Lord Charles Beresford
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Beresford was the second son of John Beresford, 4th Marquess of Waterford, thus despite his courtesy title as the younger son of a Marquess, he was still eligible to enter the House of Commons. He combined the two careers of the navy and a member of parliament, making a reputation as a hero in battle and champion of the navy in the House of Commons. He was a well-known and popular figure who courted publicity, widely known to the British public as "Charlie B". He was considered by many to be a personification of John Bull, indeed was normally accompanied by his trademark, a bulldog.
His later career was marked by a longstanding dispute with Admiral of the Fleet Sir
Family life and character
Beresford was born in Philipstown (Daingean) County Offaly and grew up in Curraghmore, Ireland, the second of five brothers. His older brother John joined the Life Guards, succeeding to the family estate and titles in 1866 on the death of their father. William joined the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, was awarded the VC in the Anglo-Zulu War and became military secretary to several viceroys of India. Marcus joined the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, became an equerry to King George V and in charge of the King's racehorses. The youngest brother, Delaval, became a rancher in Canada.[1]
His family traced their ancestry to Englishmen who had invaded and settled in Ireland during the reign of James I and stayed to rule. Their estate covered 100,000 acres (400 km2) at Curraghmore near Waterford in south east Ireland, had stables for 100 horses and employed 600 people.[2] The family enjoyed hunting, to the extent that his uncle was killed in a riding accident, his brother was crippled in another, and he himself managed ten broken bones at various times.[3]
Beresford had a reputation for kindness to his men, saying 'Any smart action performed by an officer or man should be appreciated publicly by signal...Everyone is grateful for appreciation'.[4] At 46 and as captain, he took part in inter-ship rowing competitions.
He married Ellen Jeromina (Mina) Gardner, daughter of Richard Gardner and Lucy Mandesloh, on 25 June 1878 at London, England. They had two daughters, Eileen Teresa Lucy de la Poer Beresford (d. 1939) and Kathleen Mary de la Poer Beresford (1879–1939).
Military and political career
Beresford had been captivated by the sight of the Channel Fleet at age twelve,[3] and joined the Royal Navy in 1859 aged 13, following preparatory education at Stubbington House School.[5] He started his training as a cadet at the naval training academy HMS Britannia, successfully completing his passing-out examination in March 1861.[6] He was immediately appointed a midshipman on the flagship of the Mediterranean fleet, the steam three-decker HMS Marlborough.[6] Beresford described Marlborough as "the smartest and happiest ship that ever floated".[7] Beresford left Marlborough in early 1863,[7] and was appointed to HMS Defence in the summer of 1863. Defence was one of four new ironclads serving in the Channel Squadron; Beresford was unhappy in Defence, which he described as "a slovenly, unhandy tin kettle, which could not sail without steam...and which took minutes instead of seconds to cross topgallant yards".[8] Beresford got into debt, his father consulted Admiral Eden, who arranged for Beresford's transfer in mid-1864 to the steam-corvette HMS Clio, where Beresford would be the senior midshipman, which it was hoped would develop his sense of responsibility.[9]
On 9 April 1865 Clio visited the
He entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1874, representing County Waterford and retained his seat until 1880. Some difficulties arose with the Lords of the Admiralty, who objected to a junior officer debating the navy publicly in the House of Commons. Beresford's parliamentary career was saved by the intervention of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, who feared the loss of the seat to an opposition party, should Beresford be forced to resign.[20] Whilst an MP he continued to serve in the navy, becoming a commander in 1875.
