality, such as theft from the not yet containerized cargo, smuggling and fencing. As a result, the docks became "centres of excellence for criminal practice". Many of Britain's most proficient criminals learnt their trade here, including those behind the Hatton Garden heist, the Great Train Robbery, the Brink’s-Mat robbery, the Security Express robbery and the Tonbridge cash depot robbery.

The end came suddenly, between approximately 1960 and 1970, when the shipping industry adopted the newly invented container system of cargo transportation. London's docks were unable to accommodate the much larger vessels needed by containerization, and the shipping industry moved to deep-water ports such as Tilbury and Felixstowe. Between 1960 and 1980, all of London's docks were closed, leaving around eight square miles (21 km2) of derelict land in East London.

Redevelopment

Efforts to redevelop the docks began almost as soon as they were closed, although it took a decade for most plans to move beyond the drawing board and another decade for redevelopment to take full effect. The situation was greatly complicated by the large number of landowners involved: the PLA, the Greater London Council (GLC), the British Gas Corporation, five borough councils, British Rail and the Central Electricity Generating Board.

To address this problem, in 1981 the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, formed the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) to redevelop the area. This was a statutory body appointed and funded by central government (a quango), with wide powers to acquire and dispose of land in the Docklands. It also served as the development planning authority for the area.

Another important government intervention was the designation in 1982 of an enterprise zone, an area in which businesses were exempt from property taxes and had other incentives, including simplified planning and capital allowances. This made investing in the Docklands a significantly more attractive proposition and was instrumental in starting a property boom in the area.

The LDDC was controversial; it was accused of favouring elitist luxury developments rather than affordable housing, and it was unpopular with the local communities, who felt that their needs were not being addressed. Nonetheless, the LDDC was central to a remarkable transformation in the area, although how far it was in control of events is debatable. It was wound up in 1998 when control of the Docklands area was handed back to the respective local authorities.

The massive development programme managed by the LDDC during the 1980s and 1990s saw a huge area of the Docklands converted into a mixture of residential, commercial and light industrial space. The clearest symbol of the whole effort was the ambitious Canary Wharf project that constructed Britain's tallest building at the time and established a second business district (CBD) in London. However, there is no evidence that the LDDC foresaw this scale of development; nearby Heron Quays had already been developed as low-density offices when Canary Wharf was proposed, and similar development was already underway on Canary Wharf itself, Limehouse Studios being the most famous occupant.

Canary Wharf was far from trouble-free; the property slump of the early 1990s halted further development for several years. Developers found themselves, for a time, saddled with property that they were unable to sell or let.

Transport
The Docklands historically had poor transport connections. This was addressed by the LDDC with the construction of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which connected the Docklands with the city. According to Transport for London, the owner of the project, it was a remarkably inexpensive development, costing only £77 million in its first phase, as it relied on reusing disused railway infrastructure and derelict land for much of its length. The LDDC originally requested a full London Underground line, but the Government refused to fund it.

The LDDC also built the Limehouse Link tunnel, a cut and cover road tunnel linking the Isle of Dogs to The Highway (the A1203 road) at a cost of over £150 million per kilometre, one of the most expensive stretches of road ever built.

The LDDC also contributed to the development of London City Airport (IATA airport code LCY), opened in October 1987 on the spine of the Royal Docks.

The London Underground's Jubilee line was extended eastwards in 1999; it now serves Rotherhithe/Surrey Quays at Canada Water station, the Isle of Dogs at Canary Wharf tube station, Greenwich at North Greenwich tube station and the nearby Royal Docks at Canning Town station. The DLR was extended in 1994 to serve much of the Royal Docks area when the Beckton branch was opened. The Isle of Dogs branch was extended further south, and in 1999 it began serving Greenwich town centre—including the Cutty Sark museum—Deptford and finally Lewisham. In 2005, a new branch of the DLR opened from Canning Town to serve what used to be the eastern terminus of the North London Line, including a station at London City Airport. It was then further extended to Woolwich Arsenal in 2009.

