Admiral Insubordinate:
The Life and Times of Lord Charles Beresford
Richard Freeman
Richard Freeman 2012
Richard Freeman has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
First published 2012 by Endeavour Press Ltd.
Acknowledgements
My thanks to Marion E Colthorpe, Professor Andrew Lambert and Carla Zipoli for their advice on the manuscript; to Peter Warburton for drawing my attention to the archives of the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organisations; and to Professor Jane Ridley for giving me access to her notes on the Lady Brooke affair.
This book could not have been written without the rich resources of: the British Library, Cambridge University Library, Churchill College Archives, Durham County Archives, Hansard online archive, The Manchester Guardian online archive, the McGill University Archives, the National Archives, the National Maritime Museum, The Observer online archive, the Parliamentary Archives, and The Times online archive,
Note on terminology
The First Lord was the political head of the Admiralty; he was also a member of the Cabinet.
The First Naval Lord an admiral was the professional head of the Admiralty. He was assisted by three junior naval lords. From October 1904 the term sea lord replaced that of naval lord.
Spelling
Place name spellings in quotations have been left as in the original documents.
Contents
Preface
Three times commander-in-chief, a member of Parliament for twenty years, and a public speaker who filled halls throughout the land Lord Charles Beresford was all of these. Yet he was also a naval captain who had so little sea experience that he scrambled to qualify for flag rank. He endured long periods of unemployment when in disgrace with the Admiralty, while his one foray into ministerial life ended in resignation. He was also the most reprimanded naval officer of his time perhaps of all time.
Few men have enjoyed such fascinating and adventure-packed lives. The first ten years of Beresfords naval career took him to every corner of the globe. He saw it all, from gold-mining to crucifixions, from the wild tribes of Terra del Fuego to the shadowy figure of the Emperor of Japan. When not recklessly throwing himself into perilous riding and wild hunting he could be found risking his life to rescue fellow sailors.
Yet, after a shaky start, Beresfords career changed when, at the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, his tiny HMS Condor took on the guns of one of the massive Egyptian forts. He was an overnight hero and remained so to his death. Three years later his even more spectacular adventures in the Sudan made him the hero of the failed campaign to rescue General Gordon from Khartoum.
But his official life was marred by his persistent hostility to the Admiralty and government. He achieved the dubious honour of one Prime Minister (Lord Salisbury) vowing never to employ him again in a political capacity and one First Lord of the Admiralty (Reginald McKenna) vowing never to employ him again in the Navy. So antagonistic did he become that his naval career was ignominiously ended by the curtailing of his final command. At the age of 64 all public appointments were closed to him. Never again did the Admiralty or government call on him for any purpose. He still, though, made his mark and, as an MP and then as a peer, he remained centre stage, speaking in Parliament up to a few weeks before his death and still writing letters on the day he died.
Like him or loath him, Beresford was a giant whom no one could ignore. His life, as I hope this book will show, was rarely dull and frequently astounding.
Richard Freeman
WILD YOUTH 1846-1871
Chapter 1
The wild youth from Curraghmore 1846-65
Charles William de la Poer Beresford was born into a minor branch of one of Irelands wealthiest families on 10 February 1846. His ancestors numbered generals, bishops, archbishops and admirals. The family seat at Curraghmore boasted thousands of acres of forests and meadows. At the heart of the estate was the grand house with paintings by Gainsborough and Reynolds on the walls. Nearby was a private chapel and stabling for over 100 horses. Its owner, the third marquis of Waterford, was Beresfords uncle Henry, who was said to be the richest landlord in Ireland with an annual income of 27,000 (about 1.3m today).
Beresfords father was the Reverend John Beresford and his mother, Christiana, was the fourth daughter of Charles Leslie, MP. John Beresford was known as a wild Irish Rector, a savage kind of Christian and a fox-hunting thug. He possessed a temper so ferocious that one son (a VC winner) said he would rather meet an army of Zulus than his reverend father in a bad temper. The whole Beresford clan had a reputation for undisciplined behaviour. His Uncle Henry had been expelled from Eton and removed from Christ Church Oxford for rowdy behaviour. Later he was described as the biggest bully and blackguard in London. Several members of the family had died through reckless sporting activities. So wild was the family that it was said no Beresford ever died in his bed.
John Beresford was the parson at Philipstown, part of the parish of Baronstown until, in 1859, his brother Henry broke his neck in a hunting accident and died. The Reverend John Beresford unexpectedly became the fourth marquis, while Charles took up his courtesy title of Lord Charles. The family installed themselves at Curraghmore, where the home life for the males centred around riotous hunting and harebrained sporting activities.
As the second of five sons , Charles was not in line to become marquis. Despite this hereditary drawback, he was to outshine all his brothers. His elder brother John Henry (born 1844) had an undistinguished career, first in the Life Guards and then as an MP. After Charles came William (born 1847) who, despite winning a VC in the Zulu War, led a dilettante existence and achieved nothing of note. Marcus (born 1848) did better as the manager of the racing stables of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII); his skill earned Edward a small fortune in prizes. Some distance behind came Delaval (born 1862). The black sheep of the family, he emigrated to Mexico and little was heard of him until his death in 1906. He appears to have returned to Ireland only for the funeral of his brother John in 1895.
Beresford was schooled at home until his father despaired of his waywardness and sent him to England. At Bayford School in Hertfordshire his fellow pupils included a future prime minister (Lord Rosebery) and a future First Lord of the Admiralty (Lord George Hamilton). It was Hamilton who later said of Beresford that a more unruly boy never defied the schoolmasters birch. Beresford himself claimed in the House of Commons in 1915 that he was more flogged than the whole of the rest of the boys put together. From Bayford he was sent to school in Deal and, finally, to a naval crammers run by a Reverend William Foster.
Beresford entered the Britannia naval school in December 1859 despite failing to spell his name correctly in his examination. Book-work, he admitted, did not interest me. A fellow cadet later recalled that he never gave any clear indications of the greatness he was to attain.
It was at the naval school that Beresford first demonstrated his insubordinate nature. In his enthusiasm at being promoted to the rank of cadet captain, he emptied a bread-barge on top of a master-at-arms. He was disrated the same day. When not being insubordinate he could be reckless as when he borrowed a boat and was pushed out to sea without oars. He drifted helplessly to Spithead until he was finally rescued.
