Difference between revisions of "Michael Culme-Seymour, Third Baronet"

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[[File:Culme-Seymour.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, as a Vice-Admiral.<br><small>Photograph: ''Navy & Army Illustrated''.</small>]]
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{{AdmRN}} {{SIR}} '''Michael Culme-Seymour''', Third Baronet, G.C.B., Royal Navy (13 March, 1836 &ndash; 11 October, 1920) was an officer of the [[Royal Navy]].
 
{{AdmRN}} {{SIR}} '''Michael Culme-Seymour''', Third Baronet, G.C.B., Royal Navy (13 March, 1836 &ndash; 11 October, 1920) was an officer of the [[Royal Navy]].
  
 
==Early Life & Career==
 
==Early Life & Career==
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Culme-Seymour was born on 13 March 1836 at Northchurch, Berkhamsted. He was the son of Sir John Hobart Seymour, second baronet (1800–1880), who took the additional surname Culme after the death of his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the Revd Thomas Culme, on 6 March 1841. After attending Harrow School he entered the navy in 1850. He had early experience of active service in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852 and in the Baltic operations of the Russian War in 1854 and then moved to the Black Sea theatre, where he served ashore with the naval brigade at the siege of Sevastopol. He was then appointed to the Calcutta, which would carry the flag of his uncle Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, on the China station. Here he benefited from the excellent education provided by the naval instructor John Knox Laughton. He was promoted lieutenant on 25 May 1857, and served as flag-lieutenant during the Second Opium War. He was engaged at the desperate boat action in Fatshan (Foshan) Creek and the capture of Canton (Guangzhou) and the Peiho (Beihe) forts. As flag-lieutenant he was promoted commander on 6 June 1859, when his uncle's command ended. Between June 1861 and July 1864 he commanded the gun-vessel Wanderer in the Mediterranean. He was promoted captain on 16 December 1865, and married Mary Georgiana Watson (d. 6 March 1912), daughter of Richard Watson MP of Rockingham Castle, Northamptonshire, on 16 October 1866. They had three sons and two daughters.
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Michael Culme-Seymour was the eldest son of the Reverend Sir John Hobart Culme-Seymour, Second Baronet (1800 - 1880),<ref>"Obituary" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Saturday, 18 September, 1880.  Issue '''29990''', col G, p. 9.</ref> and grandson of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, who was given a baronetcy for capturing the French frigates ''Thetis'' and ''Niemen'' during the Napoleonic War.  He was born on 13 March, 1836, and entered the [[Royal Navy]] in 1850, being sent to join the ''Hastings'' on the [[East Indies Station]], where he saw service in the Second Burmese War of 1852-1854.  Having joined the ''Baltic'', in 1854 he was sent back to Britain in command of a prize.  With the Crimean War being waged, he was sent to the Black Sea where he joined the Naval Brigade, participating in the reduction of Kinburn. He received the Crimean Medal with Inkerman and Sebastopol clasps.  He was promoted to the rank of {{LieutRN}} on 25 May, 1857.<ref>Clowes.  '''VII'''.  p. 577.</ref>
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After the war he was sent to the [[China Station]] as Flag Lieutenant to his uncle, Sir Michael Seymour, where he remained for the whole of the Second Opium War, receiving the Second China War Medal with Fatshan, Canton and Taku Forts 1858 clasps.  He was mentioned in his uncle's despatch on the capture of the Peiho forts, having landed with Captain William K. Hall and a party of seamen to capture 18 abandoned field pieces at Taku on 20 May, 1858.{{Gaz|22167|3548|28 July, 1858}}  On 3 April he had been awarded the Ottoman Order of the Medjidie, Fifth Class.{{Gaz|22122|1737|3 April, 1858}}
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He was promoted to the rank of {{CommRN}} on 6 June, 1859,{{NLDec63|p. 17}} a haul-down promotion upon his uncle relinquishing command of the Station.
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He was promoted {{CaptRN}} on 16 December, 1865.{{Gaz|23050|6737|19 December, 1865}}  He then went on half pay nearly five years, before being given command of the new screw corvette {{UK-Volage}} on 1 December, 1870.  In the same month Seymour informed that the Admiralty that his name was now '''Michael Culme-Seymour'''.<ref>ADM 196/16.  f. 321.</ref>  ''Volage'' paid off on 10 March, 1872, and he returned to half pay.<ref>{{TNA|ADM 196/37.|}}  f. 1212.</ref>