Future developments
Further development projects are being proposed and put into practice within the London Dockland area, such as:

 * Extensions of the DLR, possibly to Dagenham.
 * Further development of Canada Water.
 * Redevelopment of Blackwall Basin and Wood Wharf, east of Canary Wharf.
 * New skyscrapers to be built at Canary Wharf, including the Riverside South towers, the Heron Quays West double-skyscraper development and the North Quay project, consisting of three towers.

In the early 21st century, redevelopment is spreading into the more suburban parts of east and southeast London, and into the parts of the counties of Kent and Essex that abut the Thames Estuary. See Thames Gateway and Lower Lea Valley for further information on this trend.

History
The numbers of several London Buses routes are prefixed D for Docklands; all run on the north bank of the River Thames as part of the London bus network, and act as feeder buses to the DLR. The D network was developed in the early stages of Docklands redevelopment; it was originally much larger, but as transport rapidly improved across east London, the need for the D routes reduced. Today only four remain, running primarily in Tower Hamlets and briefly into Newham and Hackney. Stagecoach London operate routes D6, D7 and D8, and Blue Triangle operate route D3.

21st century
The population of the Docklands has more than doubled during the last 30 years, and the area has become a major business centre. Canary Wharf has emerged as one of Europe's biggest clusters of skyscrapers and a major extension to the financial services district of the City of London.

Although most of the old wharfs and warehouses have been demolished, some have been restored and converted into flats. Many of the docks themselves have survived and are now used as marinas or watersports centres; a major exception is the Surrey Commercial Docks, which are now largely filled in. Although large ships can—and occasionally still do—visit the old docks, all of the commercial traffic has moved downriver further east.

The revival of the Docklands has had major effects in other run-down surrounding areas. Greenwich and Deptford are undergoing large-scale redevelopment, chiefly as a result of the improved transport links making them more attractive to commuters.

The Docklands' redevelopment has, however, had some less beneficial aspects. The massive property boom and consequent rise in house prices has led to friction between the new arrivals and the old Docklands communities, who have complained of being squeezed out. It has also made for some of the most striking disparities to be seen anywhere in Britain: luxury executive flats constructed alongside run-down public housing estates.

The Docklands' status as a symbol of Margaret Thatcher's Britain has also made it a target for terrorists. After a failed attempt to bomb Canary Wharf in 1992, a large IRA bomb exploded at South Quay on 9 February 1996. Two people died in the explosion, forty people were injured and an estimated £150 million of damage was caused. This bombing ended an IRA ceasefire. James McArdle was sentenced to 25 years of jail time but released in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and royal prerogative of mercy officially signed by Queen Elizabeth II.

In a further sign of regeneration in the area, the Docklands now has its own symphony orchestra, Docklands Sinfonia; which was formed in January 2009 and is based at St Anne's Limehouse.

Economy
The offices of The Independent group of publications were at one time situated in the Docklands. In 2008, Independent News & Media announced that The Independent would be moving its offices to Northcliffe House in Kensington.

London's Docklands has become one of the world's leading global internet hubs since the opening in 1990 of the carrier-neutral Telehouse campus, which hosts the vast majority of LINX's internet peering traffic, occupying over 73,000 square metres. In August 2016, Telehouse Europe opened the $177 million North Two data centre of 24,000 square metres that became the only UK data centre to own a 132 kV on-campus grid substation that is directly connected to the National Grid, reducing transmission losses and improving power density and service continuity.

title: London Docklands


text:
Diesel multiple unit

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as DMUs. Diesel-powered units may be further classified by their transmission type: diesel–mechanical DMMU, diesel–hydraulic DHMU, or diesel–electric DEMU.

Design
The diesel engine may be located above the frame in an engine bay or under the floor. Driving controls can be at both ends, on one end, or in a separate car.

Types by transmission
DMUs are usually classified by the method of transmitting motive power to their wheels.

Diesel–mechanical
In a diesel–mechanical multiple unit (DMMU), the rotating energy of the engine is transmitted via a gearbox and driveshaft directly to the wheels of the train, like a car. The transmissions can be shifted manually by the driver, as in the great majority of first-generation British Rail DMUs, but in most applications, gears are changed automatically.

