Edward Hobart Seymour

Admiral of the Fleet THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR Edward Hobart Seymour, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O., P.C., Royal Navy (30 April, 1840 – 2 March, 1929), was an officer of the Royal Navy who after decades of unstinting service commanded the substantial British naval presence in China during the Boxer Rebellion.

Early Life & Career

Seymour was born at Kinwarton, Warwickshire, on 30 April, 1840, the second son of the Revd Richard Seymour (1806–1880), rector of Kinwarton, and his wife, Frances (d. 27 April 1871), third daughter of Charles Smith, M.P., of Suttons, Essex. He was grandson of Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, First Baronet (1768–1834), and nephew of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour (1802–1887).

He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 14 July, 1889, vice Greive.

China Station

On 12 December, 1897 Seymour was appointed Commander-in-Chief on the China Station. He was gazetted a Knight Commander of the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) on 14 March, 1898. Service there was peaceful until the Boxer uprising in 1900. On 31 May he received news from the British minister, Sir Claude Macdonald, that the situation at Peking was precarious. Having already detached a small force for the defence of the legations, Seymour proceeded at once to the Taku forts. A naval force of ships of several nations shortly assembled, of which, as senior admiral, Seymour assumed command. At a consultation with the foreign commanders it was decided to form a naval brigade under the command of Seymour with his flag-captain John Jellicoe as chief of staff, to march, if necessary, to Peking. Matters moved fast. Immediate help was urgently called for from the legations on 9 June; the next day the brigade—a mixed force of 2000 marines and bluejackets—was landed, and a sharp encounter with the Boxers took place on 11 June at Langfang, about half-way to Peking. Seymour then found himself unable to proceed. He was faced by considerable forces, the railway was cut, and he had no other means of transport. He held on for a week, but was then forced to retire on Tientsin (Tianjin), his short-rationed force harassed by the enemy. At Hsiku (Xigu), an important arsenal, he was attacked by regulars of the Chinese army. He stormed the arsenal and there defended himself against continued assaults until relieved by a body of Russian troops, when he withdrew his brigade and left the operations in the hands of military forces. Seymour's conduct throughout these difficult operations was highly commended, and his command was extended for a further six months. In March 1901 he was promoted to admiral and returned to Britain; he hauled down his flag on 21 August. On 9 November he was promoted Knight Grand Cross in the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (G.C.B.).

In 1902 Seymour accompanied the duke of Connaught on his mission to Madrid for the coronation of Alfonso XIII. In the same year he served on Sir Edward Grey's committee on the staffing of the navy. On 3 October he was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII, in place of Sir James E. Erskine. In 1903 he was appointed to the command at Devonport, which he held until February 1905, when he was made admiral of the fleet. In accordance with custom, he would have then hauled down his flag, but an exception was made on account of his distinguished service, and he kept his flag flying for another month. In 1906 Seymour accompanied Prince Arthur of Connaught on his state visit to Japan, and in 1909 he had the unusual honour of re-hoisting the flag of an admiral of the fleet on board the Inflexible when he commanded a squadron sent to Boston, Massachusetts, for the Hudson–Fulton celebration. He retired in 1910 and took no further part in public affairs. He was awarded the Order of Merit (1902), and was made GCB (1901) and GCVO (1906); he was also awarded a Cambridge LLD (1904), and sworn of the privy council (1909).

Seymour was a man of a broad and humane outlook, with a capacity for appreciating others' points of view; this contributed largely to the harmonious relations with foreign officers serving under him. He was widely read and a good linguist. An officer with uncommon intellectual breadth, Seymour was never pushed to his limits, but performed his duties with skill, insight, and dignity. He described his services with modesty in My Naval Career and Travels (1911). He was unmarried. He died of influenza at his home, Hedsor View, Maidenhead Court, Maidenhead, Berkshire, on 2 March, 1929.

Bibliography

• "Sir E. H. Seymour, O.M." (Obituaries). The Times. Monday, 4 March, 1929. Issue 45142, col A, pg. 11.
• Seymour, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Hobart. My Naval Career and Travels. London: Smith, Elder & Co..

Papers

• Journal for 1898-1901 in the possession of the Admiralty Library. Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth.

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/37.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/14.

Naval Offices
Preceded by Robert O'B. FitzRoy	Admiral Superintendent of Naval Reserves 1894 – 1897	Succeeded by Compton E. Domvile
Preceded by Sir Alexander Buller	Commander-in-Chief on the China Station 1898 – 1901	Succeeded by Sir Cyprian A. G. Bridge
Preceded by Sir James E. Erskine	First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp 1902 – 1903	Succeeded by Sir Henry F. Stephenson
Preceded by Lord Charles T. M. D. Scott	Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth 1903 – 1905	Succeeded by Sir Lewis A. Beaumont