Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir Cecil Fiennes Thursby, (17 January 1861 – 28 May 1936) 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 F ...

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 ...

, after serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

mainly in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

Family

Thursby was born in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, son of

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

clergyman the Reverend Walter Thursby (died 1868). He married in 1899 Constance Ann, daughter of Cressett Thursby-Pelham of

Cound Cound is a village and civil parish on the west bank of the River Severn in the English county of Shropshire, about south east of the county town Shrewsbury. Once a busy and industrious river port Cound has now reverted to a quiet rural comm ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. The couple had a son and daughter.

Naval career

Thursby joined the

, aged twelve,Obituary. in 1874,Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> training on HMS ''Britannia''. He was present as a midshipman during the engagement with the

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian rebel ship

Huáscar Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Qui ...

in 1877 and also took part in the Niger expedition in 1882, as well as the Suakim Expedition to the Sudan in 1884-85 as Lieutenant aboard HMS ''Tyne''. In 1890, he earned a certificate from the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

for rescuing a drowning man off

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. From April 1899 to January 1902 he was in command of the training brig HMS ''St Vincent'', based at Portsmouth. Promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 31 December 1901, he was appointed in command of the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

HMS ''Triumph'' on 16 July 1902. He commanded the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

HMS ''King Alfred'' and later the

HMS ''Swiftsure'', from which he commanded a detached squadron in the eastern Mediterranean during a time of massacres by Turks in Asia Minor in 1909, gaining the thanks of the Admiralty and Foreign Office for protecting life and property. He commanded the International Squadron in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

in August 1909,The British in Crete, 1896 to 1913
/ref> earning thanks from four Great Powers for pacifying the island (which had not long united with Greece) and became Commodore at the Royal Naval Barracks at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

later that year. He went on to be Rear Admiral commanding the 3rd Battle Squadron in 1912. He served in

initially commanding his squadron in protecting the first movements of the British Expeditionary Force to France in 1914, before deploying to the Mediterranean as Commander of the 5th Battle Squadron in the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

and then as Commander of the 2nd Squadron landing

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

forces at

Gaba Tepe Kabatepe, or Gaba Tepe, is a headland overlooking the northern Aegean Sea in what is now the Gallipoli Peninsula National Historical Park ( tr), on the Gallipoli peninsula in northwestern Turkey. During the First World War, the headland was the ...

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

in 1915. He commanded the British

Adriatic Squadron The British Adriatic Squadron, or simply the Adriatic Squadron and later known as the British Adriatic Force, was a military formation of the Mediterranean Fleet during World War I based at Taranto from 1915–19. History In May 1915 Italy entere ...

in 1916, when it helped evacuate retreating Serbian troops, before becoming Commander-in-Chief, East Mediterranean later that year. In the latter post he was in charge of blockading the Dardanelles and the Turkish and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n coasts and protecting supply lines to

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. He became Commander of the Coastguards and Reserves in 1918. For his services in the war Thursby was mentioned in despatches five times, including by General

Sir Ian Hamilton Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, (16 January 1853 – 12 October 1947) was a British Army general who had an extensive British Imperial military career in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Hamilton was twice recommended for the Victoria Cro ...

at Gallipoli, and received the following foreign allied honours: *Grand Officer,

Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the w ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) (1917) *Grand Cross,

Order of the White Eagle (Serbia) The Royal Order of the White Eagle was a Royal Order in the Kingdom of Serbia (1883–1918) and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1945). It continues as a dynastic order, with appointments currently made by Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavi ...

*Commander,

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) (1918) *Grand Commander,

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

(

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

) (1918) *Grand Cross,

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

(

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

). After the War he became

and retired in 1920.

Retirement

After retirement he settled in Shropshire, making his home at The Styche,

Great Ryton Great Ryton is a small village in Shropshire, England, to the south of Shrewsbury. It is located less than to the northeast of the village of Dorrington and the A49 road there. Together with the neighbouring hamlet of Little Ryton and Ryton ...

, near Dorrington. He became in 1922 a J.P. for the county, at one point being chairman of Condover Petty Sessions, and a Deputy Lieutenant in 1923. He was a director of the

Royal Salop Infirmary The Parade Shops, formerly the Royal Salop Infirmary, is a specialist shopping centre at St Mary's Place in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building. History The original facility on the site was the Salop Infirmary design ...

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

and chairman of Condover Parish Council. A few weeks after a successful operation, he died at his home in May 1936. He was buried at St Peter's Church, Cound, on 31 May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thursby, Cecil 1861 births 1936 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy admirals of World War I Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Deputy Lieutenants of Shropshire English justices of the peace Grand Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George