Diesel–hydraulic
In a diesel–hydraulic multiple unit (DHMU), a hydraulic torque converter, a type of fluid coupling, acts as the transmission medium for the motive power of the diesel engine to turn the wheels. Some units feature a hybrid mix of hydraulic and mechanical transmissions, usually reverting to the latter at higher operating speeds as this decreases engine RPM and noise.

Diesel–electric
In a diesel–electric multiple unit (DEMU), a diesel engine drives an electrical generator or an alternator which produces electrical energy. The generated current is then fed to electric traction motors on the wheels or bogies in the same way as a conventional diesel–electric locomotive.

On some DEMUs, such as the Bombardier Voyager, each car is entirely self-contained and has its own engine, generator and electric motors. In other designs, such as the British Rail Class 207 or the Stadler GTW and Stadler FLIRT DMU, some cars within the consist may be entirely unpowered or only feature electric motors, obtaining electric current from other cars in the consist which have a generator and engine.

With diesel–electric transmission, some DMU can be no other than an EMU without pantograph or contact shoes (for use on the former British Rail Southern Region), which "is substituted" by one or more on-board diesel generators; this kind of DEMU can be potentially upgraded to electro-diesel multiple unit (EDMU), becoming a bi-mode multiple units train (BMU), just adding one or two pantographs or contact shoes (with opportune converters, if necessary) and related modifications on the electric system.

Belgium
NMBS/SNCB uses its NMBS/SNCB Class 41 DMUs on the few remaining unelectrified lines. As electrification progresses, the DMUs become less and less important.

Croatia

Diesel multiple units cover large number of passenger lines in Croatia which are operated by the national passenger service operator HŽ Putnički Prijevoz. On Croatian Railways, DMUs have important role since they cover local, regional and distant lines all across the country. The country's two largest towns, Zagreb and Split, are connected with an inter-city service that is provided by DMU tilting trains "RegioSwinger" (Croatian series 7123) since 2004. Those trains may also cover other lines in the country depending on need and availability.

Luxury DMU series 7021, built in France, started to operate for Yugoslav Railways in 1972 and after 1991 still remained in service of Croatian Railways until 2005. Units 7121 and 7122 (which came as a replacement for 7221 units), together with the newest series 7022 and 7023 built in 2010s Croatia, cover many of the country's local and regional services on unelectrified or partly electrified lines.

Czech Republic

Diesel multiple units also cover large number of passenger lines in the Czech Republic which are operated by the national operator České dráhy. They have important role since they cover local, regional and distant lines all across the country. Those trains may also cover other lines in the country depending on need and availability too.

Also, the DMUs were manufactured for foreign carriers. The tables of cars and units are divided into vehicles operated until 1987, when the ČSD used the series designations proposed by Vojtěch Kryšpín, and vehicles created after this date, which no longer have Kryšpín's designations (with some exceptions). In addition, these new cars are the new vehicles are already different in both countries.

Estonia
Elron has since 2015 a Stadler FLIRT fleet, with 20 trains DEMU version.

Germany
Germany has employed DMUs for both commuter and express services for many decades. The SVT 877 Fliegender Hamburger DMU, introduced in 1933, made the run from Berlin to Hamburg in an astonishing 138 minutes, and its derivative SVT 137 broke the land speed record in 1936. After World War 2, the VT 11.5 DMU was the flagship of the glamorous Trans Europ Express.

Since 1968, DB has designated DMUs with class numbers beginning in 6. While DB and regional transport authorities generally prefer electric power for commuter rail, many local and rural lines remain un-electrified, and DMUs are invaluable in providing services to those areas. DMUs in service as of 2021 include the Adtranz Class 612 tilting train ("Regio Swinger"), the Alstom Coradia LINT (Classes 620–623, 640 and 648), the Siemens Desiro (Class 642) and the Bombardier Talent (Class 643/644). From 2001 to 2016 there was even a DMU version of DB's high-speed Intercity Express, the Class 605 ICE TD.

