George Egerton (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir George Le Clerc Egerton KCB (17 October 1852 – 30 March 1940) was a senior Royal Navy officer from the Egerton family who rose to become Second Sea Lord.

Sir George Egerton
Born	17 October 1852
Died	30 March 1940 (aged 87)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1866 – 1916
Rank	Admiral
Unit	Royal Navy
Commands held	HMS Majestic Cape of Good Hope Station Plymouth Command
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Naval career

Egerton joined the Royal Navy in 1866.[1] He served on the Arctic Expedition of 1875–76.[1] In 1893 he was promoted to Captain and appointed a Naval Attaché before serving with the Naval Brigade in Mombasa in 1895,[1] and he was Chief of Staff for the Benin Expedition in 1897.[1]

By early 1900 he was in command of the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Majestic, serving as flagship to Vice-Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet.[2] In June 1901 he was transferred to the President for service as Assistant Director of Torpedoes at the Admiralty,[3] a position he left the following February when he transferred to the torpedo school ship Vernon.[4]

He was appointed Second-in-Command of the Atlantic Fleet in 1906:[1] Egerton flew his flag on HMS Victorious, with Captain Robert Scott as his flag captain.[5] He became Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station in 1908 and Second Sea Lord in 1911.[1] He served in World War I as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.[1] He had previously served as ADC to King Edward VII, and retired in 1916.[1]

Family

A grandson of The Rev Sir Philip Grey-Egerton, 9th Bt, he married, first, in 1882, Frances Emily Gladstone; they had two sons and a daughter, including rear-admiral Brian Egerton (1886–1973). He married, second, Margaret Stella Maunsell, in 1932.[6]

References

1. Sir George Le Clerc Egerton Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
2. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36054). London. 1 February 1900. p. 6.
3. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36468). London. 30 May 1901. p. 4.
4. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36666). London. 16 January 1902. p. 7.
5. Preston, Diana: A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions Constable (pb edition), page 86, London, 1999 ISBN 0-09-479530-4 OCLC 59395617
6. The Peerage.com

External links

• The Dreadnought Project: George Egerton