Andrew Bickford
Admiral Andrew Kennedy Bickford | |
|---|---|
.png) In The Sketch, 31 October 1900 | |
| Born | 16 July 1844 Madras, India |
| Died | 9 October 1927 (aged 83) Hove, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | HMS Thalia Pacific Station |
| Battles / wars | Anglo-Egyptian War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George |
Admiral Andrew Kennedy Bickford CMG (16 July 1844 – 9 October 1927) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station.
Early life
[edit]Bickford was educated at the South Devon Collegiate School and Stubbington House School.[1]
Naval career
[edit]Bickford joined the Royal Navy in 1858 and took part in the action involving the Huáscar in 1877.[2] He commanded HMS Thalia during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 and became Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station in 1900.[2] His flagship in the Pacific was HMS Warspite until March 1902, when he hoisted his flag on board the first class cruiser HMS Grafton, and Warspite returned home.[3] Promoted to vice admiral in 1904[4] and to full Admiral in 1908, he retired later that year.[2]
Legacy
[edit]The Bickford Tower erected at Esquimalt, British Columbia for signalling purposes in 1901 is named after him.[2]
Family
[edit]Bickford married Kathleen Dore on 16 April 1868 in the parish church of Queenstown (Cobh).[5] She was the daughter of Dr. Patrick Dore of Skibbereen who had died in 1847 from lung inflammation during the Irish famine.[6][7] The mortality rate amongst physicians in Ireland at this time was in the order of 25%, due to the outbreak of deadly infectious diseases contracted by many of the weakened famine victims.[8] Kathleen's mother, Catherine Power, was the sister of Maurice Power, Member of Parliament for Cork 1847–1852.
Bickford died at his home in Hove on 9 October 1927.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "BICKFORD, Admiral Andrew Kennedy". Who Was Who. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press. December 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2012.(subscription required)
- ^ a b c d Naval & Military Museum Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36720. London. 20 March 1902. p. 10.
- ^ "Royal Navy Flag Officers of the Dreadnought Era 1904-1945". Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
- ^ "Marriages". No. 18 April 1868. Cork Examiner. Note: Notice in the paper say Kathleen was daughter of the late Dr Dore.
- ^ "Deaths". Cork Examiner. 1 February 1847.
- ^ Note: In his book Light Airs and Gentle Breezes, Richard F. Bickford, gives date of Dr Dore's death as being much later.
- ^ Cormac Ó Gráda, University College Dublin. "Ireland's Great Famine". Economic History Association. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ "Obituary: Admiral Bickford". The Daily Telegraph. London. 11 October 1927. p. 12. Retrieved 16 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Further reading
[edit]- Light Airs and Gentle Breezes - a victorian naval life Story: The Life & Times of Admiral Bickford by Richard E. Bickford (his grandson), published by Tartan Edge, 1996