Greece

 * Diakopto–Kalavryta railway

Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland the Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), which controlled the republic's railways between 1945 and 1986, introduced DMUs in the mid-1950s and they were the first diesel trains on many main lines.

Romania

DMUs are used mostly on shorter or less frequently travelled routes in remote areas. The national railway company CFR still uses, along with other DMU models, Class 77 and 78 DMUs, locally built by Malaxa between the 1930s and 50s and refurbished in the 70s. The main DMU in use is the Class 96 Siemens Desiro aka Săgeata Albastră (The Blue Arrow). Private operators also largely use DMU units, mainly purchased from various French and German operators.

Slovakia

In the present, several types of DMUs operate in Slovakia. Was the most common type in Slovakia is a Class 812 ZSSK based on the ČD Class 810. These are used almost exclusively for hauling passenger trains on non-electrified regional lines and these trains often excel in low travel speeds. In the past, however, in Slovakia there were a number of express trains driven by motor coaches, which often overcame heavier trains driven by steam locomotives at cruising speed, and classic sets. A typical example can be, for example, the Slovenská strela motor express train led on the Bratislava-Prague route by a motor car of the same name, or the Tatran express from Bratislava to Košice. Representatives of high-speed motor wagons were, for example, motor wagons of the M262 or M286 series, which, however, lost their application in high-speed wagons due to the gradual electrification of main lines and were, like the current wagons currently used for passenger trains.

United Kingdom

The first significant use of DMUs in the United Kingdom was by the Great Western Railway, which introduced its small but successful series of diesel–mechanical GWR railcars in 1934. The London & North Eastern Railway and London, Midland & Scottish Railway also experimented with DMUs in the 1930s, the LMS both on its own system, and on that of its Northern Irish subsidiary, but development was curtailed by World War II.

After nationalisation, British Railways (BR) revived the concept in the early 1950s. At that time there was an urgent need to move away from expensive steam traction which led to many experimental designs using diesel propulsion and multiple units. The early DMUs proved successful, and under BR's 1955 Modernisation Plan the building of a large fleet was authorised. These BR "First Generation" DMUs were built between 1956 and 1963.

BR required that contracts for the design and manufacture of new locomotives and rolling stock be split between numerous private firms as well as BR's own workshops, while different BR Regions laid down different specifications. The result was a multitude of different types, one of which was:
 * 'Intercity' units, which were more substantially constructed, and shared many features with contemporary hauled coaching stock. They were built for express services on important secondary routes on the Scottish, North Eastern and Western regions.

In 1960, British Railways introduced its Blue Pullman high-speed DEMUs. These were few in number and relatively short-lived, but they paved the way for the very successful InterCity 125 or High Speed Train (HST) units, which were built between 1975 and 1982 to take over most principal express services on non-electrified routes. These 125 mph trains run with a streamlined power car at each end and (typically) seven to nine intermediate trailer cars. Although originally classified as DEMUs, the trailer cars are very similar to loco-hauled stock, and the power cars were later reclassified as locomotives under Class 43. HSTs started being replaced in 2017, but as of October 2022 some are still in use.

By the early 1980s, many of the surviving First Generation units were reaching the end of their design life, leading to spiralling maintenance costs, poor reliability and a poor public image for the railway. A stopgap solution was to convert some services back to locomotive haulage, as spare locomotives and hauled coaching stock were available, but this also increased operating costs. Commencing in the mid '80s, British Rail embarked upon its so called "Sprinterisation" programme, to replace most of the first generation DMUs and many locomotive-hauled trains with three new families of DMU:
 * Class 140–144 Pacer railbuses, ultra-low-cost diesel–mechanical units utilising four-wheeled chassis and lightweight bus bodywork, designed for provincial branch line and stopping services.
 * Sprinter a family of diesel–hydraulic DMUs. These fall into three sub-groups; Class 150 Sprinters (for branch line/commuter service), Class 153 / 155 / 156 Super Sprinters (for longer cross country services), and Class 158 / 159 Express units (for secondary express services);
 * Networker diesel–hydraulic units, of Class 165 Network Turbo (standard commuter version) and Class 166 Network Express (for longer distance commuter services). These took over the remaining non-electric commuter services into London.