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On 6 March, 1874, he was appointed [[Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty|Private Secretary]] to the [[First Lord of the Admiralty]], George W. Hunt.  On 1 April, 1876, he was appointed in command of the turret ship [[H.M.S. Monarch (1868)|''Monarch'']].  On 8 July, 1877, he was appointed to ''Pembroke'' for command of the new battleship [[H.M.S. Temeraire (1876)|''Temeraire'']], building at [[Chatham Royal Dockyard]], to which he was appointed on 1 August.<ref>{{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}}  f. 321.</ref>
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On 4 January, 1879, he was appointed a [[Naval Aide-de-Camp]] to the Queen.{{Gaz|24666|53|7 January, 1879}}
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Upon the death of his father in 1880, Culme-Seymour succeeded to the Culme-Seymour baronetcy.<ref>"Obituary" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Saturday, 18 September, 1880.  Issue '''29990''', col G, p. 9.</ref>
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==Flag Rank==
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Culme-Seymour was promoted to the rank of {{RearRN}} on 6 May, 1882, vice Jones.{{Gaz|25105|2157|9 May, 1882}}
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He was appointed Commander-in-Chief on the [[Pacific Station (Royal Navy)|Pacific Station]] on 4 July, 1885,{{NLSep85|p. 188}} and he succeeded Rear-Admiral [[John Kennedy Erskine Baird|John K. E. Baird]] on 16 August.<ref>"Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 18 August, 1885.  Issue '''31528''', col B, p. 6.</ref> 
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He was promoted to the rank of {{ViceRN}} on 19 June, 1888, vice Somerset.{{Gaz|25830|3373|19 June, 1888}}
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Culme-Seymour was appointed Vice-Admiral Commanding the Channel Squadron on 3 May, 1890.{{NLMar91|p. 191}} 
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He was promoted to the rank of {{AdmRN}} on 13 May 1893, vice [[Charles Ludovic Darley Waddilove|Waddilove]].{{Gaz|26405|3001|23 May, 1893}}  He reported hoisting his flag in the {{UK-SansPareil|f=t}} on 20 July, proposing to retain this as his flagship until the fleet returned to Malta following the Summer Cruise, perhaps in October or November.<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/37.}}  f. 274.</ref>
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On 15 January, 1894, he permanently shifted his flag to {{UK-1Ramillies}}.  That same month, the Greek government expressed its gratitude for the assistance rendered by the crews of ships under Culme-Seymour's immediate command in battling a fire which had broken out at Patras.<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/37.}}  f. 274.</ref>
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According to Andrew Gordon, citing the papers of Earl Spencer, Culme-Seymour had rejected the offer of a K.C.B. on the grounds that it would drive "a coach and horses" through the rules and that he had not fought a battle.  Apparently the Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, was concerned that the Military Division of the Order "would," in Gordon's words, "die out."  The Prince of Wales (the later King Edward VII) was also concerned that Culme-Seymour should be nominated K.C.B.  "In the end," claims Gordon, "they settled for a GCB (a Civil Division upgrade)."<ref>Gordon.  ''1914-1918''.  p. 90.</ref>  Firstly, the claim that the Military Division of the Order of the Bath was going to "die out" is extraordinary, as even a cursory glance at the ''Navy Lists'' of the time will show that there were a quite a number of naval officers of all classes in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order.  Quite how one more K.C.B. would make a difference is unfathomable, even if there weren't a number being nominated every year.  As to Gordon's latter claim, Culme-Seymour ''was'' appointed a K.C.B., or, to give its full title, he was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath on 17 November.{{Gaz|26459|6423|17 November, 1893}}
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In the Queen's Diamond Jubilee honours, Culme-Seymour was appointed an Additional Member of the First Class, or Knight Grand Cross, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) on 22 June, 1897.{{Gaz|26867|3567|25 June, 1897}}  Not, it may be pointed out, a "Civil Division upgrade."
  
