| Sir Michael Culme-Seymour | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 13, 1836 |
| Died | October 11, 1920 (aged 84) |
| Place of birth | Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire[1] |
| Place of death | Oundle, Northamptonshire |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1850- 1901 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
20 June 1861-16 August 1865 Commander HMS Wanderer 1 December 1870 Captain HMS Volage April 1876-July 1877 Captain HMS Monarch 8 July 1877 captain HMS Temeraire 29 July 1879-9 May 1882 Captain HMS Duke of Wellington 4 July 1885-20 September 1887 Cin C Pacific 3 May 1890-10 May 1892 C in C Channel squadron 29 June 1893-10 November 1896 C in C Mediterranean 3 August 1897-3 October 1900 C in C Portsmouth |
Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 3rd Baronet , GCB, GCVO, (13 March 1836 – 11 October 1920) was a senior Royal Navy officer. On 17 September 1880 he became 3rd Baronet, on the death of his father. The Culme-Seymours were relatives of the Seymour family, his father having added his wife's family name - Culme - to his own following her death.
[]
Culme-Seymour was born in Northchurch, Berkhamsted 13 March 1836, the son of Sir John Hobart Culme-Seymour, 2nd Baronet (1800–1880) and his wife Elizabeth Culme, daughter of Reverend Thomas Culme.[2] He entered the Navy in 1850,[3] and in 1856 served as mate in HMS Calcutta, flagship of the East Indies squadron, which was involved in the Second Opium War.[3] The fleet was commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour (his uncle), while Calcutta was commanded by William King Hall.[3] On 25 May 1857 he was promoted to Lieutenant, continuing to serve on Calcutta until 6 June 1859, when he was promoted again to commander.[3] From 20 June 1861 to 16 August 1865 he commanded HMS Wanderer in the Mediterranean Fleet.[3] On 16 December 1865 he was promoted to Captain.[3]
In December 1870 he commanded HMS Volage in the Channel Squadron.[3] From 1874 to 1876 he was private secretary to First Lord of the Admiralty, George Ward Hunt.[3] In 1876 he returned to the Mediterranean, commanding HMS Monarch.[3] In July 1877 he transferred to HMS Temeraire and took part in the 1878 passage of the Dardanelles commanded by Admiral Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby.[3]
From 29 July 1879 to 9 May 1882 he was captain of HMS Duke of Wellington,[3] which was the flagship of the officer commanding Portsmouth harbour, Admiral Alfred Phillips Ryder,[3] at the end of which appointment he was promoted to Rear-Admiral.[3] 1885 saw him as second in command of the Baltic squadron under Phipps Hornby during the Panjdeh Incident.[3] From 5 July 1885 to 20 September 1887 he was commander in chief of the Pacific squadron.[3] He was promoted to Vice-Admiral on 19 June 1888[3] and from 1890 he commanded the Channel Fleet for two years.[3]
From 3 May 1893 to 10 November 1896 he was Commander in Chief, Mediterranean Fleet,[3] replacing George Tryon after the accidental sinking of HMS Victoria in a collision. He was promoted to full admiral before taking up the command.
From 3 August 1897 to 3 October 1900 he was Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.,[3] and in March 1901 he was placed on the retired list.[4]
In 1899 he was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria. He was re-appointed after the succession of the new King Edward VII, in February 1901,[5] but resigned from the position in April the same year.[6]
In early 1901 Sir Michael was asked by King Edward to take part in a special diplomatic mission to announce the King´s accession to the governments of Belgium, Bavaria, Italy, Württemberg, and The Netherlands.[7]
He was granted the honorary offices of Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom and Lieutenant of the Admiralty in July 1901,[8] and kept these until his death.
He died at Oundle in Northamptonshire in 1920.[3]
Family[]
He married 16 October 1866 Mary Georgina Watson, daughter of Honourable Richard Watson, MP (1800-1852) and granddaughter of 2nd Lord Sondes. Lady Culme-Seymour died in 1912. They had three sons and two daughters.[2]
His eldest son, Sir Michael Culme-Seymour (1867-1925) succeeded him in the baronetcy, and was himself a senior naval officer. His daughter Mary Elizabeth Culme-Seymour married Vice Admiral Sir Trevylyan Napier.
Honours[]
- GCB: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath - date unknown
- GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order - 8 March 1901[9]
References[]
- ↑ Pfarr, p. 262
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008, ‘SEYMOUR, Sir Michael Culme-’; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 William Loney RN
- ↑ "No. 27297". 22 March 1901. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27297/page/
- ↑ "No. 27289". 26 February 1901. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27289/page/
- ↑ "No. 27307". 23 April 1901. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27307/page/
- ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". 23 March 1901. - ↑ "No. 27338". 26 July 1901. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27338/page/
- ↑ "No. 27292". 8 March 1901. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27292/page/
- Andrew Gordon (1996). The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-5076-9.
- Pfarr, Victor (1899). Men and Women of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries at Google Books. G. Routledge. p. 262.
External links[]
- The Dreadnought Project: S
The original article can be found at Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 3rd Baronet and the edit history here.