1.
Queen Victoria
–
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne aged 18, after her fathers three brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already a constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments, publicly, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together, after Alberts death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and it was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover and her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victorias father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, until 1817, Edwards niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen and her brother Leopold was Princess Charlottes widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kents only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a. m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace and she was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina, Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Dukes eldest brother, George, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarences daughters died as infants. Victorias father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old, a week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827, when George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive
2.
Queen's Official Birthday
–
The sovereigns birthday was first officially marked in the United Kingdom in 1748, for King George II. In some cases, it is a public holiday, sometimes aligning with the celebration of other events. Most Commonwealth realms release a Queens Birthday Honours list at this time, except in the states of Western Australia and Queensland, Australia observes the Queens Birthday on the second Monday in June. There is no rule to determine this date, though it is usually the last Monday of September or the first Monday of October. Starting in 2016, Queensland celebrates the holiday on the first Monday of October, so that a long weekend coincides with the AFL, the day has been celebrated since 1788, when Governor Arthur Phillip declared a holiday to mark the birthday of the King of Great Britain. Until 1936, it was held on the birthday of the monarch. This has more evenly spaced out public holidays throughout the year, the Queens Birthday weekend and Empire Day were the traditional times for public fireworks displays in Australia. The sale of fireworks to the public was banned in various states through the 1980s, tasmania is the only state and the Northern Territory the only territory to still sell fireworks to the public. The Queens Birthday Honours List, in new members of the Order of Australia. A royal proclamation issued on 5 February 1957 established the Canadian monarchs official birthday as the last Monday before 25 May. The sovereigns birthday had been observed in Canada since 1845, when the parliament of the Province of Canada passed a statute to officially recognize Queen Victorias birthday,24 May. Edward VIII abdicated on 11 December 1936, three days before the birthday of his brother, the new king of Canada, George VI, the King expressed to his ministers his wish that his birthday not be publicly celebrated, in light of the recent circumstances. George VIs official birthday in Canada was thereafter marked on various days between 20 May and 14 June, the two holidays are in law entirely distinct except for being appointed to be observed on the same day, it is a general holiday in Nunavut and New Brunswick. The reigning Canadian monarch has been in Canada for his or her birthday twice. The first time was 20 May 1939, when King George VI was on a coast-to-coast tour of Canada, in 2014, the couple attended a ceremony in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Despite Fiji ceasing to be a Commonwealth realm in 1987, following a military coup détat. That year, the government of Commodore Frank Bainimarama announced the holiday would be abolished. In New Zealand, the holiday is the first Monday in June, celebrations are mainly official, including the Queens Birthday Honours list and military ceremonies
3.
The London Gazette
–
The London Gazette claims to be the oldest surviving English newspaper and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the UK, having been first published on 7 November 1665 as The Oxford Gazette. This claim is made by the Stamford Mercury and Berrows Worcester Journal. It does not have a large circulation, in turn, The London Gazette carries not only notices of UK-wide interest, but also those relating specifically to entities or people in England and Wales. However, certain notices that are only of specific interest to Scotland or Northern Ireland are also required to be published in The London Gazette, the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes are published by TSO on behalf of Her Majestys Stationery Office. They are subject to Crown Copyright, the London Gazette is published each weekday, except for Bank Holidays. The official Gazettes are published by The Stationery Office, the content, apart from insolvency notices, is available in a number of machine-readable formats, including XML and XML/RDFa via Atom feed. The London Gazette was first published as The Oxford Gazette on 7 November 1665. Charles II and the Royal Court had moved to Oxford to escape the Great Plague of London, the Gazette was Published by Authority by Henry Muddiman, and its first publication is noted by Samuel Pepys in his diary. The King returned to London as the plague dissipated, and the Gazette moved too, the Gazette was not a newspaper in the modern sense, it was sent by post to subscribers, not printed for sale to the general public. Her Majestys Stationery Office took over the publication of the Gazette in 1889, publication of the Gazette was transferred to the private sector, under government supervision, in the 1990s, when HMSO was sold and renamed The Stationery Office. In time of war, dispatches from the conflicts are published in The London Gazette. People referred to are said to have mentioned in dispatches. When members of the forces are promoted, and these promotions are published here. Man tally-ho, Miss piano, Wife silk and satin, Boy Greek and Latin, the phrase gazetted fortune hunter is also probably derived from this. Notices of engagement and marriage were also published in the Gazette. Gazettes, modelled on The London Gazette, were issued for most British colonial possessions
4.
Order of the Bath
–
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for appointing a knight. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath, George I erected the Knights of the Bath into a regular Military Order. Prior to 1815, the order had only a class, Knight Companion. Recipients of the Order are now usually senior officers or senior civil servants. Commonwealth citizens who are not subjects of the Queen and foreign nationals may be made Honorary Members, in the Middle Ages, knighthood was often conferred with elaborate ceremonies. These usually involved the taking a bath during which he was instructed in the duties of knighthood by more senior knights. He was then put to bed to dry, clothed in a special robe, he was led with music to the chapel where he spent the night in a vigil. At dawn he made confession and attended Mass, then retired to his bed to sleep until it was fully daylight, in the early medieval period the difference seems to have been that the full ceremonies were used for men from more prominent families. Knights Bachelor continued to be created with the form of ceremony. The last occasion on which Knights of the Bath were created was the coronation of Charles II in 1661. From at least 1625, and possibly from the reign of James I, Knights of the Bath were using the motto Tria iuncta in uno, and wearing as a badge three crowns within a plain gold oval. These were both adopted by the Order of the Bath, a similar design of badge is still worn by members of the Civil Division. Their symbolism however is not entirely clear, the three joined in one may be a reference to the kingdoms of England, Scotland and either France or Ireland, which were held by English and, later, British monarchs. This would correspond to the three crowns in the badge, another explanation of the motto is that it refers to the Holy Trinity. The prime mover in the establishment of the Order of the Bath was John Anstis, Garter King of Arms, the Court remained the centre of the political world. The King was limited in that he had to choose Ministers who could command a majority in Parliament, the leader of an administration still had to command the Kings personal confidence and approval. A strong following in Parliament depended on being able to supply places, pensions, the attraction of the new Order for Walpole was that it would provide a source of such favours to strengthen his political position
5.