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In 1869 Seymour was appointed naval aide-de-camp to the queen. In 1874–6 he served as private secretary to his near neighbour George Ward-Hunt, the first lord of the Admiralty. In 1876 he commanded the ironclad Monarch, and in 1877 moved to the Temeraire. She was part of the squadron that Admiral Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby led up the Dardanelles in 1878. He served as flag-captain to the commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, Admiral Sir Alfred Ryder, between 1879 and 1881. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in September 1880. Promoted rear-admiral on 6 May 1882, he was appointed to the particular service squadron in 1885 under Hornby, and was then commander-in-chief on the Pacific station from 1885 to 1887. As a vice-admiral (19 June 1888), he was commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet from 1890 to 1893, and he was promoted to the rank of {{AdmRN}} on 13 May 1893.<ref>''London Gazette'': [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/26405/pages/3001 no. 26405.  p. 3001.]  23 May, 1893.</ref>  This would normally have been the end of his sea-going career. However, in July 1893 he was dispatched to command the Mediterranean Fleet by the first lord of the Admiralty, his close friend and relative by marriage Earl Spencer. He replaced Admiral Sir George Tryon, who had been lost with the Victoria. The appointment was critical: Britain's international position was intimately identified with the Mediterranean Fleet, and any sign of weakness would encourage the newly formed Franco-Russian alliance to challenge British pre-eminence at sea, upon which rested the whole fabric of the empire.
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He was appointed [[First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp]] to Queen Victoria on 13 January, 1899.{{Gaz|27043|298|17 January, 1899}}
  
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Seymour remained in the Mediterranean until 1897, restoring the morale and good order of the fleet. He also reversed the radical tactical thinking that Tryon had made a feature of his regime, and it is to his command that Andrew Gordon (in The Rules of the Game) attributes a reaffirmation of the signal-driven and over-centralized tactical methods that failed at Jutland. A master of steamship handling and formal evolutions, Seymour selected a staff of future admirals to carry through his counter-reformation, including Francis Bridgeman, John Rushworth Jellicoe, and Hugh Evan-Thomas. Officers who had served in Seymour's fleet held the majority of high commands up to and during the First World War. His impact on the real fighting efficiency of the fleet, particularly gunnery, was less satisfactory. On leaving the Mediterranean he spent the years 1897–1900 as commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, and became principal aide-de-camp to the queen in 1899. He was also awarded the GCB and GCVO during his career, which had benefited from a close family connection with the royal family stretching back to the first baronet. On 25 February, 1901, he was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the new King, Edward VII.<ref>''London Gazette'': [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27289/pages/1417 no. 27289.  p. 1417.]  26 February, 1901.</ref> When he retired, on 13 March 1901, he was awarded the honorary rank of vice-admiral of the United Kingdom, which he held until his death. Seymour maintained a lively and well-informed interest in the service for the rest of his life, not only through the career of his eldest son, also called Sir Michael Culme-Seymour (b. 29 Aug 1867), but also through his many distinguished subordinates, notably Jellicoe, who always looked back on his period under Seymour's command with particular nostalgia. He died at his home, Wadenhoe House, at Oundle in Northamptonshire, on 11 October 1920. His eldest son, the fourth baronet, held important naval commands before his untimely death on 2 April 1925 as a vice-admiral. Culme-Seymour's association with royalty, and especially with the sailor-prince, later George V, had a curious consequence. There was a fairly persistent rumour, quite unfounded, that George, then Prince George, had in 1890 in Malta married Mary, Culme-Seymour's elder daughter. In February 1911, F. Mylius was prosecuted for perpetrating this libel in a republican squib. Culme-Seymour gave evidence in the king's favour, and Mylius was imprisoned for twelve months. Mary (d. 1944), who also gave evidence, as did other members of the family, was in fact legitimately married in 1899 to Vice-Admiral Sir Trevylyan Napier.
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Culme-Seymour's appointment as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was extended by two months, and he was succeeded by Admiral [[Charles Frederick Hotham|Sir Charles F. Hotham]] on 4 October.<ref>"Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices).  ''The Times''.  Saturday, 18 August, 1900.  Issue '''36224''', col F, p. 8.</ref>
  
