George Wellesley

Sir George Wellesley
Sir George Wellesley
	Admiral Sir George Wellesley
Born	2 August 1814
Died	6 April 1901 (aged 86); London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1828–1879
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	First Naval Lord; North America and West Indies Station; Channel Squadron; Indian Navy; HMS Cornwallis; HMS Daedalus
Battles/wars	Oriental Crisis; Crimean War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral Sir George Greville Wellesley GCB (2 August 1814 – 6 April 1901) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in the capture of Acre during the Oriental Crisis in 1840 and, as Captain of HMS Cornwallis in the Baltic Fleet, he took part in the Bombardment of Sveaborg in August 1855 during the Crimean War. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station and then Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron but was relieved of the latter post by a court-martial after an incident in which an armoured frigate, which had been under his command at the time, ran aground at Pearl Rock off Gibraltar in July 1871. He was appointed First Naval Lord in November 1877 and in that capacity he secured a considerable increase in naval construction, for example on the Colossus-class battleships, although some of these ships were of doubtful quality.

Early career

The fifth-rate HMS Daedalus which Wellesley commanded

Born the son of Gerald Valerian Wellesley (brother of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington) and Lady Emily Mary (daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan), Wellesley joined the Royal Navy in 1828.[1] After initial training at the Royal Navy College at Portsmouth and promotion to lieutenant on 22 April 1838, he was posted to the first-rate HMS Princess Charlotte in the Mediterranean Fleet.[2] He transferred to the fifth-rate HMS Castor in March 1839 and took part in operations on the coast of Syria taking part in the capture of Acre in November 1840 during the Oriental Crisis.[1] He joined the fifth-rate HMS Thalia on the East Indies Station in November 1841 and, having been promoted to Commander on 16 April 1842, he transferred to the brig HMS Childers also on the East Indies Station.[2]

Promoted to Captain on 2 December 1844, Wellesley was given command of the fifth-rate HMS Daedalus on the Pacific Station in July 1849 and then became Captain of HMS Cornwallis in the Baltic Fleet in February 1855 taking part in the Bombardment of Sveaborg in August 1855 during the Crimean War.[1] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in February 1856.[2] He remained in command of HMS Cornwallis when she moved to the North America and West Indies Station in 1856 and then commanded the Indian Navy from 1857 until it became the Bombay Marine in 1862.[1]

Senior command

HMS Hercules (left) towing HMS Agincourt (right) off Pearl Rock; the grounding of the Agincourt led to Wellesley being court martialled and being relieved of his command

Promoted to rear admiral on 3 April 1863,[3] Wellesley became Admiral Superintendent at Portsmouth in June 1865 and then Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, hoisting his flag in the ironclad frigate HMS Royal Alfred, in June 1869.[2]

Promoted to vice admiral on 26 July 1869,[4] Wellesley went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron, hoisting his flag in the armoured frigate HMS Minotaur, in October 1870 but was relieved of that post by a court-martial after an incident in which the armoured frigate HMS Agincourt, which had been under his command at the time, ran aground at Pearl Rock off Gibraltar in July 1871.[2] It was not until the fourth day after the incident that the central battery ironclad HMS Hercules commanded by Captain Lord Gilford, using full engines and hauling on the anchors, managed to pull HMS Agincourt free using two chains.[5] After that Wellesley was made Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station again, this time hoisting his flag in the central battery ironclad HMS Bellerophon, in September 1873.[2]

Promoted to full admiral on 11 December 1875,[6] Wellesley was appointed First Naval Lord in November 1877.[2] In that capacity he secured a considerable increase in naval construction, for example on the Colossus-class battleships, although some of these ships were of doubtful quality.[1] He retired in August 1879 and was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 23 April 1880.[7]

In retirement Wellesley was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 21 June 1887[8] and became a Commissioner of the Patriotic Fund in June 1888.[9] He died at his home at Chester Square in London on 6 April 1901.[1]

Family

In 1853 Wellesley married Elizabeth Doughty Lukin (c.1816 - 1906); they had one daughter, Olivia Georgiana.[1]

References

Laughton, L. G. C. (2004). "Wellesley, Sir George Greville (1814–1901)". In rev. Andrew Lambert (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
"William Loney RN". Retrieved 29 December 2012.
"No. 22725". The London Gazette. 10 April 1863. p. 1970.
"No. 23523". The London Gazette. 6 August 1869. p. 4366.
Fitzgerald, p. 209-302
"No. 24278". The London Gazette. 24 December 1875. p. 6577.
"No. 24838". The London Gazette. 27 April 1880. p. 2724.
"No. 25773". The London Gazette. 5 January 1888. p. 212.
"No. 25826". The London Gazette. 12 June 1888. p. 3247.

