Edward Fanshawe
Encyclopedia
Admiral Sir Edward Gennys Fanshawe GCB
(27 November 1814 – 21 October 1906) was a Royal Navy
officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
.
and educated at the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth
where he came second from the top in a very talented year and was commended for both his artistic and writing ability, Fanshawe joined the Royal Navy
in 1828. During the Oriental Crisis of 1840
he took part in the capture of Acre
. He was subsequently given command of HMS Cruiser and then HMS Daphne.
He took part in the Crimean War
as Captain of HMS Cossack
. Later he commanded HMS Hastings, HMS Centurion
and then HMS Trafalgar
. He suffered some health problems from the 1850s, which curtailed his Mediterranean command of the HMS Centurion.
He was made Superintendent of Chatham Dockyard
in 1861, Third Naval Lord
in 1865 and Superintendent of Malta
Dockyard in 1868. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, North American Station in 1870, Admiral President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich in 1875 and Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
in 1878. He retired in 1879.
From the early 1850s he and his family lived at Rutland Gate in London
. He later moved to 63 Eaton Square and finally to 75 Cromwell Road in Kensington
, where he died on Trafalgar Day
1906.
, whose son Guy also became a Royal Naval Captain
. He also had a daughter, Alice. Wis wife, Jane, was the sister of Edward (later Lord) Cardwell
, a notable politician and, as Secretary of State for War
under William Gladstone
in the 1860s, instigator of the 'Cardwell Reforms
' of the British Army
.
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 elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(27 November 1814 – 21 October 1906) was a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post.-History:...
.
Naval career
Born the nephew of Admiral Sir Arthur FanshaweArthur Fanshawe
Admiral Sir Arthur Fanshawe KCB was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.-Naval career:Fanshawe joined the Royal Navy in 1804...
and educated at the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth
Royal Naval Academy
The Royal Naval Academy was established at Portsmouth Dockyard as a facility to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardised training, education and admission.-Training:In 1773, a shore side...
where he came second from the top in a very talented year and was commended for both his artistic and writing ability, Fanshawe joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1828. During the Oriental Crisis of 1840
Oriental Crisis of 1840
The Oriental Crisis of 1840 was an armed conflict in the eastern Mediterranean between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. It was triggered by Wāli Muhammad Ali Pasha's aims to establish a personal empire in the Ottoman province of Egypt.-Origins of the conflict:...
he took part in the capture of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
. He was subsequently given command of HMS Cruiser and then HMS Daphne.
He took part in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
as Captain of HMS Cossack
HMS Cossack (1854)
HMS Cossack was a wooden 20-gun corvette, built at Northfleet and launched on 15 May 1854. She was originally laid down for the Imperial Russian Navy as the corvette Witjas, however was confiscated during the Crimean War in 1854....
. Later he commanded HMS Hastings, HMS Centurion
HMS Centurion (1844)
HMS Centurion was a two-deck 80-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 May 1844 at Pembroke Dockyard.In 1855 she was fitted with screw propulsion. Centurion was sold out of the navy in 1870....
and then HMS Trafalgar
HMS Trafalgar (1841)
HMS Trafalgar was a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 June 1841 at Woolwich Dockyard. She was the last to be completed of the successful Caledonia class....
. He suffered some health problems from the 1850s, which curtailed his Mediterranean command of the HMS Centurion.
He was made Superintendent of Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
in 1861, Third Naval Lord
Third Sea Lord
The Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy was formerly the Naval Lord and member of the Board of Admiralty responsible for procurement and matériel in the British Royal Navy...
in 1865 and Superintendent of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
Dockyard in 1868. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, North American Station in 1870, Admiral President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich in 1875 and Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post.-History:...
in 1878. He retired in 1879.
From the early 1850s he and his family lived at Rutland Gate in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He later moved to 63 Eaton Square and finally to 75 Cromwell Road in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, where he died on Trafalgar Day
Trafalgar Day
Trafalgar Day is the celebration of the victory won by the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. The formation of the Navy League in 1894 gave added impetus to the movement to recognise...
1906.
Family
Fanshawe's marriage to Jane Cardwell took place in early 1843; their four sons included Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Dalrymple FanshaweArthur Dalrymple Fanshawe
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe GCB GCVO was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.-Naval career:...
, whose son Guy also became a Royal Naval Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
. He also had a daughter, Alice. Wis wife, Jane, was the sister of Edward (later Lord) Cardwell
Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell
Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell PC, PC , FRS was a prominent British politician in the Peelite and Liberal parties during the middle of the 19th century...
, a notable politician and, as Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
under William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
in the 1860s, instigator of the 'Cardwell Reforms
Cardwell Reforms
The Cardwell Reforms refer to a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874.-Background:...
' of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
Further reading
- Admiral Sir Edward Gennys Fanshawe GCB, published 1904, edited by Alice Fanshawe and illustrated with Edward Fanshawe's own drawings
- Albums of over 100 drawings coving his Pacific voyage in the Daphne and the other later activities, mainly in the Baltic SeaBaltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
and the Mediterranean with some of his holiday drawings in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
from 1843 to 1883, held by the National Maritime MuseumNational Maritime MuseumThe National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...