Rodney Mundy
–
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Rodney Mundy, GCB was a Royal Navy officer. As a commander, he persuaded the Dutch to surrender Antwerp during the Belgian Revolution and he was then deployed to the seas of Finland, where he secured Björkö Sound in operations against Russia during the Crimean War. Mundy went on to be Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station and then Commander-in-Chief, born the son of General Godfrey Basil Mundy and Sarah Bridges, Mundy joined the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth as a cadet in February 1818. Promoted to lieutenant on 4 February 1826, he joined the sloop HMS Eclair on the South American Station in July 1826 and he then transferred to the sixth-rate HMS Challenger in February 1828 off Lisbon before moving to the fifth-rate HMS Pyramus also off Lisbon only a few months later. Promoted to commander on 25 August 1828, Mundy joined the third-rate HMS Donegal and he then acted as a mediator during negotiations between the Dutch and the Belgians to end hostilities in May 1833. He became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Favourite in the Mediterranean Fleet in August 1833, promoted to captain on 10 January 1837, he became commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS Iris in the West Africa Squadron in October 1842. He was then re-deployed with HMS Iris to the East Indies Station and was involved in operations under Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, promoted to rear admiral on 30 July 1857, Mundy became Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, with his flag in the second-rate HMS Hannibal in April 1859. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 23 June 1859. In May 1860, in the Expedition of the Thousand, he conveyed Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian general and politician, Garibaldi went on to depose Francis II, the tyrannical ruler of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in March 1861, and to achieve Italian unification. Garibaldi credited Mundy with bringing about the armistice between the parties and offered him his heartfelt gratitude in the name of Palermo, of Sicily. He then became Commander in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station, with his flag in the broadside ironclad HMS Royal Alfred, promoted to full admiral on 26 May 1869, he became Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in March 1872 and retired in April 1875. Mundy never married and had no children, autobiography of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Volume 3. The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734–1995, narrative of events in Borneo and Celebes down to the occupation of Labuan. HMS Hannibal at Palermo and Naples during the Italian revolution, with notices of Garibaldi, Francis II, and Victor Emmanuel
6.
Frederick Haines
–
Field Marshal Sir Frederick Paul Haines GCB GCSI CIE was a British Army officer. He served in India during the Indian Rebellion before becoming Commanding Officer of the 8th Regiment of Foot in the United Kingdom and he went on to be General Officer Commanding the Mysore Division of the Madras Army and then Quartermaster-General to the Forces in the United Kingdom. He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 December 1840 and appointed aide-de-camp to General Sir Hugh Gough in 1843, Haines took part in the Battle of Mudki in December 1845 and the Battle of Ferozeshah in December 1845 during the First Anglo-Sikh War. Promoted to brevet major-general on 25 November 1864, Haines returned to India to become General Officer Commanding the Mysore Division of the Madras Army in March 1865. Haines was offered a baronetcy for services to HM Government in India in 1880 but declined the honour due to his wifes failing health, however, her health declined and she eventually died and the offer of the baronetcy was never renewed. Returning to retirement in London in 1881, Haines was promoted to Field Marshal on 21 May 1890 and he also became colonel of the 104th Bengal Fusiliers, subsequently of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers and then of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He died at his home at Pall Mall in London on 11 June 1909 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery, in 1856 Haines married Charlotte Jane Sophia Miller and together they went on to have three sons. The British Field Marshals, 1736–1997, A Biographical Dictionary, the Life of Field-Marshal Sir Frederick Paul Haines. Fredericks Ancestry in A Complete Memoir of Richard Haines
7.
John Douglas (British Army officer)
–
General Sir John Douglas of Glenfinart GCB was a British Army officer who became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland. Born the son of Lieutenant General Sir Neil Douglas, Douglas was commissioned in 1833. He commanded the 79th Regiment of Foot at the Battle of Alma in September 1854, at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854 and he also took part in the response to the Indian Mutiny. He went on to command the troops in the North British District from in 1873 before retiring in 1875 and he was given the colonelcy of the The Queens Own Cameron Highlanders from 1879 to 1887 and promoted full general on 30 January 1880. He died in 1888 and was buried in the graveyard of St Munns Parish Church, Kilmun
8.
George Elliot (Royal Navy officer, born 1813)
–
Admiral Sir George Augustus Elliot KCB was a British Royal Navy flag officer and politician. He was born in Calcutta, the son of Admiral Sir George Elliot and he entered the navy in November 1827, and was made lieutenant on 12 November 1834. Until 1837 he served aboard HMS Astraea along with Lord Edward Russell, from 1843 to 1846 Elliot commanded the frigate HMS Eurydice, designed by his father, on the North American station, and in December 1849 he was appointed to the frigate HMS Phaeton. On 24 February 1858 Elliot became rear-admiral, and was captain of the fleet to Sir Charles Fremantle. In 1861 he was considered for the post of controller of the navy, between 1863 and 1865 he was superintendent of HMNB Portsmouth. On 12 September 1865 he became vice-admiral, and then was repeatedly on royal commissions on naval issues, the direct result of this report was the construction of the battleship HMS Temeraire. In 1870 Elliot reached the rank of admiral, and in 1874 he was elected Conservative MP for Chatham, on 2 June 1877 he was nominated a KCB, and the following year, on 26 September, he was placed on the retired list. He continued to occupy himself with the study of naval questions after retirement and he was an active member of the Royal United Services Institute He died in London on 13 December 1901, after a brief illness. On 1 August 1842 he married Hersey Susan Sidney Wauchope, daughter of Colonel Wauchope and their daughter Elizabeth Georgina Frances Elliot married George Carnegie, 9th Earl of Northesk, while another daughter, Nina Helen, married Sir Thomas Butler. Elliot is recorded as having played cricket for Cambridge University Cricket Club in two matches in 1831. However, at time he was already in the Navy. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Lee, Sidney, ed. Elliot. Dictionary of National Biography,1912 supplement, P. H. Colomb, Memoirs of Admiral the Right Honble
9.
Beauchamp Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester
–
Admiral Frederick Beauchamp Paget Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester, GCB was a British naval commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet between 1874 and 1877 and of the Mediterranean Fleet between 1880 and 1883, Seymour was the son of Colonel Sir Horace Seymour and a cousin of the 5th Marquess of Hertford. He was a great-grandson of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, Seymour entered the Royal Navy in 1834, and served in the Mediterranean and the Pacific, and was for three years aide-de-camp to his uncle Sir George Seymour, and was promoted to commander in 1847. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Australia Station from 10 March 1860 and 21 July 1862 as Commodore second class with his pennant aboard Pelorus. He commanded the Naval Brigade in New Zealand during the New Zealand Wars of 1860–61, in 1872, he became a Fourth Naval Lord for two years, and then commander the Channel Fleet. He became a vice-admiral on 31 December 1876, and was appointed KCB in June 1877, from 1880 to 1883 he was Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and from 1883 to 1885 he was Second Naval Lord. He became an admiral in May 1882 and he was created Baron Alcester, of Alcester in the County of Warwick, in 1882 for his command of the bombardment of Alexandria and in the subsequent operations on the coast of Egypt. He was also honoured with a grant of £25,000, the Freedom of the City of London. He died 30 March 1895, aged 73, when his peerage became extinct, in his will he left the balance of his estate to Agnes Sinclair for her life time. On her death, two fifths were left to Frederick Charles Horace Sinclair and one each to Hugh Francis Paget Sinclair, Claude Sinclair. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Alcester. American University in Cairo, Rare Books and Special Collections Library, Alexandria Bombardment of 1882 Photograph Album
10.
