Andrew Bickford

Admiral

Andrew Bickford

CMG
In The Sketch, 31 October 1900
Born(1844-07-16)16 July 1844
Madras, India
Died9 October 1927 (1927-10-10) (aged 83)
Hove, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
RankAdmiral
CommandsHMS Thalia
Pacific Station
Battles / warsAnglo-Egyptian War
AwardsCompanion 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

Bickford was educated at the South Devon Collegiate School and Stubbington House School.[1]

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, was promoted to captain in 1884,[3] and was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1885 for "special services in connection with the release of the crew of the Nisero".[4] He 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.[5] Promoted to vice admiral in 1904[6] and to full Admiral in 1908, he retired later that year.[2]

Legacy

The Bickford Tower erected at Esquimalt, British Columbia for signalling purposes in 1901 is named after him.[2]

Family

Bickford married Kathleen Dore on 16 April 1868 in the parish church of Queenstown (Cobh).[7] She was the daughter of Dr. Patrick Dore of Skibbereen who had died in 1847 from lung inflammation during the Irish famine.[8][9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

References

  1. ^ "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)
  2. ^ a b c d Naval & Military Museum Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "No. 25429". The London Gazette. 2 January 1885. p. 26.
  4. ^ "No. 25461". The London Gazette. 14 April 1885. p. 1669.
  5. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36720. London. 20 March 1902. p. 10.
  6. ^ "Royal Navy Flag Officers of the Dreadnought Era 1904-1945". Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  7. ^ "Marriages". No. 18 April 1868. Cork Examiner. Note: Notice in the paper say Kathleen was daughter of the late Dr Dore.
  8. ^ "Deaths". Cork Examiner. 1 February 1847.
  9. ^ Note: In his book Light Airs and Gentle Breezes, Richard F. Bickford, gives date of Dr Dore's death as being much later.
  10. ^ Cormac Ó Gráda, University College Dublin. "Ireland's Great Famine". Economic History Association. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Obituary: Admiral Bickford". The Daily Telegraph. London. 11 October 1927. p. 12. Retrieved 16 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

  • 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
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