Admiral Sir Augustus Phillimore (24 May 1822 – 25 November 1897) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer who went on to be

Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this offic ...

. He is credited with first proposing the creation of a modern naval dockyard in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Early life

Phillimore was born on 24 May 1822 at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

in Westminster, London the son of

Joseph Phillimore Joseph Phillimore (1775–1855) was an English civil lawyer and politician, Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford from 1809. Life The eldest son of Joseph Phillimore, vicar of Orton on the Hill, Leicestershire, by Mary, daughter of John Mac ...

later a professor of civil law at Oxford and his wife Elizabeth. He was educated at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

before joining the Royal Navy College at Portsmouth.

Naval career

Phillimore joined the

in 1835.Wiliam Loney RN
/ref> He served in the Carlist Wars and in the First Opium War. Promoted Commander in 1852, he was given command of HMS ''Medea'' in 1853 and, promoted Captain in 1855, he commanded HMS ''Curacoa'' and then HMS ''Defence''. He was appointed Senior officer Jamaica Division in 1868 and in charge of

Jamaica Dockyard Jamaica Dockyard also known as Port Royal Dockyard was a British Royal Navy Dockyard located at Port Royal, Jamaica. It was established 1675 and closed in 1905. The dockyard was initially administered by the Navy Board then later the Board of Adm ...

. Then Senior officer at

in 1869 when he would have stayed in The Mount (Gibraltar). In 1871 he made the proposal that a new naval dockyard should be constructed in Gibraltar. Phillimore's scheme lied dormant in the Admiralty for 22 years before it was put to Parliament in 1895. The idea was to take five years and just under £1.5m pounds. In 1896 the scheme was further extended with the creation of new moles and three dry docks and a new budget of £4.5m pounds. The transformation was large and the government were still passing enabling legislation in 1905. Today the docks are known as

Gibdock Gibdock is a shipyard in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It formerly operated as a Royal Navy Dockyard. Royal Navy Dockyard HM Dockyard, Gibraltar was first developed in the 18th century. After the Capture of Gibraltar, victuall ...

. Phillimore became Second-in-command of the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

in January 1876 and Superintendent of the Royal Naval Reserve in November 1876. Promoted Admiral in October 1884, he was made

in December 1884. He retired in 1887.

Family

In 1864 he married Harriet Eleanor Fortescue; they had six sons (George Grenville Phillimore, Charles Augustus Phillimore, Captain Valentine Egerton Bagot Phillimore, Admiral Sir Richard Phillimore, and John Swinnerton Phillimore Reverend Edward Granville Phillimore) and one daughter Violet Elizabeth Phillimore. He died at his home at Shedfield House near

Botley, Hampshire Botley is a historic village in Hampshire, England. The village was once described as “the most delightful village in the world” by 18th century journalist and radical politician William Cobbett. The village was developed as a natural cross ...

on 25th November 1897.The following obituary for Augustus Phillimore appeared in the Times newspaper
Retrieved 8/5/21.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillimore, Augustus 1822 births 1897 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from Westminster People educated at Westminster School, London Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society People from Botley, Hampshire

Early life

Naval career

Family

See also

References