Editing George Tryon (section)

==Commander (1860–1866)==
Tryon was placed on half pay after promotion to commander in October 1860. In June 1861 he was selected to become second in command of [[HMS Warrior (1860)|HMS ''Warrior'']], the world's first ocean-going iron-hulled armoured [[battleship]]. ''Warrior'' was still under construction, so temporarily he was appointed to Fisguard. ''Warrior's'' sister ship {{HMS|Black Prince|1861|2}} was a year later in entering service, but in November 1862 the two ships carried out speed trials, where ''Warrior'' was deemed to be the faster. Although the ships' armour was considered impregnable at the time they were constructed, they immediately instigated an arms race between armour and gun designers which continued up to World War II, where each successive ship had to have more of each to remain ahead. This meant that despite her initial claim to invulnerability, she rapidly became obsolete.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 79–85</ref>

In March 1863 ''Warrior'' acted as escort for Princess [[Alexandra of Denmark]], who came to Britain to marry the Prince of Wales (the future [[Edward VII]]). Alexandra was much impressed by the station-keeping of the much larger warship, so much so that her signal to the ship, 'Princess is much pleased,' was inscribed into the ship's wheel. In the autumn the Channel fleet toured ports around the coast of Britain where ''Warrior'' was much admired.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 88–</ref>

In July 1864 Tryon was appointed to command {{HMS|Surprise|1856|6}}, a 680-ton screw- and sail-propelled gunboat in the Mediterranean.  Tryon was given the task of rescuing the British barque ''Energy'', which had run aground on the coast of Sicily seven miles from [[Pozzallo]], and had been abandoned. In two days the ship was refloated and taken back to Malta. Admiral Sir [[Robert Smart (Royal Navy officer)|Robert Smart]], Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean, recommended Tryon and his crew should receive salvage for the ship, and the sum of £595 was granted to be divided between them. Once again Tryon received a commendation in the Admiral's report. During this time he wrote a report on punishments within the navy, which was forwarded by his commander to the Admiralty. He recommended that fines to sailors absent from duty or incapable should be limited to forfeiting pay for the time they failed to carry out their duties, and this was adopted.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 91–92</ref>

In February 1866 ''Surprise'' was visiting the Greek island of [[Santorini]], which is part of the rim of a volcano. The ship witnessed clouds of steam and explosions as a new island 100 yards long and 50 wide had just begun to appear from the seabed a few days earlier. The eruption completely filled a channel through Santorini and then began to encroach on houses on the land. ''Surprise'' visited a number of ports around the Mediterranean, reporting on their facilities for the Admiralty.

An issue arose as to whether the Admiralty should retain control of warehouses at Gibraltar, which were then underused. Tryon reported that in the event of war, stores immediately available at Gibraltar might be vitally important to the fleet, and that at such a time it would be virtually impossible to get back storage space relinquished in peace time. He was one of the few at that time to recognise the port's strategic significance for the fleet.

''Surprise'' returned to England to pay off at Plymouth Sound in April 1866. On arrival, Tryon found waiting his promotion to post-captain on 11 April 1866, which he had achieved by the comparatively early age of 34.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 93–98</ref>