William Houston Stewart
–
Admiral Sir William Houston Stewart, GCB was a British naval officer who was Controller of the Royal Navy from 1872 to 1881. William Houston Stewart was born on 7 September 1822 at Kirkmichael House and he was the son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Houston Stewart, and Martha, youngest daughter of Sir William Miller, Bart. William Houston Stewart is sometimes referred to as William Houston Shaw-Stewart, his grandfather was Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart. On 20 February 1850, he married Catherine Elizabeth Coote, only daughter of Eyre Coote of West Park, Catherine died on 23 November 1867. His remarried on 11 January 1872, this time to Blanche Caroline, the child of Admiral Hon. Keith Stewart. They had one daughter, Blanche Nita Mary Stewart, Stewart entered the Navy on 29 April 1835. He served as lieutenant on 28-gun frigate Volage from 29 June 1843 until March 1843, Volage was commanded by Captain William Dickson, and was on the North America and West Indies station. In 1844, he was appointed lieutenant in the 16-gun brig-sloop Ringdove, the captain of Ringdove, Commander Sir William Daniell, died in command at Sierra Leone on 12 September 1845. William Stewarts next appointment was as lieutenant in the 50-gun razee frigate Grampus, which was commissioned at Woolwich by Captain Henry Byam Martin, Stewart served in Grampus until 1847, when he studied steam engineering at Woolwich. On 18 May 1848, he was promoted to commander, on 5 August 1851, Commander Stewart commissioned the 6-gun paddle-sloop Virago at Woolwich. Virago served on the Pacific station, on 4 December 1851, Virago put into the Chilean port of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan. This city was a colony for relapsing criminals and relegated military. When Virago arrived, the port was in the hands of a group of mutinous prisoners headed by one Cambiaso, second lieutenant of the troops stationed there, had committed some offence and been imprisoned a short time before. Cambiaso had captured two merchant vessels, the barque Florida of New Orleans and the brig Eliza Cornish of Liverpool, the officers of the Virago came on shore, visited the barracks, and the Florida, and then left the harbour without having their suspicions excited. Early in January 1852, intelligence of the mutiny was transmitted to the Chilean government at Valparaíso, the Chilean authorities despatched two Chilean men-of-war, and some Chilean troops under Don Santiago Jorge Bynon. The troops were put on board the Chilean men-of-war, the latter on board the Virago, the mutineers and their prisoners sailed from Punta Arenas on the Florida and the Eliza Cornish. Virago searched for, and recaptured the Eliza Cornish at sea, meanwhile, Cambiaso and his men on board the Florida had been overpowered by some of her original crew. When Virago and the Chilean ships encountered the Florida, at a place called Ancud, viragos crew lent assistance to Florida, took the prisoners and treasure on board
11.
Arthur Borton (British Army officer)
–
General Sir Arthur Borton GCB GCMG was a British Army officer who became Governor of Malta. Borton was born on 20 January 1814 in Blofield, Norfolk where his father John Drew Borton was the rector and his mother was Louisa Carthew one of the daughters of Rev Thomas Carthew of Woodbridge Abbey in Suffolk. He was educated at Eton College and the Military College, Sandhurst, confederate soldier Collett Leventhorpe was his kinsman. Borton was commissioned into the 9th Regiment of Foot in 1832 and he took part in the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845 and then commanded his regiment at the siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. From 1889 to 1893 he was Colonel of the Norfolk Regiment and he died, on 7 September 1893, at his residence,105 Eaton Place, London, and was buried on 9 September at Hunton, near Maidstone, Kent. Borton married Caroline Mary Georgina Close in 1850, daughter of Rev John Forbes Close of Morne, guide to the Borton Family Papers
12.
William Norcott
–
Norcott was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1822 and made a Captain of the 52nd Regiment in on 21 February 1840. Later the same year he returned to the Rifles and on 1 August 1847 became a Major, during the Crimean War he fought at the Battle of Alma and commanded 1st Battalion, the Rifle Brigade at the Siege of Sevastopol. Between 1855 and 1868 he was Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria, then went on to become Lieutenant Governor of Jersey between 1 October 1873 to 30 September 1878 and he was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Bath in 1877 and became a General in 1879. After his retirement he wrote letters to The Times newspaper disputing some of the claims made about the battle of Alma. William died at 87 on 23 January 1886 in St. Leonards-on-Sea, in 1848 he married Frances Marrianne Durant, they had six children, at least 3 sons became soldiers. Charles Hawtrey Bruce Norcott born 25 April 1849 became a General of the Rifle Brigade
13.
Daniel Lysons (British Army officer)
–
General Sir Daniel Lysons GCB was a British Army general who achieved high office in the 1870s. The son of Daniel Lysons the topographer, he was educated at Shrewsbury School and he was commissioned into the 1st Regiment of Foot in 1834. He was shipwrecked on The Premier in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in 1840 and he transferred to the 23rd Fusiliers in 1844. Lysons fought at the Battle of Alma in September 1854 and took command of the 2nd Brigade of the Light Division in October 1855 during the Crimean War, in 1869 Lysons became General Officer Commanding for Aldershot District and in 1872 he became GOC for Northern District. In 1876 he was made Quartermaster-General to the Forces, then from 1880 to 1883 he commanded the Aldershot Division. Lysons was appointed Constable of the Tower in 1890, in 1856 he married Harriet Sophia Bridges and together they went on to have four daughters. In 1865 he married Anna Sophia Biscoe Tritton and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Lloyd, Ernest Marsh. Dictionary of National Biography,1901 supplement
14.
Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam
–
Admiral of the Fleet Richard James Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam GCB KCMG, styled Lord Gillford until 1879, was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he served at the Battle of Escape Creek and he also took part in the Battle of Canton, where he was severely wounded, during the Second Opium War. As a senior officer Meade went on to be commander of the Steamship reserve at Portsmouth, commander of the Flying Squadron and Commander-in-Chief, North America and his last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. Born the eldest son of Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam and Elizabeth Meade, Meade was educated at Eton College, promoted to lieutenant on 15 September 1852, Meade was appointed to the frigate HMS Impérieuse in which he served in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War. He transferred to the frigate HMS Raleigh in September 1856 bound for China and, although the ship was wrecked near Hong Kong and he was mentioned in dispatches, promoted to commander on 26 February 1858 and transferred to the sloop HMS Hornet later that month. He was appointed an aide-de-camp to the Queen and became commanding officer of the reserve at Portsmouth in 1872. He succeeded to his fathers titles in October 1879 and was elevated to Second Naval Lord in the ministry in December 1879 where he sat until the Government fell in May 1880. He became commander of the Flying Squadron, with his flag in the frigate HMS Inconstant in August 1880, promoted to full admiral on 22 June 1886, he was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 21 June 1887. Meade was appointed a commissioner of the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation in 1888 and became Commander-in-Chief, promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 20 February 1895, he was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 25 May 1895. He retired in October 1902 and died at his home, Badgemore House and he was buried at the family vault at Wilton, Wiltshire and his titles passed to his eldest surviving son, Arthur. A memorial to Meade stands in the lobby of the chapel at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. On 17 June 1867 Meade married Elizabeth Kennedy, they had four sons, the British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 –1995. Dictionary of National Biography,1912 supplement, hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by The Earl of Clanwilliam The Dreadnought Project, Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam William Loney Career History
15.
John Bythesea
–
John Bythesea /ˈbɪθsiː/ VC CB CIE was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in 1854 during the Crimean War. However, in 1872 he ruined his career when he put his battleship HMS Lord Clyde aground at Pantellaria, resulting in his dismissal from his ship, John Bythesea was born on 15 June 1827 in Freshford, Somerset, the son of Rev. George Bythesea. He entered the Royal Navy in 1841, and was promoted to Lieutenant on 12 June 1849, on 22 June 1850, he was posted to the 46-gun screw-frigate HMS Arrogant commanded by Captain Robert Spencer Robinson, Lisbon. He stayed with the Arrogant when she was recommissioned at Portsmouth by Captain Stephen Greville Fremantle on 27 September 1852, Fremantle was succeeded by Captain Hastings Yelverton on 24 October 1853. She served in the Baltic in 1854 in the Crimean War and they lay in wait for three days until five Russians arrived on 12 August with the postbags. Johnstone ambushed the men, at Bytheseas signal, attempting to throw a rope around the group whilst Bythesea provided cover with just one pistol, two of the men dropped their bags and fled while the remaining three finally surrendered. Bythesea ordered the men back to their own boat and then forced them to row it back to Arrogant, on 12 March 1855, Lieutenant Bythesea was appointed captain of the paddle gun-vessel HMS Locust and served in the Flying Squadron in the Baltic. On 10 May 1856 he was promoted to Commander, and on 20 May, on 4 March 1858 he took over as captain of the 17-gun screw-sloop HMS Cruizer from Charles Fellowes. At the time, the Cruizer was serving in the Far East, Cruizer paid off at Portsmouth on 1 May 1861. On 15 May 1861, he was promoted to Captain, in 1862, he served on the Commission to examine Canadian defences. On 30 March 1863 he commissioned the 12-gun screw-corvette HMS Archer at Woolwich, Archer served on the West Africa Station. Bythesea was invalided out, and replaced by Captain Francis Marten on 12 April 1864, from 1 April 1866 until 1867, he was carried on the books of the flagship of the North American Squadron, HMS Duncan, for special service as Naval Attache in Washington. From 6 May 1867 until 29 November 1870 he was captain of the screw-frigate HMS Phoebe, Bythesea commanded her for the entire commission. She served first in the Channel squadron, then the West Indies, on 14 September 1871 he commissioned the battleship HMS Lord Clyde at Plymouth and took her out to the Mediterranean Fleet. This proved a difficult job even when she was afloat again, as she yawed about so violently without a rudder when in tow. It took three days to conduct erring footsteps a distance that could ordinarily be covered in less than one, and all the while she was leaking at a steady rate of 2 feet per hour. On arrival at Malta she had to be docked with great care on account of the damaged state of her bottom
16.
Victoria Cross
–
The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
17.
Anthony Hoskins
–
Admiral Sir Anthony Hiley Hoskins, GCB was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he took part in the Cape Frontier War of 1851 and then saw action at the Battle of Canton in December 1857 and the Battle of Taku Forts in May 1858 during Second Opium War. Once promoted to officer rank, he acted as Second-in-Command of the Fleet at the bombardment of Alexandria in July 1882 during the Anglo-Egyptian War. Born the son of Henry Hoskins and Mary Hoskins and educated at Winchester College, during his early career he served in the sixth-rate HMS Conway and then fourth-rate HMS President taking action against slave traders off the coast of East Africa. Promoted to lieutenant on 26 March 1849, while serving in the fifth-rate HMS Castor on the Cape of Good Hope Station, he took part in the Cape Frontier War of 1851. Hoskins was given command of the sloop HMS Hecate on the Pacific Station in May 1860 and then of the sloop HMS Plumper also on the Pacific Station in January 1861. He went on to be Commodore of the Australian Station in September 1875 with his broad pennant initially in the corvette HMS Pearl and then, from January 1877, in the corvette HMS Wolverine. He was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 22 January 1877, having been advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 17 November 1882, Hoskins became Admiral Superintendent of Naval Reserves later that month. For his service during the Anglo-Egyptian War he was appointed to the Turkish Order of the Medjidie, for his work in the Mediterranean he was advanced to Order of the Medjidie, First Class on 7 November 1889. Promoted to full admiral on 20 June 1891, Hoskins became First Naval Lord in September 1891 and he was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on his retirement on 17 November 1893. Hoskins died at Pleystons Capel near Dorking on 21 June 1901 and is buried at North Perrott in Somerset, in 1865 Hoskins married Dorothea Ann Eliza Robinson, daughter of Sir George Stamp Robinson, 7th Baronet. Lady Hoskins died shortly after her husband, on 7 October 1901, aged 62
18.
Lord Alexander Russell
–
General Lord Alexander George Russell GCB, was a British Army general. He served during the Siege of Sevastapol in the Crimean War and he was the half-brother of Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford, Lord George Russell and John Russell, 1st Earl Russell and the full brother of Lord Edward Russell and Lord Charles Russell. Russell joined the Army on 11 July 1839 when he purchased a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade, Russell was a Colonel in the Rifle Brigade and served during the Siege of Sevastapol in the Crimean War. He was not however styled Sir Alexander Russell since he held the higher title of Lord due to his father being first a Marquess. Russell married Anne Emily Worsley Holmes, daughter of Sir Leonard Worsley Holmes, 9th Baronet and they had two children, Alexander Gordon Russell, became a Captain in the British Army. Leonard George Russell (6 June 1858–7 April 1946, became a Major in the British Army, lady Alexander Russell died in October 1906. Russell only survived her by three months and died at Woodeaton, Oxfordshire, in January 1907, aged 85
19.
