Hedworth Meux

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Admiral of the Fleet SIR Hedworth Meux (formerly Hedworth Lambton), G.C.B., K.C.V.O., Royal Navy (5 July, 1856 – 20 September, 1929) was an officer of the Royal Navy in the period leading up to the First World War.

Early Life & Career

Meux was born Hedworth Lambton in London 5 July 1856, the third son of George Frederick D'Arcy Lambton, second Earl of Durham, by his wife, Lady Beatrix Frances, second daughter of James Hamilton, first Duke of Abercorn [q.v.] . He was educated at Cheam School and entered the Britannia as a naval cadet in 1870. He went to sea in December 1871 in the Endymion, frigate, of the Channel squadron, being transferred to the flagship Agincourt, under Sir Beauchamp Seymour, in August 1874. At the beginning of 1875 he went to the Undaunted, flagship, in the East Indies until his promotion to sub-lieutenant at the end of that year. From the end of 1876 to March 1879 he served in the Alexandra, flagship, in the Mediterranean under Sir Geoffrey Hornby. He was promoted lieutenant in February 1879, and in 1880 returned to the Alexandra as flag-lieutenant to his old chief, Sir Beauchamp Seymour, under whom he was present at the bombardment of Alexandria (11 July 1882) and took part in the ensuing operations on the coast of Egypt. Admiral Seymour (created Lord Alcester for his services), on leaving his command to join the board of Admiralty in March 1883, secured a ‘haul-down’ promotion for his flag-lieutenant. On returning home, Commander Lambton went to Dublin as aide-de-camp to the lord-lieutenant, the fifth Earl Spencer. In July 1886 he returned to the Mediterranean in command of the Dolphin, sloop; and in February 1888 he was appointed to the command of the royal yacht Osborne, a post which he held until his promotion to captain in 1889. From 1890 to 1892 he was flag-captain to (Sir) Charles Hotham in the Warspite on the Pacific station.

In July 1894 Earl Spencer, then first lord of the Admiralty, appointed Lambton his naval private secretary, and Lambton retained the post under Spencer's successor, Viscount Goschen, until 1897. In this important office both ministers placed the greatest reliance on his independent and fearless judgement on the claims of senior officers for appointments; indeed, on more than one occasion Lambton advised his chief to make high appointments to which the sea lords objected, but which in the event were fully justified. He failed, however, to make himself popular with the officers with whom he had to deal through the lack of consideration which he showed them, although he was far junior to most of them in rank and to all of them in age.

In 1897 Lambton went to the China station in command of the cruiser Powerful, and on his voyage home in her in October 1899 he was sent to Durban, at a critical moment in the early stages of the South African War. On his way thither he called at Mauritius, and on his own initiative embarked the 2nd battalion of the South Yorkshire Regiment. Sir George Stuart White [q.v.] , in command of the defence of Ladysmith, had been sending urgent messages for the supply of more powerful guns. Captain (Sir) Percy Scott [q.v.] in the cruiser Terrible, which had arrived at the Cape on its way to replace the Powerful on the China station, devised gun-carriages for 12-pounder and 4.7 naval guns, and with these powerful reinforcements Lambton landed with a naval brigade and arrived at Ladysmith on 30 October just in time. The naval guns kept down the Boer artillery throughout the subsequent siege; and Lambton was, in Sir George White's words, ‘the life of the garrison’ until its ultimate relief (28 February). Lambton was awarded a C.B. for his services, and on the arrival of the Powerful in England was welcomed with great popular enthusiasm. At the end of that year he was persuaded by Lord Rosebery and by his brother, Lord Durham, to stand at the general election, in the liberal interest, for Newcastle-upon-Tyne; but he was unsuccessful. In April 1901 he was appointed to the command of the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, and three months later he was made commodore in charge of the king's yachts; he retained this command until April 1903, having been promoted to rear-admiral in October 1902. From June 1903 he had a year's service afloat as second in command to Lord Charles Beresford in the Channel fleet, and from November 1904 to December 1906 he commanded the cruiser division of the Mediterranean fleet. In January 1908 he was appointed vice-admiral and commander-in-chief in China, returning home in April 1910.