Following the impact of the privatisation of British Rail in the late 1990s, several other diesel–hydraulic DMU families have been introduced:
 * Class 168 Clubman and Class 170/171/172 Bombardier Turbostar, a development of the earlier Networkers. These are built by Adtranz and later Bombardier at Derby Litchurch Lane Works and are the most numerous and widespread of the post-privatisation designs. Purchased by Anglia Railways, Central Trains, Chiltern Railways, London Midland, London Overground Rail Operations, Midland Mainline and ScotRail.
 * Class 175 Alstom Coradia were designed by Alstom as a rival to the 170 Turbostar, but bought only by First North Western
 * Class 180 Adelante were an Alstom design for express services built only for First Great Western
 * Class 185 Siemens Desiro, built by Siemens introduced in 2006 by First TransPennine Express
 * Class 195/196/197 CAF Civity, built by CAF for Arriva Rail North, West Midlands Trains and Transport for Wales
 * Class 220/221/222 Voyagers/Meridian built by Bombardier in Bruges for Hull Trains, Midland Mainline and Virgin CrossCountry

In 2018, the first bi and tri-mode electro-diesel multiple units were introduced:
 * Class 800/802s are being built by Hitachi for Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, London North Eastern Railway and TransPennine Express
 * Class 755 Stadler FLIRT are to be operated by Abellio Greater Anglia
 * Class 769s are being converted by Brush Traction from Class 319s for Arriva Rail North, Great Western Railway and KeolisAmey Wales
 * Class 230s are being converted by Vivarail from London Underground D78 Stock for West Midland Trains and Transport for Wales

Canada

Canada generally follows similar buffer strength requirements to the US, but new services are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. As a result, several types of lightweight DMUs have been used:

 * The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario uses European-standard Alstom Coradia LINT (previously Bombardier Talent) DMUs on conventional railway tracks under a specific safety agreement with Transport Canada.
 * Via Rail operates Budd Rail Diesel Cars on its Sudbury – White River train.
 * Réseau Charlevoix (Le Massif) operates a shuttle in the Charlevoix region, Québec, using ex-Deutsche Bahn DB Class 628 units.
 * Canadian National operates the small custom-built Kaoham Shuttle between Lillooet, and D'Arcy via Seton Portage, 213 km northeast of Vancouver, in a partnership with the Seton Lake Indian Band.
 * Union Pearson Express uses Nippon Sharyo DMU trains for express service between Union Station and Pearson Airport.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica has purchased several Apolo 2400 series DMU railcars from the former narrow gauge operator in Spain, which are run in commuter service.

Mexico
42 X'Trapolis Tsíimin K'áak train sets have been ordered for Tren Maya, 10 of which are DMU and 32 are EDMU.

United States

A type of diesel multiple units in the U.S. was the Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC). The RDC was a single passenger car with two diesel engines and two sets of controls.

In the United States, DMU systems must be FRA-compliant to be permitted on freight rail corridors. The Federal Railway Administration has mandated higher coupling strength requirements than European regulators, effectively prohibiting the use of lighter weight European-style inter-city rail DMUs on U.S. main line railways without timesharing with freight operations or special waivers from the FRA. This has greatly restricted the development of DMUs within the U.S. as no other country requires the much heavier FRA compliant vehicles, and no export market for them exists. Operations using FRA-compliant vehicles:
 * Since February 2009, TriMet is using FRA-compliant Colorado Railcar DMUs for its rush-hour WES Commuter Rail service, a suburb-to-suburb line between Beaverton and Wilsonville, Oregon. The opening of the line was delayed from fall 2008 to early 2009 due to delays in getting the vehicles. TriMet also has four refurbished former Alaska RR and Trinity Railway Express RDCs as backup trainsets for when one or more Colorado Railcar DMUs is out of service.
 * Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit, also referred to as SMART, operates Nippon Sharyo DMUs (the same as those in Toronto) on its route between Larkspur and Santa Rosa, California. Service commenced in 2017.

