Lord Charles Beresford
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Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford GCB GCVO (February 10, 1846–September 6, 1919), known as Lord Charles Beresford until 1916, was a British Admiral and Member of Parliament.
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[edit] Military and Parliament careers
Lord Charles Beresford was the second son of the 4th Marquess of Waterford. He joined the Royal Navy in 1859, and started his training as a cadet at the naval training academy HMS Britannia. He became a lieutenant in 1874. He was a well-known and popular figure who courted publicity. He was widely known to the British public as "Charlie B" and considered by many to be a kind of personification of John Bull and indeed was normally accompanied by his trademark, a bulldog.
He entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1874, representing County Waterford and retained his seat until 1880. Whilst an MP he continued to serve in the navy, becoming a commander in 1875. He was aide-de-camp to the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, from 1875 until 1876, accompanying him on a visit to India. During his service under Edward VII, he became involved in an affair with Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick (ie Francis Brooke), with whom Edward VII was also involved romantically. The affair strained his friendship with Edward VII, even though Edward himself was married to Alexandra of Denmark. [1]
[edit] Involvement in the Urabi Revolt
From 1878 until 1881 Beresford was second in command of the royal yacht HMS Osborne. He was captain of the gunboat HMS Condor in 1882 when it took part in the bombardment of Alexandria during the Egyptian war of 1882 and won admiration amongst the British public for taking his ship inshore to bombard the Egyptian batteries at close range.
[edit] 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 1888. The Naval Expenditure Act of 1889, which increased naval spending, was passed partly as a result of public pressure resulting from this action. 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 York. He retained this seat until 1900, although he spent much of his time in China representing the Associated Chambers of Commerce, and from 1900 onwards was second in command of the Mediterranean fleet.
He returned to Parliament in 1902, this time for Woolwich, but resigned in 1903 when he was promoted to admiral and appointed chief of the Channel Fleet. He was in command of the Mediterranean Fleet from 1905 until 1907.
Beresford had a public and bitter dispute with the First Sea Lord, Sir John Fisher, over the reforms which the latter was pushing through. After his term with the Channel Fleet finished in 1909, Beresford returned to Parliament at the January 1910 general election, representing [[Portsmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth].
He remained an MP until 1916, although he retired from the navy in 1911. In 1916, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Beresford. Lord Beresford died in 1919 at the age of 73.
[edit] References
- This page incorporates information from Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Sir John Esmonde Henry Villiers-Stuart |
Member of Parliament for County Waterford 2-seat constituency' (with Sir John Esmonde, 1852–1876; James Delahunty, from 1877) 1874–1880 |
Succeeded by: Henry Villiers-Stuart John Aloysius Blake |
| Preceded by: (new constituency) |
Member of Parliament for Marylebone East 1885–1889 |
Succeeded by: Edmund Boulnois |
| Preceded by: Sir Frank Lockwood John Butcher |
Member of Parliament for City of York 2-seat constituency' (with John Butcher) 1898–1900 |
Succeeded by: John Butcher George Faber |
| Preceded by: Edwin Hughes |
Member of Parliament for Woolwich 1902–1903 |
Succeeded by: William Crooks |
| Preceded by: Sir Bertram Godfrey Falle |
Member of Parliament for Portsmouth January 1910–1916 |
Succeeded by: Sir Hedworth Meux |
Categories: Royal Navy admirals | Conservative MPs (UK) | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from Irish constituencies (1801-1922) | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from English constituencies | Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom | British Freemasons | Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath | Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order | Younger sons of marquesses | 1846 births | 1919 deaths | UK MPs 1874-1880 | UK MPs 1885-1886 | UK MPs 1886-1892 | UK MPs 1895-1900 | UK MPs 1900-1906 | UK MPs 1910 | UK MPs 1910-1918