At this stage in Lambton's career occurred a great change in his private affairs. A few days after hauling down his flag he married Mildred, third daughter of the first Baron Alington [q.v.] and widow of Viscount Chelsea (died 1908), second son of the fifth Earl Cadogan [q.v.] . In the following December he came into a large fortune under the will of Valerie Susie, widow of Sir Henry Brent Meux, brewer, third baronet, of Theobald's Park, Waltham Cross. During the South African War Lady Meux, on hearing of the landing of the naval guns for the defence of Ladysmith, had ordered six naval 12-pounder guns, mounted on travelling carriages, to be made at Elswick and sent out to the commander-in-chief in South Africa, Lord Roberts. They were known as the Elswick battery. On his return to England later in that year, Lambton had called upon Lady Meux, described the work of his guns at Ladysmith, and praised her patriotic action in sending similar guns to the front. Touched by this tribute, Lady Meux, after making many wills, decided to make Lambton her heir on the sole condition that he changed his name to Meux. This he did by royal licence in September 1911. He was promoted admiral in March 1911 and remained on half-pay until his appointment in July 1912 to be commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, an office which he retained until February 1916, having been selected for the rank of admiral of the fleet in March 1915.

On the outbreak of the European War, Meux's principal duty was to secure the safe passage of the transports conveying the British Expeditionary Force to France, and to guard the army's main line of communication from Southampton to Havre. This anxious work was carried out with complete success; moreover, on his own initiative, Meux organized a life-saving patrol service composed of yachts and other small craft, sailing under the blue ensign with a red cross at the main. On giving up his command he was persuaded to enter parliament, without contest, as conservative member for Portsmouth, in the vacancy caused by Lord Charles Beresford's elevation to the peerage. He was a popular figure in the House of Commons and several times intervened with vigorous speeches on naval subjects; but he was not really interested in parliamentary work, and retired at the general election of 1918.

Meux was now free to devote himself to the turf, which since his boyhood had been his greatest interest outside the navy. He had started breeding blood stock in 1882, and had had some good horses trained by Tom Green at Stapleton Park, Pontefract. He won the Grand Military gold cup with ‘Ruy Lopez’ in 1895, and was elected to the Jockey Club in 1906. On inheriting Theobald's Park, where Lady Meux had a racing stable, he bred his own horses there, and with them won the Hardwicke stakes at Ascot three times, the Manchester November Handicap (top weight), the Liverpool cup, the Chester cup, and many other races. He was a very shrewd judge of racing and breeding and of all turf matters, and would have been an even more successful owner had he not been too fond of his horses to part with them.

Meux was a man of strong and independent character, though by no means a typical naval officer; in fact, the service was for him an interest rather than a profession. He carried out his duties with marked ability and won the confidence not only of King Edward VII but of all his associates in the service. He was created C.V.O. in 1901 and K.C.V.O. in 1906. He was promoted K.C.B. in 1908 and G.C.B. in 1913. He died 20 September 1929 at Danebury, an estate which he had bought near Stockbridge. His will was proved at £910,465 gross, with net personalty £734,265. He had no children, and he left his fortune, subject to his widow's interest, to her grandson, Ian Hedworth Gilmour.

There are portraits of Meux, painted by P. A. de László and Ambrose McEvoy, in the possession of his widow, who subsequently married Lord Charles Montagu. A cartoon of him by ‘Spy’ appeared in Vanity Fair 28 June 1900.

Footnotes

Bibliography

  • "Admiral of the Fleet Sir H. Meux" (Obituaries). The Times. Saturday, 21 September, 1929. Issue 45314, col B, pg. 12.

Service Record