Sources

Fitzgerald, Penrose (1913). Memories of the Sea. London: Edward Arnold. ASIN B009YSMIH2.
William Loney RN Career History

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Rodney Mundy	Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station 1869–1870	Succeeded by Sir Edward Fanshawe
Preceded by Sir Hastings Yelverton	Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron 1870–1871	Succeeded by Sir Geoffrey Hornby
Preceded by Sir Edward Fanshawe	Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station 1873–1875	Succeeded by Sir Astley Key
Preceded by Sir Hastings Yelverton	First Naval Lord 1877–1879	Succeeded by Sir Astley Key

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[odnb-1] Laughton, L. G. C. (2004). "Wellesley, Sir George Greville (1814–1901)". In rev. Andrew Lambert (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 December 2012.

[loney-2] "William Loney RN". Retrieved 29 December 2012.

[3] "No. 22725". The London Gazette. 10 April 1863. p. 1970.

[4] "No. 23523". The London Gazette. 6 August 1869. p. 4366.

[5] Fitzgerald, p. 209-302

[6] "No. 24278". The London Gazette. 24 December 1875. p. 6577.

[7] "No. 24838". The London Gazette. 27 April 1880. p. 2724.

[8] "No. 25773". The London Gazette. 5 January 1888. p. 212.

[9] "No. 25826". The London Gazette. 12 June 1888. p. 3247.

First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy
Senior Naval Lords (1689–1771)	Arthur Herbert Sir John Chicheley Edward Russell Henry Priestman Earl of Orford Sir George Rooke Sir John Leake Sir George Byng Sir John Leake Sir George Byng Matthew Aylmer Sir George Byng Sir John Jennings Sir John Norris Sir Charles Wager Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Harry Powlett Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Vere Beauclerk Lord Anson Sir William Rowley Edward Boscawen Sir William Rowley Edward Boscawen John Forbes Earl Howe Sir Charles Saunders Augustus Keppel Sir Peircy Brett Sir Francis Holburne
First Naval Lords (1771–1904)	Augustus Hervey Sir Hugh Palliser Robert Man George Darby Sir Robert Harland Sir Hugh Pigot John Leveson-Gower Lord Hood Sir Charles Middleton James Gambier Sir Thomas Troubridge James Gambier John Markham James Gambier Sir Richard Bickerton William Domett Sir Joseph Yorke Sir Graham Moore Sir William Johnstone Hope Sir George Cockburn Sir Thomas Hardy The Hon. George Dundas Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir William Parker Sir Charles Adam Sir James Dundas The Hon. Maurice Berkeley Hyde Parker The Hon. Maurice Berkeley The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas William Martin The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey Sir Alexander Milne Sir Sydney Dacres Sir Alexander Milne Sir Hastings Yelverton Sir George Wellesley Sir Astley Key Sir Arthur Hood Lord John Hay Sir Arthur Hood Sir Richard Hamilton Sir Anthony Hoskins Sir Frederick Richards Lord Walter Kerr
First Sea Lords (1904–present)	Sir John Fisher Sir Arthur Wilson Sir Francis Bridgeman Prince Louis of Battenberg The Lord Fisher Sir Henry Jackson Sir John Jellicoe Sir Rosslyn Wemyss The Earl Beatty Sir Charles Madden, Bt Sir Frederick Field The Lord Chatfield Sir Roger Backhouse Sir Dudley Pound The Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope Sir John Cunningham The Lord Fraser of North Cape Sir Rhoderick McGrigor The Earl Mountbatten of Burma Sir Charles Lambe Sir Caspar John Sir David Luce Sir Varyl Begg Sir Michael Le Fanu Sir Peter Hill-Norton Sir Michael Pollock Sir Edward Ashmore Sir Terence Lewin Sir Henry Leach Sir John Fieldhouse Sir William Staveley Sir Julian Oswald Sir Benjamin Bathurst Sir Jock Slater Sir Michael Boyce Sir Nigel Essenhigh Sir Alan West Sir Jonathon Band Sir Mark Stanhope Sir George Zambellas Sir Philip Jones Tony Radakin