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A slight, spartan figure with, as an admiral, a white naval beard, Seymour had enormous reserves of physical energy, and continued to win foot races even after his appointment as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. He was also a fearsome martinet with a mania for order. Although his career was made by early promotion, secured by his uncle, his determination and force of character were seen to great advantage in helping the service to recover from the Victoria disaster at a time when Britain's international position was threatened.
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On 25 February, 1901, he was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the new King, Edward VII.{{Gaz|27289|1417|26 February, 1901}}  He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross in the Royal Victorian Order (G.C.V.O.) on 8 March.{{Gaz|27292|1647|8 March, 1901}}  In accordance with the provisions of the [[Order in Council of 22 February, 1870]], he was placed on the Retired List dated 13 March,{{GazSup|27297|2021|22 March, 1901}} and was succeeded as First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp on 20 April by Admiral [[James Elphinstone Erskine|Sir James E. Erskine]].{{Gaz|27307|2777|23 April, 1901}}
  
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==Footnotes==
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==See Also==
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{{reflist}}
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{{WP|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Michael_Culme-Seymour,_3rd_Baronet}}
  
 
==Bibliography==
 
==Bibliography==
 
{{refbegin}}
 
{{refbegin}}
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*"Death of Admiral Sir M. Culme-Seymour" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 12 October, 1920.  Issue '''42539''', col C, pg. 12.
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*"Death of Admiral Sir M. Culme-Seymour" (Obituaries).  ''The Times''.  Tuesday, 12 October, 1920.  Issue '''42539''', col C, p. 12.
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*{{BibGordonRules2005}}
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*{{GordonRules2005}}
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*Gordon, Andrew (2006).  "1914—1918: the proof of the pudding" in Till, Geoffrey.  ''The Development of British Naval Thinking: Essays in memory of Bryan McLaren Ranft''.  Abingdon: Routledge.  ISBN 0-714-65320-9.
 
{{refend}}
 
{{refend}}
  
 
==Service Records==
 
==Service Records==
 
{{refbegin}}
 
{{refbegin}}
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*The National Archives.  [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7894174&queryType=1&resultcount=196 ADM 196/37.]
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*{{TNA|ADM 196/37.|D7578708}}
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*The National Archives.  [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7904028&queryType=1&resultcount=196 ADM 196/16.]
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*{{TNA|ADM 196/16.|D7588558}}
 
{{refend}}
 
{{refend}}
  
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<div name=fredbot:appts>{{TabApptsBegin}}
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{{TabNaval}}
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{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''?'''|'''[[H.M.S. Volage (1869)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Volage'']]'''<br>1 Dec, 1870<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}}  f. 321.</ref> &ndash; 10 Oct, 1872<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}}  f. 321.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Charles Johnstone|Charles Johnstone]]'''}}
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{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[George Tryon|George Tryon]]'''|'''[[Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty|Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty]]'''<br>6 Mar, 1874<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16/324.}}</ref> &ndash; 9 Apr, 1876<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16/324.}}</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[William Codrington|William Codrington]]'''}}
 +
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Henry Boys|Henry Boys]]'''|'''[[H.M.S. Monarch (1868)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Monarch'']]'''<br>10 Apr, 1876<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}} f. 821.</ref> &ndash; 7 Jul, 1877<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}} f. 821.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Henry Fairfax|Henry Fairfax]]'''}}
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{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''?'''|'''[[H.M.S. Temeraire (1876)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Temeraire'']]'''<br>1 Aug, 1877<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}}  f. 321.</ref> &ndash; 8 Sep, 1879<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}}  f. 321.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[George Willes Watson|George W. Watson]]'''}}
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{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Walter Cecil Carpenter|The Hon. Walter C. Carpenter]]'''|'''[[H.M.S. Duke of Wellington (1852)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Duke of Wellington'']]'''<br>29 Jul, 1879{{NLDec81|p. 207}} &ndash; 9 Sep, 1879<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/37.|}} f. 1212.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Charles John Rowley|Charles J. Rowley]]'''}}
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{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[John Kennedy Erskine Baird|John K. E. Baird]]'''|'''[[Pacific Station (Royal Navy)|Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station]]'''<br>4 Jul, 1885{{ClowesVII|p. 88}}|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Algernon Charles Fieschi Heneage|Algernon C. F. Heneage]]'''}}
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{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[John Kennedy Erskine Baird|John K. E. Baird]]'''|'''[[Channel Squadron (Royal Navy)|Senior Officer in Command, Channel Squadron]]'''<br>3 May, 1890<ref>Culme-Seymour service record. {{TNA|ADM 196/37/941.}}</ref> &ndash; 10 May, 1892<ref>Culme-Seymour service record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/37/941.}}</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Henry Fairfax|Henry Fairfax]]'''}}
 +
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[George Tryon|Sir George Tryon]]'''|'''[[Mediterranean Station|Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station]]'''<br>29 Jun, 1893{{ClowesVII|p. 87}} &ndash; 10 Dec, 1896<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}} f. 821.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[John Ommanney Hopkins|Sir John O. Hopkins]]'''}}
 +
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Nowell Salmon|Sir Nowell Salmon]]'''|'''[[Portsmouth Station|Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth Station]]'''<br>3 Aug, 1897{{ClowesVII|p. 85}} &ndash; 3 Oct, 1900<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/16.|}} f. 821.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Charles Frederick Hotham|Sir Charles F. Hotham]]'''}}
 +
{{TabCourt}}
 +
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''[[Nowell Salmon|Sir Nowell Salmon]]'''|'''[[First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp|First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp]]'''<br>13 Jan, 1899{{Gaz|27043|298|17 January, 1899}}|Succeeded by<br>'''[[James Elphinstone Erskine|Sir James E. Erskine]]'''}}
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{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by<br>'''?'''|'''[[Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom|Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom]]'''<br>26 Jul, 1901<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/37.}}  f. 274.</ref> &ndash; 2 Feb, 1920<ref>Culme-Seymour Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/37.}}  f. 274.</ref>|Succeeded by<br>'''[[Francis Charles Bridgeman Bridgeman|Francis Charles Bridgeman Bridgeman]]'''}}
 +
{{TabEnd}}
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</div name=fredbot:appts>
 +
 +
==Footnotes==
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{{reflist}}
  