Operations using non FRA-compliant vehicles:
 * Capital Metro uses Stadler GTW cars to operate Capital MetroRail, a commuter rail line serving the Greater Austin, Texas area.
 * In Denton County, Texas, DCTA also uses Stadler GTW cars to operate its A-train service. DCTA has secured from the FRA the first-ever alternative vehicle technology waiver to use these cars on active freight corridors.
 * TEXRail in Tarrant County, Texas is a commuter rail line operated by Trinity Metro which uses Stadler FLIRT DMUs. The vehicles are FRA Alternate Compliant. The line has 9 stops with termini at DFW Airport and T&P Station.
 * NJ Transit operates the River Line from Camden, NJ to Trenton, NJ, every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes at other times. It uses modified Stadler GTW trains of one or two cars. The line is classified as light rail because it utilizes imported European made DMUs that do not meet FRA crash guidelines. The cars may not operate with the freight rail service that shares the line, so evening operating hours are restricted to Saturday nights. This line currently carries over 7,500 passengers on a typical weekday, exceeding expectations.
 * NCTD operates the Sprinter line using Desiro Classic DMUs built by Siemens. Opened March 2008, The line operates every half-hour daily, except limitations in the morning and at night on Saturday, Sunday and on holidays. The line runs from Oceanside, CA, where transfer is possible with Coaster commuter rail service to San Diego, to Escondido, CA. Like the NJT River Line, it is classified as light rail due to the use of European made DMUs, but does not run at a more typical light rail frequency.
 * The eBART expansion of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System implements Stadler GTW diesel multiple unit train service from Pittsburg/Bay Point station east along the Highway 4 corridor to the town of Antioch. Future expansions in this direction could also connect the eBART service to Oakley, Brentwood, Byron, and beyond to Tracy and Stockton. The DMU system was chosen as a less-expensive alternative to the existing third-rail BART design. Service began on 25 May 2018.
 * Arrow utilizes Stadler FLIRT trainsets along its service route in Redlands, California.

Proposed operations:
 * The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved an allocation of $250,000 for a feasibility study of DMUs for "future transportation options for the region" on 5 July 2006 (Ara Najarian, Metro Board Member).
 * Chicago's commuter rail line, Metra, is studying the use of DMUs on its newly proposed lines (STAR line, SES). They claim these DMUs will have better acceleration, be more fuel efficient, and seat more customers than the current diesel locomotive and double decker rail cars that are currently in use.
 * Seattle area – The Central Puget Sound's regional transit agency Sound Transit, along with the Puget Sound Regional Council evaluated the feasibility of both DMU and diesel locomotive technology for operation in the Eastside BNSF Corridor in response to a state legislative request. The Eastside BNSF corridor runs from the City of Snohomish in the north to Renton in the south of the metro area. Sound Transit has no plans to operate passenger rail service in the eastside BNSF corridor, but has committed limited funds to provide capital improvements in the event another public or private operator proposes to operate the service.
 * Anchorage Mat-Su area – As part of a joint U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and ARRC Chugach Forest Whistle Stop project, a self-propelled rail car was purchased and delivered spring 2009. The diesel multiple unit (DMU) may be available for flexible demonstration service during winter months.
 * The Long Island Rail Road, the busiest commuter railroad in the United States, is exploring the possibility of operating DMUs on some of its lesser traveled routes in non-electrified territory (on the Montauk, Greenport, Port Jefferson, and Oyster Bay branches), where operation of its current fleet of C3 bilevel railcars pulled by DE30AC/DM30AC locomotives is uneconomical and inefficient.
 * A proposal to use DMUs on Boston's Fairmount Line was initially approved, but was canceled in 2016.
 * NJ Transit's Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project is studying the re-introduction passenger service on a portion of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) right-of-way in Passiac, Bergen and Hudson counties using newly built, FRA-compliant diesel multiple units.
 * Dallas Area Rapid Transit is rebuilding the Cotton Belt Rail Line as the Silver Line, which will utilize Stadler FLIRT units.