William Scarlett, 3rd Baron Abinger
–
Lieutenant General William Frederick Scarlett, 3rd Baron Abinger CB, DL was a British peer and soldier. Lord Abinger was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge and he became a Captain of the Scots Fusilier Guards regiment of the British Army. He served in the Crimean War fighting between 1854 and 1855 in the battles of Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman, Scarlett succeeded his father Robert Scarlett, 2nd Baron Abinger, in 1861. He visited the United States during the American Civil War He was promoted to Major in 1868, with promotions through the ranks at intervals of six, in the 1877 Birthday Honours, Lord Abinger was appointed to the Order of the Bath as a Companion. In 1863 he married Helen Magruder, daughter of Commodore George Allan Magruder and their daughter Evelina, who married Major Henry Haverfield, was a suffragette and an aid worker during World War I. One of the two main estates at this time was Abinger Hall, at the foot of the North Downs in Abinger. The third baron sold it in 1867 to a Mr Gwynne, who soon sold it to become the family seat of the statistician recently created first Lord Farrer. Scarletts first cousin once removed, James Williams Scarlett, son of Sir William Anglin Scarlett, purchased the isle of Gigha, off the coast of Argyll and his son, Lieutenant-Colonel William James Scarlett, then built the mansion house of Achamore there. Gigha remained in the hands until 1919. Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Lord Abinger http, //www. thepeerage. com/p4805. htm
20.
Order of the Star of India
–
The article is about the order of chivalry known as Star of India. For other items of the name, please see disambiguation at Star of India. The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861, with the death of the last surviving knight, the Maharaja of Alwar, the order became dormant in 2009. The motto of the order is Heavens light our guide, the Star of India, the emblem of the order, also appeared on the flag of the Viceroy of India and other flags used to represent British India. The last appointments to the orders relating to the British Empire in India were made in the 1948 New Year Honours, the orders have never been formally abolished, and Elizabeth II succeeded her father George VI as Sovereign of the Orders when she ascended the throne in 1952. She remains Sovereign of the Order to this day, however, there are no living members of the order. The last Grand Master of the Order, Admiral of the Fleet The Earl Mountbatten of Burma, was assassinated by the Provisional IRA on 27 August 1979. The last surviving Knight Grand Commander, HH Maharaja Sree Padmanabhadasa Sir Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma GCSI, GCIE, Maharajah of Travancore, the last surviving Knight Commander, HH Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Prabhakar Bahadur KCSI, Maharaja of Alwar, died on 15 February 2009 in New Delhi. The last surviving Companion of the Order, Vice-Admiral Sir Ronald Brockman CSI, the British Sovereign was, and still is, Sovereign of the Order. The next-most senior member was the Grand Master, the position was held, ex officio, when the order was established in 1861, there was only one class of Knights Companions, who bore the postnominals KSI. In 1866, however, it was expanded to three classes, members of the first class were known as Knights Grand Commanders, rather than Knights Grand Cross, so as not to offend the non-Christian Indians appointed to the Order. All those surviving members who had already been made Knights Companions of the Order were retroactively Known as Knights Grand Commanders. Former viceroys and other officials, as well as those who served in the Department of the Secretary of State for India for at least thirty years were eligible for appointment. Rulers of Indian Princely States were also eligible for appointment, like some rulers of princely states, some rulers of particular prestige, for example the Maharajas of the Rana dynasty or the Sultans of Oman, were usually appointed Knights Grand Commanders. Women, save the princely rulers, were ineligible for appointment to the order and they were, unlike the habit of many other orders, admitted as Knights, rather than as Dames or Ladies. The first woman to be admitted to the order was HH Nawab Sikandar Begum Sahiba, Nawab Begum of Bhopal, the orders statutes were specially amended to permit the admission of Queen Mary as a Knight Grand Commander in 1911. Members of the Order wore elaborate costumes on important ceremonial occasions, The mantle, on the left side was a representation of the star. The collar, also only by Knights Grand Commanders, was made of gold
21.
Robert Biddulph (British Army officer)
–
General Sir Robert Biddulph, GCB, GCMG was a senior British Army officer. He served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces in 1893, and was then Governor of Gibraltar until 1900, educated at Twyford School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Biddulph was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1853. He served in the Crimean War and was present at the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854 and he then served in the Indian Mutiny, and was Brigade Major during the Siege of Lucknow in 1857. In 1871 he was selected to be Assistant Adjutant-General at the War Office and then in 1879 he succeeded Sir Garnet Wolseley as High Commissioner, in 1886 he returned to London to be Inspector-General of Recruiting and two years later became Director-General of Military Education. In 1893 he was briefly Quartermaster-General to the Forces, later that year he became Governor of Gibraltar. His final appointment, in 1904, was as Army Purchase Commissioner and he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1899 Birthday Honours. Biddulphs Gate in Famagusta in Cyprus is named after him, Biddulph was the son of Robert Biddulph, MP. In 1864 he married Sophia Lambert and together went on to have four sons
22.
James Bevan Edwards
–
Lieutenant General Sir James Bevan Edwards KCB, KCMG was a senior British Army officer and politician. Edwards was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852 and he served with the Royal Engineers in the Crimean War in 1853 and the Indian Mutiny of 1857. He transferred to the Indian Staff Corps in 1882, and, during the Mahdist War and he was mentioned in despatches for his role in this Expedition. On return to the United Kingdom, Edwards became Commandant of the Royal School of Military Engineering and he was then appointed Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong in 1889. Edwards was also selected by the British Government to inspect the forces of the Australian colonies in 1889 and to advise on their organisation. At the 1895 general election, he was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Hythe in Kent and he became colonel-commandant of the Royal Engineers in 1903. Edwards died in 1922 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London, Edwards was married thrice, in 1868 to Alice Brocklebank, in 1901 to Nina Balfour, and, in 1918, Amy Ann Harding. Leigh Rayments Historical List of MPs Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Sir James Edwards
23.