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{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="center"
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Culme-Seymour, Michael}}
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|-
 
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| colspan="3" align="center" style="background:#CEDFF2" | '''Naval Offices'''
 
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|-
 
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| Preceded by<br>'''[[George Tryon|Sir George Tryon]]'''
 
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| '''[[Mediterranean Station|Commander-in-Chief on the Mediterranean Station]]'''<br>1893 &ndash; 1896
 
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| width="220" style="border-bottom:1px solid grey;"  align="center"| Succeeded by<br>'''[[John Ommanney Hopkins|Sir John A. Hopkins]]'''
 
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|}
 
  
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[[Category:1836 births|Culme-Seymour]]
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{{CatPerson|UK|1836|1920}}
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[[Category:1920 deaths|Culme-Seymor]]
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{{CatAdm|UK}}
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[[Category:Personalities|Culme-Seymour]]
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{{CatBritannia|Pre}}
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[[Category:Senior Officers in Command of the Channel Squadron (Royal Navy)|Culme-Seymour]]
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{{CatRN}}
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[[Category:Commanders-in-Chief on the Mediterranean Station|Culme-Seymour]]
 
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[[Category:Vice-Admirals of the United Kingdom|Culme-Seymour]]
 
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[[Category:Royal Navy Admirals|Culme-Seymour]]
 
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[[Category:Royal Navy Flag Officers|Culme-Seymour]]
 

Latest revision as of 21:13, 30 October 2022

Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, as a Vice-Admiral.
Photograph: Navy & Army Illustrated.

Admiral SIR Michael Culme-Seymour, Third Baronet, G.C.B., Royal Navy (13 March, 1836 – 11 October, 1920) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

Michael Culme-Seymour was the eldest son of the Reverend Sir John Hobart Culme-Seymour, Second Baronet (1800 - 1880),[1] and grandson of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, who was given a baronetcy for capturing the French frigates Thetis and Niemen during the Napoleonic War. He was born on 13 March, 1836, and entered the Royal Navy in 1850, being sent to join the Hastings on the East Indies Station, where he saw service in the Second Burmese War of 1852-1854. Having joined the Baltic, in 1854 he was sent back to Britain in command of a prize. With the Crimean War being waged, he was sent to the Black Sea where he joined the Naval Brigade, participating in the reduction of Kinburn. He received the Crimean Medal with Inkerman and Sebastopol clasps. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 25 May, 1857.[2]

After the war he was sent to the China Station as Flag Lieutenant to his uncle, Sir Michael Seymour, where he remained for the whole of the Second Opium War, receiving the Second China War Medal with Fatshan, Canton and Taku Forts 1858 clasps. He was mentioned in his uncle's despatch on the capture of the Peiho forts, having landed with Captain William K. Hall and a party of seamen to capture 18 abandoned field pieces at Taku on 20 May, 1858.[3] On 3 April he had been awarded the Ottoman Order of the Medjidie, Fifth Class.[4]

He was promoted to the rank of Commander on 6 June, 1859,[5] a haul-down promotion upon his uncle relinquishing command of the Station.

