Wilmot Hawkesworth Fawkes
Admiral SIR Wilmot Hawkesworth Fawkes, G.C.B., K.C.V.O., HON. LL.D., Royal Navy (22 December, 1846 – 29 May, 1926) was an officer of the Royal Navy.
Life & Career
Captain
Fawkes was promoted to the rank of Captain on 30 June, 1886.[1]
He was appointed to H.M.S. Victory on 1 July, 1896, for Terrible.
On 26 April, 1897, he was appointed Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, George J. Goschen.
He was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria on 1 January, 1899, and became a paid Aide-de-Camp on 30 June.
On 20 November, 1899, he was appointed to H.M.S. Duke of Wellington, additional, for command of the battleship Canopus, which he commissioned on 5 December. He had been granted fourteen days' leave from 20 November in order "to maintain relations with the Admiralty for a short time." Fawkes was superseded in Canopus on 9 November, 1900, by Captain Harry S. F. Niblett. He arrived in England on 14 November, and on the 15th he was again appointed Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, this time to the Earl of Selborne.
Flag Rank
Fawkes was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 1 January, 1901, vice Oxley.[2] He was appointed in Rear-Admiral Commanding the Cruiser Squadron on 8 November, 1902, which immediately took the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, on a visit to South Africa.
He hauled down his flag on 3 November, 1904, and went on leave until his appointment expired on 8 November. He was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 3 March, vice Douglas.[3] On 10 September, 1905, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief on the Australian Station, and assumed command on 2 December. He was superseded on 31 December, 1907, and returned to Plymouth on the S.S. Orontes on 3 April, 1908. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth on 9 April, with the Acting Rank of Admiral. He was confirmed in the rank of Admiral on 12 October.
He was superseded at Plymouth on 11 April, 1911, and, in accordance with the provisions of the Order in Council of 8 December, 1903, was placed on the Retired List on 12 April, at his own request.[4] On the occasion of King George V's coronation he was promoted Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath (G.C.B) on 19 June, 1911.[5]
Footnotes
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 25604. p. 3189. 2 July, 1886.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27262. p. 4. 1 January, 1901.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 27772. p. 1845. 7 March, 1905.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28485. p. 2967. 14 April, 1911.
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28505. p. 4588. 19 June, 1911.
Bibliography
- "Admiral Sir Wilmot Fawkes" (Obituaries). The Times. Monday, 31 May, 1926. Issue 44285, col B, pg. 19.
Service Records
- The National Archives. ADM 196/36.
- The National Archives. ADM 196/17.
