Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often regar ...

John Bythesea (15 June 1827 – 18 May 1906) was an officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. He was an English recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

forces. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in 1854 during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

. However, in 1872 he ruined his career when he put his battleship aground at Pantellaria, resulting in his dismissal from his ship; he was never employed at sea again.

Early life

John Bythesea was born on 15 June 1827 in Freshford, Somerset, the son of Rev. George Bythesea. He entered the

in 1841, and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 12 June 1849. On 22 June 1850, he was posted to the 46-gun screw-frigate commanded by Captain

Robert Spencer Robinson Admiral Sir Robert Spencer Robinson, (6 January 1809 – 27 July 1889) was a British naval officer, who served as two five-year terms as Controller of the Navy from February 1861 to February 1871, and was therefore responsible for the procuremen ...

, Lisbon. He stayed with ''Arrogant'' when she was recommissioned at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

by Captain Stephen Greville Fremantle on 27 September 1852. Fremantle was succeeded by Captain Hastings Yelverton on 24 October 1853. She served in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

in 1854 in the

Action for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross

On 9 August 1854 in the Baltic, Lieutenant Bythesea obtained permission to land on the island of

Vårdö Vårdö is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is of land. The municipality is unilingually Swedish. ...

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

off

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

with a Swedish-speaking crewman Stoker William Johnstone, to intercept important despatches from the Czar which were being sent via Vårdö to Bomarsund. "They lay in wait for three days until five Russians arrived on 12 August with the postbags. Johnstone ambushed the men, at Bythesea's signal, attempting to throw a rope around the group whilst Bythesea provided cover with just one pistol. Two of the men dropped their bags and fled while the remaining three finally surrendered. Bythesea ordered the men back to their own boat and then forced them to row it back to ''Arrogant'', with the mailbags."

Career up to ''Lord Clyde''

On 12 March 1855, Lieutenant Bythesea was appointed captain of the paddle gun-vessel and served in the Flying Squadron in the Baltic. On 10 May 1856 he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

, and on 20 May, Lieutenant John Bousquet Field replaced him as captain of ''Locust''. On 4 March 1858 he took over as captain of the 17-gun screw-sloop (also spelled ''Cruiser'') from

Charles Fellowes Vice Admiral Charles Fellowes (19 October 1823 – 8 March 1886) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet. Naval career Fellowes joined the Royal Navy in 1836. He fought in the Second Opium War, and as ...

. At the time, ''Cruizer'' was serving in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The te ...

and saw action in the 2nd Anglo-Chinese War. ''Cruizer''

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

at Portsmouth on 1 May 1861. On 15 May 1861, he was promoted to

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 ...

. In 1862, he served on the Commission to examine Canadian defences. On 30 March 1863 he commissioned the 12-gun screw-corvette at Woolwich. ''Archer'' served on the West Africa Station. Bythesea was invalided out, and replaced by Captain Francis Marten on 12 April 1864. From 1 April 1866 until 1867, he was carried on the books of the flagship of the North American Squadron, HMS ''Duncan'', for special service as Naval Attache in Washington, D.C. From 6 May 1867 until 29 November 1870 he was captain of the screw-frigate . Bythesea commanded her for the entire commission. She served first in the Channel squadron, then the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

, then joining the flying squadron at

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest ...

on 4 August 1869.

Loss of HMS ''Lord Clyde''

On 14 September 1871 he commissioned the battleship at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

and took her out to the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

. In March 1872, ''Lord Clyde'': : "was lying at

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

and received a wire from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

to proceed at once to the help of a British steamer aground on the island of Pantellaria, on which service she got far worst aground herself. Anchors were laid out, coal jettisoned, guns, ammunition and stores hoisted over the side into small casters in the island hired on the spot, and everything possible done to lighten her, but she remained a fixture except to sway in the swell from the open sea, strain her back, and wrench off her sternpost, rudderpost and rudder. It took some time to summon help, as that was a full generation before the days of wireless telegraphy and Pantellaria had no cables; but an officer was dispatched by a passing steamer to Malta, where was lying as flagship and came at once to pull her crippled sister off the floor and get her to bed. This proved an extremely difficult job even when she was afloat again, as she yawed about so violently without a rudder when in tow, as to pull the sister in charge all over the place. It took three days to conduct erring footsteps a distance that could ordinarily be covered in less than one, and all the while she was leaking at a steady rate of 2 feet per hour. On arrival at Malta she had to be docked with great care on account of the badly damaged state of her bottom; and the yard reported that it would take six months to repair." The

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of mem ...

in April 1872 severely reprimanded Bythesea and the Navigating Officer, who were dismissed from their ship and neither of them were ever employed at sea again. ''Lord Clyde'' was never commissioned again.

Marriage and retirement

Bythesea married firstly Helen Dunbar Brogden (née Milne) on 7 July 1866 at the British Legation in Brussels. His wife had formerly been married to the iron master James Brogden but in 1865 had been divorced for adultery. This marriage too ended in divorce in 1873, Bythesea also citing his wife's adultery. He married secondly Fanny Belinda Prior in 1874, His turn for promotion to the rank of Rear-Admiral came on 5 August 1877 but, because he did not have the requisite six years' sea time as a Captain, he was placed on the Retired List with the rank of Rear-Admiral. He served as consulting naval officer to the Indian Government from 1874, until the Indian Navy was restructured in 1880. He was made a Companion of the Bath (CB) and a Companion of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No app ...

(CIE) in 1878. He died at South Kensington on 18 May 1906 and was buried at

Bath Abbey Cemetery The Anglican Bath Abbey Cemetery, officially dedicated as the Cemetery of St Peter and St Paul (the patron saints that Bath Abbey is dedicated to), was laid out by noted cemetery designer and landscape architect John Claudius Loudon (1783–184 ...

, Somerset.
Burial locations VC holders in Bath.

The medal

His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

, London.

References

Notes

Bibliography

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Avon)''
Online biography John Bythesea

Online history HMS Arrogant

Online history HMS Locust

Online history HMS Cruizer

Online history HMS Archer

Online history HMS Phoebe

Online history HMS Lord Clyde

British Embassy Helsinki – Bomarsund page
* Ballard, Admiral G.A. ''The Black Battlefleet'', Nautical Publications Co. and Society for Nautical Research, 1980.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bythesea, John 1827 births 1906 deaths People from Bath and North East Somerset Royal Navy rear admirals British recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy personnel of the Second Opium War Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Royal Navy officers who were court-martialled