Admiral Sir Thomas Sturges Jackson, KCVO (6 March 1842 – 9 September 1934)JACKSON, Adm. Sir Thomas Sturges’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016 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 was Admiral-Superintendent of Devonport Dockyard.

Naval career

Jackson entered the

in 1856, and served in the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, where he was present at the capture of Canton in 1857, and the capture of

Peiho Forts The Taku Forts or Dagu Forts, also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban center. History The f ...

in 1858, for which he received the China medal, with Canton and Taku clasps. 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. ...

on 1 November 1873, and

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 14 October 1881. He was naval officer in charge in

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 His ...

1892–1895, and was promoted to flag rank as a

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 20 October 1896. Jackson was appointed

Admiral-Superintendent The admiral-superintendent was the Royal Navy officer in command of a larger Naval Dockyard. Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham all had admiral-superintendents, as did some other dockyards in the United Kingdom and abroad at certain times. The admir ...

of HM Dockyard Devonport on 7 July 1899, and served as such until 11 July 1902. He was promoted to Vice admiral on 24 January 1902, and knighted as a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(KCVO) on 8 March 1902, during a visit 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 his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

and Queen

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

to Devonport and the dockyard. He was promoted to

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 5 July 1905, and placed on the retired list at his own request later the same month.

Personal life

Jackson was born in 1842 in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

, London, to the Rev. Thomas Jackson and Elizabeth Fiske. He married first, in 1867, Helen Gordon, daughter of C. A. Gordon, of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. She died in 1884, and he remarried, in 1892, Marian Crane, daughter of Hon. W. H. Crane, of

Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville is a town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate liberal arts university. Historically based on agriculture, shipbuilding, and manufacturing, the economy is now driven ...

. Lady Jackson was godmother to , launched and christened at Devonport Dockyard on 18 June 1902. She died in 1920. He had a total of three sons and six daughters with his two wives, including Vice-Admiral

Sir Thomas Jackson Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1st Baronet (21 December 1835 – 7 November 1924) was one of the most distinguished British architects of his generation. He is best remembered for his work at Oxford, including the Oxford Military College at Cowl ...

, KBE (1868-1945), and Helen Douglas Jackson (1869-1949), wife of Major-General

Clifford Coffin Major General Clifford Coffin (10 February 1870 – 4 February 1959) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

. Jackson died in September 1934 in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturges Jackson, Thomas 1842 births 1934 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order