He was promoted Captain on 16 December, 1865.[6] He then went on half pay nearly five years, before being given command of the new screw corvette Volage on 1 December, 1870. In the same month Seymour informed that the Admiralty that his name was now Michael Culme-Seymour.[7] Volage paid off on 10 March, 1872, and he returned to half pay.[8]

On 6 March, 1874, he was appointed Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, George W. Hunt. On 1 April, 1876, he was appointed in command of the turret ship Monarch. On 8 July, 1877, he was appointed to Pembroke for command of the new battleship Temeraire, building at Chatham Royal Dockyard, to which he was appointed on 1 August.[9]

On 4 January, 1879, he was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen.[10]

Upon the death of his father in 1880, Culme-Seymour succeeded to the Culme-Seymour baronetcy.[11]

Flag Rank

Culme-Seymour was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 6 May, 1882, vice Jones.[12]

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief on the Pacific Station on 4 July, 1885,[13] and he succeeded Rear-Admiral John K. E. Baird on 16 August.[14]

He was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 19 June, 1888, vice Somerset.[15]

Culme-Seymour was appointed Vice-Admiral Commanding the Channel Squadron on 3 May, 1890.[16]

He was promoted to the rank of Admiral on 13 May 1893, vice Waddilove.[17] He reported hoisting his flag in the second class battleship Sans Pareil on 20 July, proposing to retain this as his flagship until the fleet returned to Malta following the Summer Cruise, perhaps in October or November.[18]

On 15 January, 1894, he permanently shifted his flag to Ramillies. That same month, the Greek government expressed its gratitude for the assistance rendered by the crews of ships under Culme-Seymour's immediate command in battling a fire which had broken out at Patras.[19]

According to Andrew Gordon, citing the papers of Earl Spencer, Culme-Seymour had rejected the offer of a K.C.B. on the grounds that it would drive "a coach and horses" through the rules and that he had not fought a battle. Apparently the Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, was concerned that the Military Division of the Order "would," in Gordon's words, "die out." The Prince of Wales (the later King Edward VII) was also concerned that Culme-Seymour should be nominated K.C.B. "In the end," claims Gordon, "they settled for a GCB (a Civil Division upgrade)."[20] Firstly, the claim that the Military Division of the Order of the Bath was going to "die out" is extraordinary, as even a cursory glance at the Navy Lists of the time will show that there were a quite a number of naval officers of all classes in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order. Quite how one more K.C.B. would make a difference is unfathomable, even if there weren't a number being nominated every year. As to Gordon's latter claim, Culme-Seymour was appointed a K.C.B., or, to give its full title, he was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath on 17 November.[21]

In the Queen's Diamond Jubilee honours, Culme-Seymour was appointed an Additional Member of the First Class, or Knight Grand Cross, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) on 22 June, 1897.[22] Not, it may be pointed out, a "Civil Division upgrade."

He was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria on 13 January, 1899.[23]

Culme-Seymour's appointment as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was extended by two months, and he was succeeded by Admiral Sir Charles F. Hotham on 4 October.[24]

On 25 February, 1901, he was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the new King, Edward VII.[25] He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross in the Royal Victorian Order (G.C.V.O.) on 8 March.[26] In accordance with the provisions of the Order in Council of 22 February, 1870, he was placed on the Retired List dated 13 March,[27] and was succeeded as First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp on 20 April by Admiral Sir James E. Erskine.[28]

See Also

Bibliography

  • "Death of Admiral Sir M. Culme-Seymour" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 12 October, 1920. Issue 42539, col C, p. 12.
  • Gordon, Andrew (2005). The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command. London: John Murray (Publishers). ISBN 0719561310. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
  • Gordon, Andrew (2006). "1914—1918: the proof of the pudding" in Till, Geoffrey. The Development of British Naval Thinking: Essays in memory of Bryan McLaren Ranft. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 0-714-65320-9.

