Harry Tremenheere Grenfell
Vice-Admiral SIR Harry Tremenheere Grenfell, K.C.B., C.M.G. (9 March, 1845 – 19 February, 1906) was an officer of the Royal Navy.
Life & Career
Grenfell was promoted to the rank of Commander on 22 June, 1876, in the haul-down promotion of Rear-Admiral The Honourable Arthur A. Cochrane.[1]
He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 4 February, 1886.[2]
Grenfell was appointed to the Superb on 3 May, 1893.[3]
He was appointed command of the battleship Revenge on 6 November, 1896.[4]
For his services in Crete, on 1 January, 1900, Grenfell was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.).[5] On 3 March he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, vice Armand T. Powlett.[6] On 2 March, 1901, Grenfell hoisted his flag in the Sans Pareil, port guardship at Sheerness, as Second-in-Command of the Reserve Squadron.[7]
Grenfell succeeded Custance as Rear-Admiral in the Mediterranean Squadron on 25 October, 1904.[8]
Chatfield later claimed:
He left no special mark on the Fleet, but was respected for his strong personality which in fighting days might well have been an asset. He had one peculiarity worth mentioning. He was fond of cats. His cabin literally swarmed with Siamese cats, attractive but cruel-looking animals, fawn-coloured with black faces and tails, the latter very short with a kink in them. They could be fierce and were disliked by the galley's crew which looked after the cabin. The father of the tribe was called Satan and looked not unlike him! Grenfell also had glass tanks in his gun-ports full of frogs and strange fish. For these and for the cats the cabin was kept at a temperature of about ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit, and was painfully odorous. Grenfell was fond of giving luncheon parties when, despite the complaints of the ladies, he would refuse to open any skylights or scuttle to let in a breath of air. One day Satan disappeared. He was found only some weeks later, locked in a drawer: the revenge, it was supposed, of one of the galley's crew whom he had scratched or bitten.[9]
On 20 February, 1905, Grenfell was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral dated 16 February.[10] On the occasion of the King's birthday, Grenfell was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) on 30 June.[11]
Footnotes
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 24349. p. 4254. 28 July, 1876.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 25557. p. 621. 9 February, 1886.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Thursday, 4 May, 1893. Issue 33942, col E, p. 6.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 7 November, 1896. Issue 35042, col C, p. 12.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27154. p. 285. 16 January, 1900.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27171. p. 1523. 6 March, 1900.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Wednesday, 27 February, 1901. Issue 36389, col E, p. 10.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 8 October, 1904. Issue 37520, col C, p. 6.
- ↑ Chatfield. The Navy and Defence. p. 71.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27766. p. 1279. 21 February, 1905.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 27811. p. 4548. 30 June, 1905.
Bibliography
- "Vice-Admiral Sir H. T. Grenfell" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 20 February, 1906. Issue 37948, col F, pg. 8.
Service Records
- The National Archives. ADM 196/86.
- The National Archives. ADM 196/15.
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by Reginald N. Custance |
Second-in-Command, Mediterranean 1904 – 1906 |
Succeeded by Francis C. B. Bridgeman |
