Edmund Robert Fremantle

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Admiral Edmund R. Fremantle, 1917.
Portrait: © National Portrait Gallery, London.

Admiral THE HONOURABLE SIR Edmund Robert Fremantle, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., C.M.G., F.R.G.S., Royal Navy (15 June, 1836 – 10 February, 1929) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life & Career

Fremantle was promoted to the rank of Captain on 15 April, 1867.[1]

He was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.) on 13 March, 1874.[2] He was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Third Class, or Companion, of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (C.M.G.) on 8 May.[3]

While appointed to the Spartan on the China Station, Fremantle saved a drowning man. In June, 1877 he was awarded the Royal Humane Society's Bronze Medal for jumping overboard to save the life of a boy in Plymouth Sound. Incredibly, in February 1880 while in command of the Invincible, Fremantle jumped overboard in boots while the ship was making six knots to save a man. This deed was so great that he was awarded the R.H.S. Silver Medal and also the Stanhope Medal which marked it as the year's pinnacle of rescue bravery.[4]

Fremantle was awarded the Royal United Service Institution Gold Medal for an essay he wrote in 1879, beating out six other competitors on the assigned topic, "Naval tactics on the open sea, with the existing types of vessels and weapons."

Flag Rank

Fremantle was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 7 April, 1885, vice Hardinge.[5]

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station on 25 February, 1888.[6]

Fremantle was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 30 August, 1890, vice Edye.[7]

On the occasion of the Queen's birthday, Fremantle was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) on 23 May, 1889.[8]

On 16 February, 1892, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the China Station.[9]

Fremantle was promoted to the rank of Admiral dated 10 October, 1896, vice Wells.[10]

On the occasion of the Queen's birthday he was appointed an Ordinary Member of the First Class, or Knight Grand Cross, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) on 3 June, 1899.[11]

In accordance with the provisions of the Order in Council of 22 February, 1870, Fremantle was placed on the Retired List on 15 June, 1901.[12]

He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (G.C.V.O.) on 3 July, 1926.[13]

See Also

Bibliography

  • "Admiral Sir E. R. Fremantle" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 12 February, 1929. Issue 45125, col A, p. 9.
  • [Fremantle, Rear-Admiral The Hon. Edmund R.] (October, 1885). "Ironclads and Torpedo Flotillas." The Nineteenth Century.
  • [Fremantle, Rear-Admiral The Hon. Edmund R.] (April, 1887). "Are Ironclads Doomed?" Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine.
  • Fremantle, Vice-Admiral The Hon. Sir Edmund (17 April, 1896). "The Navy and India". The Navy & Army Illustrated Vol. I (No. 9). pp. 205-206.
  • Fremantle, Admiral Honble Sir E. R. (1904). The Navy as I have Known It: 1849—1899. London: Cassell and Company, Limited.

Papers

Service Records

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Lindesay Brine
Captain of H.M.S. Invincible
28 Nov, 1879[14] – 9 Jan, 1881[15]
Succeeded by
Robert O'B. FitzRoy
Preceded by
William H. Edye
Senior Officer, Gibraltar
10 Jan, 1881[16] – 9 Nov, 1881[17]
Succeeded by
Claude E. Buckle
Preceded by
?
Captain of H.M.S. Dreadnought
23 Aug, 1884[18] – 28 Apr, 1885[19]
Succeeded by
Frederick G. D. Bedford
Preceded by
Algernon C. F. Heneage
Second-in-Command, Channel Squadron
9 Aug, 1886[20] – 18 Aug, 1887[21]
Succeeded by
Charles J. Rowley
Preceded by
Frederick W. Richards
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
25 Feb, 1888[22]
Succeeded by
Frederick C. B. Robinson
Preceded by
Sir Frederick W. Richards
Commander-in-Chief, China Station
16 Feb, 1892[23] – 1895
Succeeded by
Sir Alexander Buller
Preceded by
Sir Algernon McL. Lyons
Commander in Chief, Plymouth Station
10 Jun, 1896[24] – 16 Jun, 1899[25]
Succeeded by
Sir Henry Fairfax
Court Appointments
Preceded by
?
Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom
25 Jul, 1901[Citation needed] – 31 Dec, 1926[Citation needed]
Succeeded by
Stanley C. J. Colville

Footnotes

  1. The London Gazette: no. 23242. p. 2313. 16 April, 1867.
  2. The London Gazette: no. 24082. p. 1921. 31 March, 1874.
  3. The London Gazette: no. 24093. p. 2445. 8 May, 1874.
  4. Obituary.
  5. The London Gazette: no. 25458. p. 1587. 7 April, 1885.
  6. Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. VII. p. 88.
  7. The London Gazette: no. 26084. p. 4773. 2 September, 1890.
  8. The London Gazette: no. 25939. p. 2873. 25 May, 1889.
  9. Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. VII. p. 88.
  10. The London Gazette: no. 26787. p. 5724. 20 October, 1896.
  11. The London Gazette: no. 27086. p. 3585. 3 June, 1899.
  12. The London Gazette: no. 27325. p. 4183. 21 June, 1901.
  13. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 33179. p. 4406. 3 July, 1926.
  14. Fremantle Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/14/109. f. ?.
  15. Fremantle Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/14/109. f. ?.
  16. Fremantle Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/14/109. f. ?.
  17. Fremantle Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/14/109. f. ?.
  18. Fremantle Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/14/109. f. ?.
  19. Fremantle Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/14/109. f. ?.
  20. Fremantle service record. The National Archives. ADM 196/36/1348.
  21. Fremantle service record. The National Archives. ADM 196/36/1348.
  22. Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. VII. p. 88.
  23. Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. VII. p. 88.
  24. Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. VII. p. 86.
  25. "Naval & Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 22 May, 1899. Issue 35835, col D, p. 4.