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
–
The Duke was an army officer by profession and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces from 1856 to 1895. He became Duke of Cambridge in 1850 and field marshal in 1862, deeply devoted to the old Army, he worked with the Queen to defeat or minimize every reform proposal, such as setting up a general staff. His Army became a moribund and stagnant institution, lagging far behind France and its weaknesses were dramatically revealed by the poor organization at the start of the Second Boer War. Prince George was born at Cambridge House in Hanover, Germany and his father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the 10th child and seventh son of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. His mother was the Duchess of Cambridge and he was baptised at Cambridge House on 11 May 1819, by the Reverend John Sanford, his fathers Domestic Chaplain. His godparents were the Prince Regent, the Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, Prince George of Cambridge was educated in Hanover and from 1830 in England by the Rev. J. R. Wood, a canon of Worcester Cathedral. Like his father, he embarked upon a career initially becoming a colonel in the Hanoverian Army and then, on 3 November 1837. He was attached to the staff at Gibraltar from October 1838 to April 1839, after serving in Ireland with the 12th Royal Lancers, he was appointed substantive lieutenant-colonel of the 8th Light Dragoons on 15 April 1842 and colonel of the 17th Lancers on 25 April 1842. From 1843 to 1845, he served as a colonel on the staff in the Ionian islands and he succeeded to his fathers titles of Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Tipperary, and Baron Culloden on 8 July 1850. The Duke of Cambridge became Inspector of the Cavalry in 1852, in February 1854, at an early stage in the Crimean War, he received command of the 1st Division of the British army in the East. On 19 June 1854, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general and he was present at the battles of the Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman, and at the siege of Sevastopol. Owing to illness the Earl of Cardigan returned first to Malta and then to England, in that capacity he served as the chief military advisor to the Secretary of State for War, with responsibility for the administration of the army and the command of forces in the field. He was promoted to the rank of general on 15 July 1856, the Duke of Cambridge served as commander-in-chief for 39 years. Under his command, the British Army became a moribund and stagnant institution and it is said that he rebuked one of his more intelligent subordinates with the words, Brains. You havent any, I know, Sir and he was equally forthright on his reluctance to adopt change, There is a time for everything, and the time for change is when you can no longer help it. In 1861,100 were issued to five battalions, in 1863. A years good behaviour would return them to the first class, cardwell succeeded in pushing through a number of reforms, including one that made the Commander in chief nominally report to the Secretary of State for War. The Duke was opposed to most of the reforms because they struck at the heart of his view of the Army and his fears seemed to be confirmed in 1873, when Wolseley raided battalions for the expedition against the Ashanti
24.
Order of the Garter
–
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry and the third most prestigious honour in England and the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George and it is awarded at the Sovereigns pleasure as a personal gift on recipients from the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. Membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, the order also includes supernumerary knights and ladies. New appointments to the Order of the Garter are always announced on St Georges Day, the orders emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense in gold lettering. Members of the wear it on ceremonial occasions. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne, the list includes Sir Sanchet DAbrichecourt, who died on 20 October 1345. Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed, the Kings wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that member of the Order already be a knight. The earliest written mention of the Order is found in Tirant lo Blanch and it was first published in 1490. This book devotes a chapter to the description of the origin of the Order of the Garter, at the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St.1431. Various legends account for the origin of the Order, the most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury, whose garter is said to have slipped from her leg while she was dancing at a court ball at Calais. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and returned it to her, exclaiming, Honi soit qui mal y pense, King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. This story is recounted in a letter to the Annual Register in 1774, The motto in fact refers to Edwards claim to the French throne, the use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour. Medieval scholars have pointed to a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Gawain, a girdle, very similar in its erotic undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough version of the Orders motto also appears in the text and it translates from Old French as Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart. While the author of that poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter. Scholar J. P. Oakden has suggested that it is related to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and, more importantly. Another competing theory is that the work was written for Enguerrand de Coucy, the Sire de Coucy was married to King Edward IIIs daughter, Isabella, and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day
25.
Order of St Patrick
–
The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by George III at the request of the then Lord-Lieutenant, the regular creation of knights of Saint Patrick lasted until 1922, when most of Ireland became independent as the Irish Free State. While the Order technically still exists, no knight of St Patrick has been created since 1936, the Queen, however, remains the Sovereign of the Order, and one officer, the Ulster King of Arms, also survives. St Patrick is patron of the order, its motto is Quis separabit, an allusion to the Vulgate translation of Romans 8,35, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ. Most British orders of chivalry cover the entire kingdom, but the three most exalted ones each pertain to one constituent country only, the Order of St Patrick, which pertains to Ireland, is the most junior of these three in precedence and age. Its equivalent in England, The Most Noble Order of the Garter, is the oldest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom, the Scottish equivalent is The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, dating in its modern form to 1687. The order was founded in 1783, a year after the grant of autonomy to Ireland. The Order of the Bath, founded in 1725, was instituted for similar reasons, the statutes of the Order restricted membership to men who were both knights and gentlemen, the latter being defined as having three generations of noblesse on both their fathers and mothers side. In practice, however, only Irish Peers were ever appointed to the Order, the cross of St Patrick was chosen as one of the symbols of the Order. A flag of this design was incorporated into the Union Flag. Its association with St. Patrick or with Ireland prior to the foundation of the Order is unclear, one of the first knights was The 2nd Duke of Leinster, whose arms carry the same cross. The last non-royal member appointed to the order was James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn in 1922, when the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom that same year, the Irish Executive Council under W. T. Cosgrave chose to make no further appointments to the Order. The British government continued to entertain hopes for the revival as a pan-Irish institution. Therefore, while there was no legal or constitutional bar to the British government continuing to make appointments from among British subjects resident in Northern Ireland, since then, only three people have been appointed to the Order, all members of the British Royal Family. The then-Prince of Wales was appointed in 1927 and his brothers, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in 1934 and Prince Albert, Duke of York. It is likely that these appointments were considered possible because the Irish Free State continued to recognise the British monarch as its head of state. In 1937, however, the Irish Free State adopted a new constitution, the ambiguity was resolved 12 years later when the Irish Free State formally declared itself a republic and left the British Commonwealth. The basis for such appointments thus ceased and no further ones have been made, the Duke of Gloucester at his death in 1974 was the last surviving member of the Order
26.