Service Records

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
? 		Captain of H.M.S. Volage
1 Dec, 1870[29] – 10 Oct, 1872[30] 		Succeeded by
Charles Johnstone
Preceded by
George Tryon 		Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty
6 Mar, 1874[31] – 9 Apr, 1876[32] 		Succeeded by
William Codrington
Preceded by
Henry Boys 		Captain of H.M.S. Monarch
10 Apr, 1876[33] – 7 Jul, 1877[34] 		Succeeded by
Henry Fairfax
Preceded by
? 		Captain of H.M.S. Temeraire
1 Aug, 1877[35] – 8 Sep, 1879[36] 		Succeeded by
George W. Watson
Preceded by
The Hon. Walter C. Carpenter 		Captain of H.M.S. Duke of Wellington
29 Jul, 1879[37] – 9 Sep, 1879[38] 		Succeeded by
Charles J. Rowley
Preceded by
John K. E. Baird 		Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station
4 Jul, 1885[39] 		Succeeded by
Algernon C. F. Heneage
Preceded by
John K. E. Baird 		Senior Officer in Command, Channel Squadron
3 May, 1890[40] – 10 May, 1892[41] 		Succeeded by
Henry Fairfax
Preceded by
Sir George Tryon 		Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station
29 Jun, 1893[42] – 10 Dec, 1896[43] 		Succeeded by
Sir John O. Hopkins
Preceded by
Sir Nowell Salmon 		Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth Station
3 Aug, 1897[44] – 3 Oct, 1900[45] 		Succeeded by
Sir Charles F. Hotham
Court Appointments
Preceded by
Sir Nowell Salmon 		First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp
13 Jan, 1899[46] 		Succeeded by
Sir James E. Erskine
Preceded by
? 		Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom
26 Jul, 1901[47] – 2 Feb, 1920[48] 		Succeeded by
Francis Charles Bridgeman Bridgeman

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Obituary" (Obituaries). The Times. Saturday, 18 September, 1880. Issue 29990, col G, p. 9.
  2. ↑ Clowes. VII. p. 577.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 22167. p. 3548. 28 July, 1858.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 22122. p. 1737. 3 April, 1858.
  5. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1863). p. 17.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 23050. p. 6737. 19 December, 1865.
  7. ↑ ADM 196/16. f. 321.
  8. ↑ The National Archives. ADM 196/37. f. 1212.
  9. ↑ The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 321.
  10. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 24666. p. 53. 7 January, 1879.
  11. ↑ "Obituary" (Obituaries). The Times. Saturday, 18 September, 1880. Issue 29990, col G, p. 9.
  12. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 25105. p. 2157. 9 May, 1882.
  13. ↑ The Navy List. (September, 1885). p. 188.
  14. ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 18 August, 1885. Issue 31528, col B, p. 6.
  15. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 25830. p. 3373. 19 June, 1888.
  16. ↑ The Navy List. (April, 1891). p. 191.
  17. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26405. p. 3001. 23 May, 1893.
  18. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/37. f. 274.
  19. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/37. f. 274.
  20. ↑ Gordon. 1914-1918. p. 90.
  21. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26459. p. 6423. 17 November, 1893.
  22. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26867. p. 3567. 25 June, 1897.
  23. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27043. p. 298. 17 January, 1899.
  24. ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 18 August, 1900. Issue 36224, col F, p. 8.
  25. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27289. p. 1417. 26 February, 1901.
  26. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27292. p. 1647. 8 March, 1901.
  27. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 27297. p. 2021. 22 March, 1901.
  28. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27307. p. 2777. 23 April, 1901.
  29. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 321.
  30. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 321.
  31. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16/324.
  32. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16/324.
  33. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 821.
  34. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 821.
  35. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 321.
  36. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 321.
  37. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1881). p. 207.
  38. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/37. f. 1212.
  39. ↑ Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. VII. p. 88.
  40. ↑ Culme-Seymour service record. The National Archives. ADM 196/37/941.
  41. ↑ Culme-Seymour service record. The National Archives. ADM 196/37/941.
  42. ↑ Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. VII. p. 87.
  43. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 821.
  44. ↑ Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. VII. p. 85.
  45. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/16. f. 821.
  46. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27043. p. 298. 17 January, 1899.
  47. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/37. f. 274.
  48. ↑ Culme-Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/37. f. 274.

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