Australia

DMUs were first introduced to Australia in the late mid-20th century for use on quiet branch lines that could not justify a locomotive hauled service. Today, DMUs are widely used throughout Australia's southern states:

 * Adelaide Metro use 3000 class DMUs on their suburban network.
 * NSW TrainLink use Xplorer DMUs on services from Sydney to Canberra (ACT), Griffith, Broken Hill, Armidale and Moree. Endeavour DMUs are used on services to Bathurst, Moss Vale and Goulburn on the Southern Highlands Line, Kiama to Bomaderry and on the Hunter Line. Hunter railcar DMUs are also used on the Hunter Line.
 * Victoria's V/Line uses Sprinter and V/Locity DMUs on all medium distance services.
 * Western Australia's Transwa operates the Prospector, AvonLink and Australind on medium and long distance country services.

In Queensland, heritage DMUs are used on the Savannahlander and Gulflander tourist trains.

Bangladesh
Chinese manufactured (CNR Tangshan) DEMU was introduced in Bangladesh from 25 May 2013. DEMU is the country's first-ever commuter train service starting its journey on the Chittagong–Fouzdarhat line. These DEMUs also operate on the Chittagong Circular Railway and on the Bangladesh Railway's service between Dhaka and Narayanganj.

Cambodia
Mexican manufacturer Ferrovias Del Bajio supplied in 2019, three DSUs (Diesel Single Unit) to Royal Railway in Cambodia for their airport shuttle service from Phnom Penh international airport to the city central station. The other two units were assigned to long-distance services from the central station to Sihanoukville and to Poipet. Royal Railways Cambodia have now acquired eleven carriages DMU from Japan. Model: “ Kiha 183 heavy snow “. (キハ183系オホーツク・大雪) Speed: 110 km/h (max) Type: 特急　(Limited Express) Started: 1986 ............ End of Service in Japan 17 March 2023

India
DMUs (DEMUs) are widely used in India. DEMUs in India are used in both the eight-coach format and the four-coach format. These trains replaced many (up to 10 car) trains with a WDM-2 or WDM-3A locomotive in the middle. These old trains had the loco controls duplicated in the Driving Trailer coach and all the actuation information reaching the locomotive through thin communication lines. This was called 'push-pull train'. The longest running such push-pull service operated between Diva – Bhiwandi Road and Vasai Road and was recently converted into an MEMU train service in 2018.

India's first and largest DMU shed at Jalandhar, Punjab, holds more than 90 units placed in service all over Punjab. First generation DMU: Rated power was 700 HP and had three or six coaches, made first by ICF. Transmission was Voith-hydraulic. Max speed 100 km/h.

Second generation DMU: Rated power is 1400 HP and have eight coaches. Max speed is 105 km/h. Transmission is DC electric. Made at ICF and RCF.

Third generation DMU: Rated power is 1,600 HP and have ten coaches. Max speed is 110 km/h. Transmission is AC electric. Made at ICF.

Indonesia

State-owned company PT.INKA builds several type of DMU, some of which operate in urban and suburban areas.

Japan

In Japan, where gasoline-driven railbuses (on small private lines) and railmotors (Kihani 5000 of the national railways) had been built since the 1920s, the first two streamlined DMUs came in service in 1937, class Kiha 43000 (キハ43000系).

The service of several hundreds (in sum even thousands) of diesel railcars and DMUs started in 1950s following the improvement of fuel supply that was critical during World War II.

Kenya
In 2021, Kenya acquired DMUs from France to operate in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area. These trains connect the city with settlements outside Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Nairobi Terminus.

Malaysia
The Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) has a total of 13 DMU KTM Class 61 ordered from CRRC for the West Coast Line and are assembled locally at CRRCs Batu Gajah factory from 2016 to 2020. The first scheduled service is expected from 1 September along the Gemas-Johor Bahru route, replacing old non-automotive stock.

Philippines
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) was one of the first adopters of diesel multiple unit trains in Asia. Initially built as gasoline-powered railmotors, the locally assembled Manila Railroad RMC class of 1929 was the first to be powered by diesel traction. Some units were also converted to streamliner units by 1932 for first-class services on the South Main Line between Manila and Legazpi, Albay. Since then, generations of DMUs were used chiefly for short-distance commuter services by the PNR in the island of Luzon.

