Sir John Commerell | |
|---|---|
 Sir John Commerell | |
| Born | (1829-01-13)13 January 1829 Grosvenor Square, London |
| Died | 21 May 1901(1901-05-21) (aged 72) Rutland Gate, London |
| Buried | Cheriton Road Cemetery,Folkestone |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1842–1899 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | Portsmouth Command North America and West Indies Station Cape of Good Hope Station HMS Monarch HMS Terrible HMS Scorpion HMS Magicienne HMS Fury HMS Snake HMS Weser |
| Battles / wars | First Opium War Uruguayan Civil War Crimean War Second Opium War Third Anglo-Ashanti War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Order of the Red Eagle (Prussia) Knight of the Legion of Honour (France) Order of the Medjidie, First Class (Ottoman Empire) |
| Other work | Member of Parliament |
Admiral of the FleetSir John Edmund Commerell,VC, GCB (13 January 1829 – 21 May 1901) was aRoyal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he was present at theBattle of Vuelta de Obligado in November 1845 during theUruguayan Civil War. He also took part in operations inSea of Azov during theCrimean War and went ashore with the quartermaster and a seaman, to destroy large quantities of enemy forage on the shore. After a difficult and dangerous journey they reached their objective – a magazine of corn – and managed to ignite the stacks, but the guards were alerted and immediately opened fire and gave chase. The men had difficulty in escaping, but they finally reached their ship and the lookouts later reported that the forage store had burned to the ground. He and his colleague, QuartermasterWilliam Thomas Rickard, were awarded theVictoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British andCommonwealth forces.
Commerell went on to be Commander-in-Chief,Cape of Good Hope Station, Commander-in-Chief,North America and West Indies Station and thenCommander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. He was also aConservative politician who sat in theHouse of Commons from 1885 to 1888.
Born the son of John Williams Commerell and Sophia Commerell (née Bosanquet), Commerell was educated atClifton College and joined theRoyal Navy in March 1842.[1] He was appointed to thethird-rateHMSCornwallis and saw action in China in August 1842 during theFirst Opium War.[2] He then transferred to the paddlefrigateHMSFirebrand on theSouth America Station and was present at theBattle of Vuelta de Obligado in November 1845 during theUruguayan Civil War.[2] At Punta Obligado he helped cut the chain that defended theParaná River.[2] He transferred to thesloopHMSComus atWoolwich in May 1848 and, having been promoted to lieutenant on 13 December 1848, transferred to the paddle frigateHMSDragon in theMediterranean Fleet in April 1849 and to the screw frigateHMSDauntless atDevonport in August 1850.[2]
Commerell joined the frigateHMSVulture in February 1854 and saw action in theBaltic Sea during theCrimean War.[2] He became commanding officer of the gun vesselHMSWeser in February 1855; however the ship caught fire nearConstantinople and was beached before being towed off and joining thebombardment of Sevastopol in June 1855.[2] He then took part in operations inSea of Azov and, having been promoted tocommander on 29 September 1855, went ashore with the quartermaster and a seaman, to destroy large quantities of enemy forage on the shore. After a difficult and dangerous journey they reached their objective – a magazine of corn – and managed to ignite the stacks, but the guards were alerted and immediately opened fire and gave chase. The men had difficulty in escaping, but they finally reached their ship and the lookouts later reported that the forage store had burned to the ground. He and his colleague, QuartermasterWilliam Thomas Rickard, were awarded theVictoria Cross.[2] His citation reads:
Date of act of Bravery, 11 October 1855"When commanding the 'Weser,' in theSea of Azoff, crossed theIsthmus of Arabat, and destroyed large quantities of forage on the Crimean shore of theSivash."[3]
Commerell became commanding officer of the steam vesselHMSSnake in the Mediterranean Fleet in February 1856 and, having been awarded FrenchLegion of Honour, 5th class on 2 August 1856[4] and the TurkishOrder of the Medjidie, fifth class on 3 April 1858,[5] he became commanding officer of the paddle sloopHMSFury on theEast Indies and China Station in October 1858.[6] He was second-in-command of anaval brigade which landed in China, but then had to retreat to their boats after facing firm resistance, atBattle of Taku Forts in June 1859 during theSecond Opium War.[6]
Promoted tocaptain on 18 July 1859, Commerell went on to be commanding officer of the paddle frigateHMSMagicienne on the East Indies and China Station in September 1859 and commanding officer of the turret shipHMSScorpion atPortsmouth in May 1865.[6] After that he became commanding officer of the frigateHMSTerrible in May 1866 and assisted theSSGreat Eastern to lay the fifth (and first successful)Atlantic cable.[6] He was appointed aCompanion of the Order of the Bath (civil division) on 2 November 1866[7] and became commanding officer of the turret shipHMSMonarch in theChannel Squadron in May 1869.[6] He was also appointed aCompanion of the Order of the Bath (military division) on 2 June 1869.[8]
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Promoted tocommodore, second class in February 1871, Commerell became Commander-in-ChiefCape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, with hisbroad pennant in thecorvetteHMSRattlesnake.[6] However, in August 1873, when he was undertaking areconnaissance up thePra River at the start of theThird Anglo-Ashanti War, he was wounded in the lung, and had to resign his command.[6] Advanced toKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 31 March 1874,[9] he was appointed aGroom in Waiting tothe Queen on 26 May 1874.[10]
Promoted torear admiral on 12 November 1876,[11] Commerell became second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet, with his flag in thearmoured frigateHMSAgincourt, in July 1877.[6] This was a time of great tension in the region with theRusso-Turkish War at its peak.[6] He then becameJunior Naval Lord in theSecond Disraeli ministry in December 1879 where he sat until the Government fell in May 1880.[6] In the1880 general election he stood unsuccessfully for parliament atSouthampton.[12]
Promoted tovice admiral on 19 January 1881,[13] Commerell became Commander in Chief,North America and West Indies Station, with his flag in the armoured cruiserHMSNorthampton, in November 1882.[6] At the1885 general election he was elected Member of Parliament for the Southampton seat,[14] which he held until heresigned from theHouse of Commons on 15 May 1888.[15] As a member of parliament he lobbied hard for theNaval Defence Bill.[1]
Promoted to fulladmiral on 12 April 1886,[16] Commerell was advanced toKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 21 June 1887[17] and becameCommander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in June 1888.[6] He was appointed aGroom in Waiting tothe Queen again on 31 December 1891.[18]
Commerell was promoted toadmiral of the fleet on 14 February 1892,[19] advanced to the TurkishOrder of the Medjidie, first class on 5 March 1894[20] and retired in January 1899.[21] On 4 February 1901 he was made a Grand Cross of thePrussianOrder of the Red Eagle.[22] He died at his home at Rutland Gate in London on 21 May 1901 and was buried at Cheriton Road Cemetery, Folkestone.[23] Edmund Rock and Commerell Point in British Columbia, Canada, were named in his honour.[24][25] His Victoria Cross is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at theImperial War Museum, London.[26]
In 1853 Commerell married Matilda Bushby; they had three daughters.[2] His brother,William, was a first-class cricketer.[27]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSouthampton 1885–1888 With:Alfred Giles | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station 1871–1873 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Junior Naval Lord 1879–1880 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station 1882–1885 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth 1888–1891 | Succeeded by The Earl of Clanwilliam |
| International | |
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| People | |
| Other | |
