Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford, (24 December 1838 – 30 January 1913) was a senior

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 ...

officer and

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutiona ...

from 24 March 1903 to 22 April 1909.

Naval career

Bedford was born on 24 December 1838, and joined the

at the age of 14. He later served in 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 ...

. Bedford was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station in 1892: in 1894, Bedford was involved in an action against

Nana Olomu Nana Olomu (also spelled ''Olumu'') (1852–1916) was an Itsekiri chief and merchant from the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. He was the fourth Itsekiri chief to hold the position of Governor of Benin River. B Background to conflict with ...

Chief of Benin. Brohomi was burnt down in 1894 by a combined force of the British Naval Brigade and the Niger Coast Protectorate Force under Bedford and the Consul-General Ralph Moor. It is believed over 500–600 slaves were freed during the operation. On 22 February 1895, a British naval force, under the command of Bedford at the behest of the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger C ...

, granted a royal charter by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

in 1886, laid siege on

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

, the chief city of the Ljo people of Nembe in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopoliti ...

. Bedford was appointed

Junior Naval Lord Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

in 1889 and Second Naval Lord in 1895. In 1899 Bedford was appointed commander-in-chief of the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when th ...

, serving with the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...

. The squadron under his command visited

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

and

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

in February 1900. He held the North America post until 15 July 1902, when he was succeeded by Vice Admiral Sir Archibald Douglas, and left homebound with the ''Crescent''. Following the succession of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

, Bedford 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 ...

in the 1902 Coronation Honours published on 26 June 1902, and received the insignia in an investiture on board the royal yacht ''Victoria and Albert'' outside

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 ...

on 15 August 1902, the day before the

fleet review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

held there to mark the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

. Bedford took part in the review with the ''Crescent'', before the ship was paid off. He was promoted to the rank of admiral on 3 October 1902.

Governor of Western Australia

Bedford was appointed

in 1903. On 4 June 1907 he officiated at the opening of the Royal Fremantle Golf Club in Western Australia, but it was not until March 1909 that the complete 18 hole course was available. Bedford acquired Globe Hill Station with Thomas Frederick de Pledge in 1909 for £35,000.

Memorials

A memorial to Bedford stands in the entrance lobby of the Chapel at

Greenwich Hospital, London Greenwich Hospital was a permanent home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy, which operated from 1692 to 1869. Its buildings, in Greenwich, London, were later used by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the University of Greenwich, and a ...

Family

Bedford married Ethel Turner, daughter of E. R. Turner, of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, in 1880. Lady Bedford accompanied her husband and was mistress of Admiralty House in Halifax, Nova Scotia, until 1902. She took an interest in benevolent work, and frequently performed as a singer at concerts, for charitable purposes. The couple's son was Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Edward Frederick Bedford, who married Miss Gladys Mort of Sydney, Australia. While residing at Easthampnett, their son Frederick, named after his grandfather, who had become a lieutenant in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

, was killed in action over St Pauls Bay,

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 ...

on 21 February 1942, aged 22 years, and was buried in Capuccini Naval Cemetery in Kalkara, Malta.

Legacy

Two suburbs of Perth are named after Bedford –

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

(located in the

City of Bayswater The City of Bayswater is a local government area in the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about northeast of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and has a population of 69,283 as at the 2021 Census. The C ...

) and Bedfordale (located in the

City of Armadale The City of Armadale is a local government area in the southeastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about southeast of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of , much of which is state forest ris ...

). Additionally, a pastoral lease in the Kimberley,

Bedford Downs Station Bedford Downs, or Bedford Downs Station, is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. It is situated about west of Warmun and north of Halls Creek in the Kimberley region. Both the station and nearby Mount ...

, is named after Bedford, as is nearby Mount Bedford.

Affiliations

*TS Bedford,

Australian Navy Cadets The Australian Navy Cadets (ANC) is a voluntary youth organisation owned and sponsored by the Royal Australian Navy. Together with the Australian Air Force Cadets and Australian Army Cadets, it forms the Australian Defence Force Cadets. It ...

– (Former Unit)

Notes

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Frederick George Denham 1838 births 1913 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Governors of Western Australia Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Lords of the Admiralty People of colonial Nigeria