Joseph Dalton Hooker
–
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM GCSI CB PRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. He was a founder of botany and Charles Darwins closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, succeeding his father, William Jackson Hooker, Hooker was born in Halesworth, Suffolk, England. From age seven, Hooker attended his fathers lectures at Glasgow University, taking an early interest in plant distribution and he was educated at the Glasgow High School and went on to study medicine at Glasgow University, graduating M. D. in 1839. In 1851 he married Frances Harriet Henslow, daughter of Darwins mentor and they had four sons and three daughters, William Henslow Hooker Harriet Anne Hooker married William Turner Thiselton-Dyer Charles Paget Hooker Maria Elizabeth Hooker died aged 6. Brian Harvey Hodgson Hooker Reginald Hawthorn Hooker statistician Grace Ellen Hooker Frances Harriet Henslows contribution to his work included translating French botanical texts which Hooker edited. After his first wifes death in 1874, in 1876 he married Lady Hyacinth Jardine, daughter of William Samuel Symonds and they had two sons, Joseph Symonds Hooker Richard Symonds Hooker. Joseph Hooker died in his sleep at midnight at home, the Camp, Sunningdale in Berkshire, on 10 December 1911 after a short, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey offered a grave near Darwins in the nave but also insisted that Hooker be cremated before. His memorial tablet in the church, with a motif of five plants, was designed by Matilds Smith. Hookers first expedition, led by James Clark Ross, consisted of two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, it was the last major voyage of exploration made entirely under sail, Hooker was the youngest of the 128-man crew. He sailed on the Erebus and was assistant to Robert McCormick, the ships sailed on 30 September 1839. Before journeying to Antarctica they visited Madeira, Tenerife, Santiago and Quail Island in the Cape Verde archipelago, St Paul Rocks, Trinidade east of Brazil, St Helena, and the Cape of Good Hope. Hooker made plant collections at each location and while travelling drew these and specimens of algae, from the Cape they entered the southern ocean. Their first stop was the Crozet Islands where they set down on Possession Island to deliver coffee to sealers and they departed for the Kerguelen Islands where they would spend several days. The expedition spent some time in Hobart, Van Diemens Land, and then moved on to the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island, and onward to Antarctica to locate the South Magnetic Pole. After spending 5 months in the Antarctic they returned to resupply in Hobart, then went on to Sydney, and they left New Zealand to return to Antarctica. They made a landing at Cockburn Island and after leaving the Antarctic, stopped at the Cape, St Helena and Ascension Island. The ships arrived back in England on 4 September 1843, the voyage had been a success for Ross as it was the first to confirm the existence of the southern continent, in 1845, Hooker applied for the Chair of Botany at the University of Edinburgh
27.
Order of St Michael and St George
–
It is named in honour of two military saints, St Michael and St George. People are appointed to the Order rather than awarded it, British Ambassadors to foreign nations are regularly appointed as KCMGs or CMGs. It is the award for members of the FCO. The Orders motto is Auspicium melioris ævi and its patron saints, as the name suggests, are St. Michael the Archangel, and St. George, patron saint of England. One of its symbols is that of St Michael trampling over. The third of the aforementioned Orders—which relates to Ireland, no longer fully a part of the United Kingdom—still exists but is in disuse, the last of the Orders on the list, related to India, has also been in disuse since that countrys independence in 1947. In 1864, however, the protectorate ended and the Ionian Islands became a part of Greece, accordingly, numerous Governors-General and Governors feature as recipients of awards in the order. In 1965, the order was open for women, with Evelyn Bark becoming the first CMG, the British Sovereign is the Sovereign of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order. The next-most senior member is the Grand Master, the office was formerly filled by the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, now, however, Grand Masters are chosen by the Sovereign. Members of the Royal Family who are appointed to the Order do not count towards the limit, the Orders King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, like many other heraldic officers. The Usher of the Order is known as the Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod, he not, unlike his Order of the Garter equivalent. On the left side is a representation of the star, the mantle is bound with two large tassels. The collar, worn only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross, is made of gold and it consists of depictions of crowned lions, Maltese Crosses, and the cyphers SM and SG, all alternately. In the centre are two winged lions, each holding a book and seven arrows, at less important occasions, simpler insignia are used, The star is an insignia used only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross and Knights and Dames Commanders. It is worn pinned to the left breast, the Knight and Dame Grand Cross star includes seven-armed, silver-rayed Maltese Asterisk, with a gold ray in between each pair of arms. The Knight and Dame Commanders star is a slightly smaller eight-pointed silver figure formed by two Maltese Crosses, it does not include any gold rays, in each case, the star bears a red cross of St George. In the centre of the star is a blue ring bearing the motto of the Order. Within the ring is a representation of St Michael trampling on Satan, the badge is the only insignia used by all members of the Order, it is suspended on a blue-crimson-blue ribbon
28.
Edward VII
–
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, before his accession to the throne, he served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors. During the long reign of his mother, he was excluded from political power. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial duties, and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and the Indian subcontinent in 1875 were popular successes, as king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War. He reinstituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised and he died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords. Edward was born at 10,48 in the morning on 9 November 1841 in Buckingham Palace and he was the eldest son and second child of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was christened Albert Edward at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle and he was named Albert after his father and Edward after his maternal grandfather Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. He was known as Bertie to the family throughout his life. As the eldest son of the British sovereign, he was automatically Duke of Cornwall, as a son of Prince Albert, he also held the titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony. He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 8 December 1841, Earl of Dublin on 17 January 1850, a Knight of the Garter on 9 November 1858, and a Knight of the Thistle on 24 May 1867. In 1863, he renounced his rights to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in favour of his younger brother. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were determined that their eldest son should have an education that would prepare him to be a constitutional monarch. At age seven, Edward embarked on an educational programme devised by Prince Albert. Unlike his elder sister Victoria, Edward did not excel in his studies and he tried to meet the expectations of his parents, but to no avail. Although Edward was not a diligent student—his true talents were those of charm, sociability and tact—Benjamin Disraeli described him as informed, intelligent, after the completion of his secondary-level studies, his tutor was replaced by a personal governor, Robert Bruce. After an educational trip to Rome, undertaken in the first few months of 1859, he spent the summer of that year studying at the University of Edinburgh under, among others, in October, he matriculated as an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. Now released from the strictures imposed by his parents, he enjoyed studying for the first time
29.
George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
–
Normanby was born in London, the son of Constantine Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby, by his wife the Hon. Maria, daughter of Thomas Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth. He gained the courtesy title Viscount Normanby when his father succeeded as Earl of Mulgrave in 1831, when his father was made Marquess of Normanby in 1838, he became known by the courtesy title Earl of Mulgrave. Normanby entered the Coldstream Guards as an ensign, and became a lieutenant in 1838, Normanby was returned to parliament for Scarborough in 1847, a seat he held until 1851 and again between 1852 and 1857. He was appointed Comptroller of the Household by Lord John Russell in 1851, when Lord Aberdeen became prime minister in early 1852, he became Treasurer of the Household, a post he held until 1858, the last three years under the premiership of Lord Palmerston. In the latter year he was appointed Governor of Nova Scotia, in 1863 he also succeeded his father in the marquessate and took his seat in the House of Lords. Normanby returned to the government in 1868 when he was appointed a Lord-in-Waiting by William Ewart Gladstone, the following year he was promoted to Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms. In 1871 he became Governor of Queensland and he continued in this post until 1874, and was then Governor of New Zealand from 1874 to 1879 and Governor of Victoria from 1879 to 1881. Lord Normanby married Laura, daughter of Captain Robert Russell, R. N. in 1844, when he served as Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, he and his wife had the Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince Alfred as their guests at Government House. The Marchioness of Normanby died in London in January 1885, aged 69, Lord Normanby died at Brighton, Sussex, in April 1890, aged 70, and was succeeded by their eldest son, Constantine. One of their daughters, Lady Katherine Louisa Phipps, married the 3rd Earl of Ellesmere
30.