In 1874, Beresford was one of thirty-two aides chosen to accompany the Prince of Wales on a tour of India. Victoria objected, on the grounds of his bad reputation, but he remained at the Prince's insistence. The tour was a lively mixture of social engagements and animal hunts. The Prince insisted on dressing for dinner, even in the jungle, but allowed the concession of cutting off the tails of their evening coats, creating the
In 1891 Beresford's affair with Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick (i.e., Frances Brooke) resulted in a serious dispute with the Prince of Wales. A letter written by the Countess to Beresford came into the possession of Beresford's wife. She lodged the letter with solicitor George Lewis and threatened to use this to destroy the reputation of the Countess. The Prince of Wales, who had a special affection for the Countess, tried to have the letter destroyed but Lewis would not allow this. The Prince of Wales then took steps to exclude Lady Charles from his social circle. An angry Charles Beresford eventually extracted a written apology from the Prince. The Prince subsequently wrote to Lord Waterford (Beresford's brother) saying that he "can never forget, and shall never forgive, the conduct of your brother and his wife towards me"[22]
Involvement in Egypt and Sudan
From 1878 until 1881 Beresford was second in command of the royal yacht
In 1884 and 1885 Beresford joined the staff of the
Re-election to Parliament, promotion to rear admiral
In 1885 he was again elected to Parliament, this time as MP for Marylebone East, and re-elected at the 1886 general election. Beresford constantly pushed for greater expenditure on the navy, resigning his seat in protest on this issue in 1889. Meanwhile, in 1886 he had also become Junior Naval Lord. The Naval Defence Act 1889, which increased naval spending, was passed partly as a result of public pressure resulting from this action.[citation needed]
Beresford was a believer in promoting physical recreation beyond the armed forces, being one of the founding committee of the National Physical Recreation Society which began in 1886 under the presidency of
In July 1889, Beresford resigned from the House of Commons for the first of four times by being appointed Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds.[24] (As of 2023[update] only four other MPs had resigned by becoming stewards of both the Chiltern Hundreds and the Manor of Northstead.) From 1889 until 1893 he was the captain of HMS Undaunted, which was part of the Mediterranean Fleet.
In 1898 Beresford was promoted to rear-admiral and again entered Parliament, this time representing
As admiral
Beresford was again elected to Parliament in April 1902,
Beresford transferred to command of the Channel fleet from 1907 to 1909. He was complimented by a then-junior officer as having 'no superior as a seaman', but his time in charge was described as 'principally a processional career around the ports of Britain ... I do not recall that any serious problems of war were either attempted or solved [but] Lord Charles received deputations, addressed crowded meetings in his honour, and became freeman of innumerable cities'.[34]
Beresford is credited with recommending the use of
It was noted that his personality seemed to have changed for the worse, and historians have suggested that he might have suffered a minor stroke at some time before 1907.
After his term with the Channel Fleet finished in 1909, Beresford returned to Parliament at the
In 1912, it was proposed by George V, who knew Beresford, that he might be promoted admiral of the fleet, but it fell to Beatty, now Naval Secretary to First Lord Winston Churchill to point out that others would be more deserving of such a promotion. He was later, in 1914, appointed an Honorary Colonel in the Royal Marines.[38] Beresford had been somewhat left behind by the technological innovations and changes in the navy during the last years of his service as an admiral. It is likely that he would have performed poorly had he continued as an admiral into the First World War. However, at times during his career he supported proposals to reform the fleet signal book, which, it has been claimed, might have made it more suitable for wartime use, and had championed reforms in fire control, where understanding of how best to use the new big guns on Fisher's dreadnought ships allegedly lagged behind their ability to hit at long ranges.[39]
Fisher was succeeded as First Sea Lord in January 1910 by Sir
On the eve of the First World War, First Lord Churchill and First Sea Lord Prince Louis of Battenberg made the crucial decision to cancel the scheduled dispersal of the British fleet following practice manoeuvres, to preserve the Royal Navy's battle readiness.
Beresford remained an MP until 1916, after he retired from the navy in 1911. In January 1916, he resigned from the Commons for the fourth and final time, again becoming Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Beresford of Metemmeh and of Curraghmore in the County of Waterford.[24][45] In October 1910, The Boy Scouts Association established a Sea Scout Branch and Beresford accepted the post of Chief Sea Scout. Together with Warington Baden-Powell, he devised the training scheme for the new section.[46]
Death and funeral
Lord Beresford died in 1919 at Langwell, Berriedale, Caithness, at the age of 73, at which point his title became extinct. After a ceremonial funeral at St Paul's Cathedral, he was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery, south London.[47]
Foreign honours
Besides his peerage, Lord Beresford also held a number of foreign honours:
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Medjidie of the Ottoman Empire.[48]
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle of Prussia.[38]
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer of Greece.[38]
- Grand Cross of the Order of St Olav of Norway.[38]
- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour of France.[38]
See also
References
- ^ Beresford, p. xiii
- ^ Morris, p. 156
- ^ a b Massie, pp. 502–503
- ^ Massie, p. 502
- ^ "Beresford". Who Was Who. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press. December 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2012.(subscription required)
- ^ a b Bennett, p. 21
- ^ a b Bennett, p. 26
- ^ Bennett, p. 27
- ^ Bennett, p. 30
- OCLC 479709.
