Bedford, Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham (1838-1913)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0064 BED
Held at	: National Maritime Museum   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/ ›
Full title	: Bedford, Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham (1838-1913)
Date(s)	: [1852-1879]
Level of description	: Collection
Extent	: 1 1/2ft; 46cm
Name of creator(s)	: Bedford | Sir | Frederick George Denham | 1838-1913 | Knight | Admiral

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Bedford entered the Navy with a cadetship awarded by the Naval School at New Cross. In 1854 he was at the Crimea as a midshipman in the Sampson. However, he went to the Baltic in March 1855, when he was appointed to the Vulture, and he took part in the destruction of the Russian fortress at Sveaborg. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1859, to commander in 1871 and to captain in 1875 into the SERAPIS, which took the Prince of Wales to attend ceremonies proclaiming Queen Victoria Empress of India. Bedford was next appointed to the SHAH, 1876, as Flag-Captain to Rear Admiral de Horsey (1827-1922), Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station. In this ship he was engaged in the duel with the Peruvian ironclad HUASCAR. As a consequence of this action, the ironclad TRIUMPH replaced the SHAH and Bedford transferred to her. In 1880, on his return home, he attended the torpedo course at Portsmouth. Bedford then joined the Board of Admiralty, 1889 to 1892. In 1895 he became Second Sea Lord and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the North American and West Indies Station, 1899 to 1903. From 1903 to 1909 he was Governor of Western Australia. See F.G.H. Bedford, The life and letters of Admiral Frederick George Denham Bedford (published privately, 1960).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford including logs, 1852 to 1858; diaries, 1875 to 1879, and letters concerning the Huascar incident. There are no papers for Bedford's later career. In the Department of Pictures are six albums containing watercolours and photographs. Two of them cover his service in the SHAH, 1876 to 1878, and the third his career in the TRIUMPH, 1879.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Conditions governing access:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Finding aids:

Detailed catalogue online at the: National Maritime Museum website .

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers were presented by Mr F.G.H. Bedford in 1952.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Edited by Sarah Drewery, Jun 2011.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
2010-08-26