Years of service 1860 - 1911 Rank Admiral | Died 1926 Name Wilmot Fawkes | |
Commands held HMS RaleighHMS MercuryHMS TerribleHMS CanopusAustralia StationPlymouth Command | ||
Admiral Sir Wilmot Hawksworth Fawkes, (22 December 1846 – 29 May 1926) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.
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Naval career
Fawkes joined the Royal Navy in 1860 and by 1867 had become a Lieutenant. He served mainly in the Mediterranean on HMS Prince Consort and Research. In 1872 he matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge but did not graduate. In 1880 he was promoted to Commander and served on HMS Northampton on the North America and West Indies station. After a few years he returned to England to command of the Royal Yacht Osborne, a post he held for two years.
Promoted Captain in 1886, he was given command of HMS Raleigh before going on to be Naval Advisor to the Inspector General of Fortifications in 1891. He then took command of HMS Mercury on the China station returning to England in 1897 to be Private Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty in 1897. On 1 January 1899 he was appointed an Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria. He was appointed in command of the new battleship HMS Canopus which he commissioned in December 1899 for service in the Mediterranean Fleet, but in late 1900 was back in England as Private Secretary to Lord Selborne, First Lord of the Admiralty. Promoted to rear admiral on 1 January 1901, he was invested as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) by King Edward VII on 11 August 1902 for his part in organizing the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of the King. In October 1902 he was appointed in command of the Cruiser Squadron. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station in 1905, became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in 1908 and retired in 1911.
Retirement
Fawkes had married Juliana Hannah Mary Spicer in 1875 and when he retired in 1911 they lived at Steel Cross, Crowborough. His wife died in 1916, and Fawkes died suddenly in 1926 at Spye Park, Chippenham when he was visiting his brother-in-law Captain Spicer.