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 ...

Maurice Frederick FitzHardinge Berkeley, 1st Baron FitzHardinge, (3 January 1788 – 17 October 1867) 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 Fr ...

officer. As a junior officer he commanded gunboats on the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...

, reinforcing the

Lines of Torres Vedras The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, ...

, in Autumn 1810 during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

and, as a

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 ...

, he served on the coast of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

taking part in the capture of

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

in November 1840 during the Oriental Crisis. He also served as Whig Member of Parliament for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...

and became First Naval Lord in the Aberdeen ministry in June 1854 and in that role focussed on manning the fleet and in carrying out reforms and improvements in the food, clothing, and pay of seamen.

Early career

Born the illegitimate son of Frederick Berkeley, 5th Earl of Berkeley and Mary Berkeley (née Cole), Berkeley entered the

in June 1802. Promoted to lieutenant on 9 July 1808, he joined the

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

HMS ''Hydra'' on the east coast of Spain and then commanded gunboats on the

, reinforcing the

, in Autumn 1810 during the

.Dod, pp. 115–116 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. ...

on 19 December 1810, he was given command of the sixth-rate HMS ''Vestal''. After being promoted to

on 7 June 1814 and, having become a Deputy Lieutenant of

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

on 18 June 1824, he took command of the fifth-rate HMS ''Semiramis'', flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Cork in May 1828. Entering politics, Berkeley became Whig Member of Parliament for

in the 1831 general election. He resigned his seat in April 1833 following his appointment as Fourth Naval Lord in the Grey ministry that month and remained in office until December 1834. He successfully became Member of Parliament for Gloucester again at the 1835 general election but, although he secured his old job as Fourth Naval Lord back again in the Second Melbourne ministry in July 1837, he was defeated at the 1837 general election. He remained in office as Fourth Sea Lord but became concerned over reductions in manning and resigned in March 1839. Returning to sea, Berkeley was given command of the second-rate HMS ''Thunderer'' in January 1840 and served on the coast of

taking part in the capture of

in November 1840 during the Oriental Crisis. For this he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregiv ...

and received the

Naval Gold Medal The Naval Gold Medal was awarded between 1793 and 1815 to senior officers of the Royal Navy for specified actions. Two different sizes were struck. 22 large medals were awarded to flag officers (admirals), commodores and captains of the fleet ...

. At the 1841 general election Berkeley returned to Parliament as Member for Gloucester again and, while still serving in Parliament, he became the Third Naval Lord in the First Russell ministry in July 1846. He was also appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

on 17 November 1846.

Senior command

Berkeley went on to be Second Naval Lord in the same ministry in December 1847 and, having been promoted to the rank of

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 regarde ...

on 30 October 1849, he briefly became First Naval Lord in the same ministry in February 1852 but left office when the Government fell from power the following month. He became Second Naval Lord in the Aberdeen ministry in January 1853 and First Naval Lord in the same ministry in June 1854. As First Naval Lord he focussed on manning the fleet and in carrying out reforms and improvements in the food, clothing, and pay of seamen. Having been advanced to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

on 5 July 1855, become a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

on 13 August 1855 and been promoted to vice-admiral on 21 October 1856, he lost his seat in Parliament at the 1857 general election and resigned as First Naval Lord suffering from ill health in November 1857. On 26 February 1861, after inheriting his brother's estates, Berkeley unsuccessfully claimed the Barony of Berkeley as being one by tenure of Berkeley Castle. He was advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

on 28 June 1861 and was created Baron FitzHardinge, of the city and county of Bristol on 3 August 1861. He was promoted to full

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 ...

on 15 January 1862 and died at

Berkeley Castle Berkeley Castle ( ; historically sometimes spelled as ''Berkley Castle'' or ''Barkley Castle'') is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. The castle's origins date back to the 11th century, and it has been desi ...

in Gloucestershire on 17 October 1867.

Family

In 1823 Berkeley married Lady Charlotte Lennox, daughter of

Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond General Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, 4th Duke of Aubigny, (9 December 176428 August 1819) was a Scottish peer, soldier, politician, and Governor-general of British North America. Background Richmond was born to Ge ...

; after his first wife died he married Lady Charlotte Moreton, daughter of Thomas Reynolds-Moreton, 1st Earl of Ducie in 1834.

References

Sources

*
William Loney
Career History

External links

* * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzhardinge, Maurice Berkeley, 1st Baron 1788 births 1867 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of Sussex First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Royal Navy admirals UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs who were granted peerages Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

People from Berkeley, Gloucestershire Place of birth missing Members of Parliament for Gloucester Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Lords of the Admiralty