British Royal Navy officer (1842–1919)
Sir Henry Frederick Stephenson GCVO KCB (7 June 1842 – 16 December 1919) was a Royal Navy officer, courtier, and Arctic explorer.
Early life and career
Stephenson was the son of Henry Frederick Stephenson MP , (20 September 1790 – 30 July 1858, an illegitimate son of Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk )[1] [2] and Lady Mary Keppel.[1] His eldest brother, Sir Augustus Keppel Stephenson , was a Treasury Solicitor , and the second person to hold the office of Director of Public Prosecutions in England and Wales .[3]
On 18 December 1855 Stephenson joined the Royal Navy, becoming a Naval Cadet in HMS St Jean d'Acre , commanded by his uncle Henry Keppel , and serving in the Black Sea during the Crimean War . From September 1856 to April 1857 Stephenson served under Keppel as a cadet in HMS Raleigh , serving in the East Indies and China during the Second Anglo-Chinese War , until his ship wrecked near Macau when it struck an uncharted rock. All the crew were saved.[4] In June 1857 he served as a Midshipman in HMS Pearl , serving with Pearl ' s Naval Brigade during the Indian Mutiny of 1857,[4] during which he was Mentioned in Despatches three times.[5] [6] [7] In June 1861 he was promoted lieutenant in HMS Emerald , serving in the Channel Squadron .
On 30 March 1866 Stephenson was the lieutenant-in-command of HMS Heron , serving in North America and the West Indies , and becoming the commanding officer of a gun-boat on the Canadian lakes during the Fenian raids of 1866. From 18 January 1867 to 26 April 1868 he served as a lieutenant in HMS Rodney , commanded by Algernon C. F. Heneage, the flagship of Vice-Admiral Henry Keppel , serving in China . Following the death of Commander John T. Swann, Keppel promoted Stephenson to commander on 26 April 1868; the promotion was confirmed by the Admiralty on 7 July 1868.[8] From September 1868 to August 1871 he served in HMS Rattler and HMS Iron Duke , serving in the Far East , and later in HMS Caledonia in the Mediterranean [4] During this period he also served in the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert .[9] Promoted to captain on 6 January 1875, from 15 April 1875 he commanded HMS Discovery for the British Arctic Expedition of 1875–6, led by George Strong Nares in HMS Alert ,[10] as a result he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) (in the Civil Division) on 9 December 1876.[11] He was appointed Equerry -in-waiting to the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII of the United Kingdom ) on 5 July 1878[12] he held this post from time to time until 4 April 1893, when he was appointed an Extra Equerry .[13] [14] On 15 September 1880 he became captain of HMS Carysfort .[4] He participated in the recapture of Ismaïlia ,[15] and was awarded the 3rd Class Order of Osmanieh by the Khedive of Egypt in 1883.[16] He was appointed Aide-de-camp to the Queen on 1 January 1888.[17] He was additionally appointed CB in the military division on 23 May 1889.[18]
Later career
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Stephenson (second from left) Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron with Staff on board HMS Majestic 1896
On 4 August 1890 Stephenson was promoted rear admiral ,[19] serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Station from 4 May 1893 to 19 June 1896.[20] He was promoted vice admiral on 10 October 1896,[21] serving from 7 June 1897 to 20 December 1898 as Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron . He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) on 22 June 1897 during the celebrations of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee ,[22] he flew his flag from HMS Majestic during the Spithead Naval Review marking the Jubilee on 26 June 1897.[23] On the accession of Edward the VII, he became an Extra Naval Equerry,[24] he was promoted admiral on 7 December 1901,[25] and from 28 March 1902 to 1904 he was the First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII .[26] [27] He retired on 16 September 1904 with the rank of admiral.[28]
Stephenson was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in the November 1902 Birthday Honours list,[29] and was invested with the insignia by the King at Buckingham Palace on 18 December 1902.[30] On 24 July 1904 Stephenson was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod .[31] [32] In this capacity he served at a number of important state occasions, such as the State Opening of Parliament , the Coronation of George V,[33] the investiture of the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ) as a Knight of the Garter in 1911.[34] He was appointed an Extra Equerry to George V of the United Kingdom on 10 June 1910.[35]
Family
He married the Hon. Charlotte Elizabeth Eleanor Fraser on 5 December 1903. She died in 1923 and Stephenson died at home in London on 16 December 1919 aged 77.
References
Further reading
John Stephenson (ed.), A Royal Correspondence: Letters of King Edward VII and King George V to Admiral Sir Henry F. Stephenson (1938)
External links
Royal Navy Arctic exploration
Expeditions People Ships
International National Other