Harry Ord
–
Major General Sir Harry St. George Ord GCMG CB was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of Bermuda, the Straits Settlements and Western Australia. Ord was the son of Henry Gough Ord and grandson of Craven Ord of Greenstead Hall, Essex and he was educated at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He served in the Royal Engineers, principally in the West Indies, West Africa, and he was unpopular in the Straits Settlements, but was an ambitious and energetic man, who was ready to do what he could to restore order and promote trade in the Peninsula. Conditions in Malaya at that time were extremely unsettled, after some experience of negotiating with Malays and Siamese, Ord worked out a policy under which he proposed to share the supervision of the Peninsula between Britain and Siam. This policy was disapproved by the Colonial Office, and Ord was directed to abstain from all interference in the affairs of the Malay States and he married Julia Graham of Exmouth daughter of Admiral James Carpenterin in 1846 by whom he had three sons. Sir Harry Ord died on 20 August 1885 from heart attack and he is buried in the churchyard of St. Martins parish church in Fornham St. Martin, Suffolk, England. The village institute in Fornham was built in Ords memory with funds donated by the Maharaja of Johore, the Ord River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia was named in his honour. Colonial Office List, various list, DNB One Hundred Years of Singapore C. D
31.
Knight Bachelor
–
The appointment of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic and lowest rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch, Knights Bachelor are the most ancient sort of British knight, but Knights Bachelor rank below knights of the various orders. There is no counterpart to Knight Bachelor. The lowest knightly honour that can be conferred upon a woman is Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – which, also, foreigners are not created Knights Bachelor, instead they are generally made honorary KBEs. It is generally awarded for service, amongst its recipients are all male judges of Her Majestys High Court of Justice in England. Sir Patrick Stewart, and Sir Tom Jones are Officers of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, like other knights, Knights Bachelor are styled Sir. Since they are not knights of any order of chivalry, there is no post-nominal associated with the award. This style is adopted by Knights Bachelor who are also peers, baronets or knights of the various statutory orders, such as Sir William Boulton, Bt, Kt, or The Lord Olivier. Until 1926 Knights Bachelor had no insignia which they could wear, the Knights Bachelor badge may be worn on all such occasions upon the left side of the coat or outer garment of those upon whom the degree of Knight Bachelor has been conferred. In 1974, Queen Elizabeth II issued a warrant authorising the wearing on appropriate occasions of a neck badge, slightly smaller in size. In 1988 a new certificate of authentication, a knights only personal documentation, was designed by the College of Arms. The Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor was founded for the maintenance and consolidation of the Dignity of Knights Bachelor in 1908, the Society keeps records of all Knights Bachelor, in their interest
32.
Redmond Barry
–
Sir Redmond Barry, KCMG, QC, was a colonial judge in Victoria, Australia of Anglo-Irish origins. Barry was the inaugural Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, serving from 1853 until his death in 1880. Barry was the son of Major-General Henry Green Barry, of Ballyclough, County Cork, Ireland. Barry had five brothers and six sisters and was educated at a school, Hall Place, near Bexley. Returning to Ireland in 1829, he was unable to obtain a commission so began his own further education. Following his own programme, translating classical authors into English verse, reading old and new writers. In 1832, he entered Trinity College, Dublin, graduated in 1835 with the usual Bachelor of Arts degree, after his fathers death, Barry sailed for Sydney, capital of the British Colony of New South Wales. Barry arrived in New South Wales in April 1837 and was admitted to the New South Wales Bar. After two years in Sydney, Barry moved to Melbourne, a city with which he was ever afterwards closely identified, in 1852 he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Later he also served as acting Chief Justice and Administrator of the government, Barry was noted for his service to the community, and he convinced the state government to spend money on public works, particularly on education. He was instrumental in the foundation of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the University of Melbourne, and he served as the first chancellor of the university until his death and was also president of the trustees of the State Library. He was the first President of the Ballarat School of Mines, Barry was the judge in the Eureka Stockade treason trials in the Supreme Court in 1855. The thirteen miners were all acquitted and he represented Victoria at the London International Exhibition of 1862 and at the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876. He was made a knight bachelor in 1860, and was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1877. After sentencing Mrs Kelly to three years hard labour, Barry said, if your son Ned were here I would make an example of him for the whole of Australia – I would give him fifteen years. In 1880, Barry presided at the trial of Ned Kelly. The trial and sentencing have since been the subject of articles and books by lawyers. When he sentenced Kelly to death by hanging, Barry uttered the customary words May God have mercy on your soul, according to the transcripts, Kelly replied I will go a little further than that, and say I will see you there when I go
33.
Henry Parker (Australian politician)
–
Sir Henry Watson Parker, KCMG was Premier of New South Wales. He fitted into society and politics in the pre-responsible government era. Parker was the son of Thomas Watson Parker of Lewisham, Kent, in order to improve his poor health, he joined the British East India Company and travelled to India, China and the Cape of Good Hope. He came to Sydney in 1838 as private secretary to Sir George Gipps and he married in 1843 Emmeline Emily, third daughter of John Macarthur, who survived him without issue, linked him to the colonial establishment. In 1846 he was nominated by the governor as a member of the Legislative Council, in May of that year he was elected chairman of committees and was again and again re-elected to this position until the coming in of responsible government in 1856. Parker was elected as member for Parramatta in the first Legislative Assembly and was a candidate for the speakership in May but was defeated by one vote, in September 1856 John Hay carried a vote of no-confidence in the Cowper ministry. He recommended to Governor William Denison that Parker would be the most likely man to conciliate parties, Parker offered seats in the cabinet to Cowper and Stuart Donaldson, the preceding premiers, but Cowper declined. In March 1857 Parker passed an act re-establishing the Sydney municipal council and it had been intended to bring in a land bill but the government was defeated on its electoral bill, and Parker resigned on 4 September 1857. In 1858 he returned to England and he does not appear to have ever revisited Australia, and died at Richmond. Parker was knighted in 1858 and created Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1877