Even without active inter-city rail services in the present-day, DMUs are still used on the PNR Metro Commuter Line in Metro Manila and the Bicol Commuter service in the Bicol Region. Three generations of DMUs are in use: second-hand DMUs handed over by JR East such as the KiHa 35, 52 and 59 series originally built in the 1960s and acquired in the early 2010s, the Rotem DMUs of 2009 built by Korean manufacturer Hyundai Rotem, and the 8000 and 8100 classes built by Indonesian firm PT INKA.

From 2022 onwards, the PNR will purchase standard gauge DMUs for its upcoming inter-city rail network in Luzon and Mindanao. This is compared to the 3 ft 6 in gauge of the rolling stock that is currently in active service. This move should allow access to better technology and increase line speeds.

China
On 14 January 2014, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles announced that hybrid electric multiple units were put into production. At the end of 2014, the first batch of hybrid EMUs, one train each with battery-catenary power supply (EEMU) and catenary power supply-internal combustion engine (DEMU), rolled off the assembly line in Changchun. From 2016 to 2020, the vehicles were tested in Hohhot and Beijing Academy of Railway Sciences.

In September 2022, the first CJ-5 train used by the Xi'an-Huxian Railway arrived in Xi'an. The No. 0506 train, which uses an internal combustion engine and a battery hybrid, was used as a vehicle during the initial operation of the Xi'an-Huxian Railway. During the operation period, it will be temporarily managed by Xi'an Metro.

South Korea
Korail used to operates many DMUs. The DHC (Diesel Hydraulic Car), which made its debut for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, was able to reach speeds up to 150 km/h and served Saemaul-ho trains. These train have retired on 2008.

Sri Lanka
DMUs were first introduced to Sri Lanka in 1940. The aim of this was connecting minor railway stations and stops on the main line where most express trains don't have a halt.

Taiwan
The DMUs are now usually used on the Taiwan Railway Administration Hualien–Taitung Line, North-Link Line, South-Link Line. DMUs in Taiwan are classified as Class DR. Thailand The State Railway of Thailand ASR class is a diesel multiple unit operated by the State Railway of Thailand. Built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England, it is based on the British Rail Class 158. Twenty carriages were built in 1990/91. All were painted in the same Regional Railways livery as the Class 158s.
 * Class DR2700 – built by Tokyu Car Corporation in 1966; was the fastest train on the West Coast line
 * Class DR2800 – built by Tokyu Car Corporation in 1982 and 1984
 * Class DR2900
 * Class DR3000
 * Class DR3100

 * Numbers 2501 – 2512 (with cockpit) 12 Unit
 * Numbers 2113 – 2120 (no cockpit) 8 Unit

Manufacturers
DMU manufacturers include:

 * Alstom
 * AnsaldoBreda, Italy
 * BEML, India
 * BHEL, India
 * Bombardier Transportation of Montreal, Canada
 * British Rail Engineering Limited, United Kingdom (1962–1980s)
 * British Railways, United Kingdom (1950s–1962)
 * Budd Company of United States
 * CAF
 * Colorado Railcar, US (Rader Railcar 1988–1997, Colorado Railcar 1997–2008, US Railcar 2009–present)
 * CRRC, China
 * DMZ, Russia
 * EIKON International
 * Ferrovias Del Bajio S.A. de C.V., Mexico
 * Ganz-MÁVAG, Hungary
 * Hyundai Rotem of Seoul, South Korea
 * INKA, Indonesia
 * Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, India
 * Luganskteplovoz, Ukraine
 * Materfer, Argentina
 * Metrovagonmash, Russia
 * Niigata Transys of Tokyo, Japan
 * Nippon Sharyo/Sumitomo, Japan
 * Pojazdy Szynowe Pesa Bydgoszcz
 * RVR, Latvia
 * Siemens Mobility DMU
 * Stadler Rail of Bussnang, Switzerland
 * Torzhoksky car-building factory, Russia
 * TÜVASAŞ of Adapazarı, Turkey

title: Diesel multiple unit