- OCLC 60626541.
- ^ Beresford 1914, pp. 57–59.
- ^ hdl:10524/285.
- ^ a b Bennett, pp. 33–34
- ^ Bennett, p. 35
- ^ a b c Bennett, p. 37
- ^ a b Bennett, p. 38
- ^ Bennett, p. 39
- ^ Massie, p. 503
- ^ Massie, pp. 503–504
- ^ Massie, p. 504
- ^ Magnus, Philip (1964). King Edward the Seventh. John Murray. pp. 232–236.
- ISBN 978-1-85983-967-6.Letters in archive Wenlock Olympian Society.
- ^ a b c d "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1880". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ He collected specimens of Chinese money during his investigations, and arranged for these to be displayed at the V&A in 1899. https://chinesemoneymatters.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/lord-charles-beresfords-chinese-coins-at-the-va/
- ^ Gordon, pp.322–323
- ^ "Court circular". The Times. No. 36683. London. 5 February 1902. p. 10.
- ^ "No. 27429". The London Gazette. 29 April 1902. p. 2860.
- ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36903. London. 20 October 1902. p. 7.
- ^ "No. 27483". The London Gazette. 17 October 1902. p. 6569.
- ^ "Naval & Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 37058. London. 18 April 1903. p. 8.
- ^ The Complete Peerage, Volume XIII – Peerage Creations 1901–1938. St Catherine's Press. 1949. p. 210.
- ^ a b Gordon, p. 366
- ^ Gordon, p. 366 citing Dawson
- ^ Ministry of Information, His Majesty's Minesweepers, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1943
- ^ Massie, pp. 526–27
- ^ Massie p. 534
- ^ a b c d e Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1916. Kelly's. p. 173.
- ^ Gordon, p. 368
- ^ Massie, p. 778
- ^ Kerr, Mark (1934), Prince Louis of Battenberg. London: Longmans, Green and Co. p.243
- ^ Hurd, Archibald (2004), Mountbatten, Louis Alexander, first Marquess of Milford Haven [formerly Prince Louis of Battenberg] (1854–1921), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press)
- ^ Hough, pp. 302–303
- ^ Hough, p. 307
- ^ "No. 29454". The London Gazette. 28 January 1916. p. 1126.
- ^ "History of Sea Scouting". www.scoutsrecords.org. The Scout Association Archive Department. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ The Complete Peerage, Volume XIII – Peerage Creations 1901–1938. St Catherine's Press. 1949. p. 211.
- ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 1913. Burke's Peerage Limited. p. 1963.
Bibliography
- Bennett, Geoffrey (1969). Charlie B. Dawnay.
- Beresford, Charles (1914). The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford. Boston: Little, Brown, & Company. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- Burt, R. A. (1988). British Battleships 1889–1904. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-061-0.
- Freeman, Richard (2009). The Great Edwardian Naval Feud: Beresford's Vendetta Against 'Jackie' Fisher. Penn and Sword Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84884-083-6.
- Gordon, Andrew (1996). The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command. London: John Murray.
- Hough, Richard (1984). Louis and Victoria: The Family History of the Mountbattens (Second ed.). London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
- ISBN 0-394-52833-6.
- ISBN 0-670-84345-8.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Lord Charles Beresford
- Charles Beresford at The Dreadnought Project
- Ancestry of Lord Charles
- "Channel Fleet in the Mersey Aug 1907". Liverpool Mercury. 10 August 1907.