George Egerton (Royal Navy officer)

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Admiral Sir George Le Clerc Egerton KCB (17 October 1852 – 30 March 1940) was a senior Royal Navy officer from the Egerton family who rose to become Second Sea Lord.

Sir George Egerton
Sir George Egerton, 1916
Born17 October 1852
Died30 March 1940 (1940-03-31) (aged 87)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Navy
Years of service1866 – 1916
RankAdmiral
UnitRoyal Navy
CommandsHMS Majestic
Cape of Good Hope Station
Plymouth Command
Battles / warsWorld War I
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
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Egerton joined the Royal Navy in 1866.[1] He served on the Arctic Expedition of 1875–76.[1] In 1893 he was promoted to captain and appointed a naval attaché before serving with the Naval Brigade in Mombasa in 1895,[1] and he was chief of staff for the Benin Expedition of 1897.[1]

By early 1900 he was in command of the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Majestic, serving as flagship to Vice-Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet.[2] In June 1901 he was transferred to the President for service as assistant director of torpedoes at the Admiralty,[3] a position he left the following February when he transferred to the torpedo school ship Vernon.[4]

He was appointed second-in-command of the Atlantic Fleet in 1906:[1] Egerton flew his flag on HMS Victorious, with Captain Robert Scott as his flag captain.[5] He became commander-in-chief, Cape of Good Hope Station in 1908 and Second Sea Lord in 1911.[1] He served in World War I as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.[1] He had previously served as aide-de-camp to King Edward VII, and retired in 1916.[1]

Family

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A grandson of The Rev Sir Philip Grey-Egerton, 9th Bt, he married, first, in 1882, Frances Emily Gladstone; they had two sons and a daughter, including Rear-Admiral Brian Egerton (1886–1973). He married, second, Margaret Stella Maunsell, in 1932.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Sir George Le Clerc Egerton Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  2. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36054. London. 1 February 1900. p. 6.
  3. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36468. London. 30 May 1901. p. 4.
  4. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36666. London. 16 January 1902. p. 7.
  5. ^ Preston, Diana: A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions Constable (pb edition), page 86, London, 1999 ISBN 0-09-479530-4 OCLC 59395617
  6. ^ The Peerage.com
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  Media related to George Egerton (Royal Navy officer) at Wikimedia Commons

Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station
1908–1910
Succeeded by
Preceded by Second Sea Lord
1911
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
1913–1916
Succeeded by