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George Tryon
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==Captain (1866β1884)== Tryon now spent eighteen months away from ships. Aside from time on half pay on leave, he attended the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth to study steam technology. In August 1867 while touring Norway on a fishing expedition, he received a recall and appointment as 'additional captain' to {{HMS|Octavia}}. ''Octavia'' was the flagship of the East India Station commanded by Commodore [[Leopold Heath]]. Tryon was attached to ''Octavia'', but his duties were to act as transport officer at [[Annesley Bay]], which was to be used as a staging post for troops and supplies for Sir [[Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala|Robert Napier's]] [[1868 Expedition to Abyssinia|expedition]] to [[Amba Mariam|Magdala]] in Abyssinia. Tryon arrived in Bombay on 10 October 1867 where preparations were already underway. 291 transport ships were chartered, mainly from Bombay but some coming from England via the Cape of Good Hope. The advance party went to [[Zula|Zoulla]] in Annesley Bay in November, described as one of the hottest places on earth. The expedition delivered a fighting force of 4,000 men to Magdala out of total 13,000 soldiers and 60,000 people involved all together. 36,000 animals, mainly for transport, had to be taken to Zoulla. There was no drinking water, so 30,000 tons had to be distilled by the ships' steam engines using 8,000 tons of coal in the process, with ships held at anchor with their engines running. Tryon's duties involved early morning meetings ashore with military authorities, days spent unloading and organising ships, and evenings spent in preparation for the next. Tryon was commended for his organisational skills and tact in dealing with all the disparate parties and complaining ships' captains. Approximately half his staff was invalided out because of the heat during the six months' stay, with the rest all suffering. When he left he was presented with a scroll recording the appreciation of his efforts by the captains of the transport fleet, and later in England was presented with a specially commissioned dinner service decorated with scenes commemorating the campaign.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 99β117</ref> He was awarded the CB for his services in Abyssinia.<ref>Fitzgerald p. 244</ref> Although he continued working as hard as ever throughout the campaign, Tryon's health suffered. He injured his leg while fighting a fire on board one of the ships, and on returning to England, at first could not walk a modest distance without resting. In April 1869 he married Clementina Heathcote, and had time away from the navy for the next two years. Clementina was the daughter of [[Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baron Aveland|Gilbert Heathcote]] (later Baron Aveland) who was a neighbour of the Tryon's and had been a friend since childhood. Their honeymoon was spent at [[Bulby]] Hall, home of Clementina's brother, the [[Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster|Earl of Ancaster]]. They then travelled in Europe for three months before renting [[Tickhill Castle]] near [[Doncaster]].<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 117β120</ref> In April 1871, Tryon was appointed private secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, [[George Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen|George Goschen]]. The appointment normally went to an experienced captain with ten years' service, whereas Tryon had yet to serve at sea in that rank. The post carried considerable influence, equivalent in practice to that of other Lords of the Admiralty, in advising upon naval appointments. Goschen said of Tryon, "I had an immensely high opinion not only of his naval knowledge, but of his general savoir faire, rapidity of judgement, decision, extraordinary shrewdness, and great knowledge of men. He was somewhat cynical in his views of human nature but his cynicism was of a good humoured and harmless cast."<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 121β122</ref> A story was related of the Admiralty board travelling to Dover to meet the Shah of Persia in 1872. At the railway station it was found they would have to walk some distance through a large crowd. Tryon commented to a friend that he would get one of the admirals to carry his bag for him, which he duly did by asking the admiral to hold his bag while he opened a way through the crowd. Tryon then avoided reclaiming his luggage until they reached their destination.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 125β126</ref> ===HMS ''Raleigh''=== [[File:HMS Raleigh (1873) and Serapis(1866).jpg|thumb|right|{{HMS|Raleigh|1874|6}} and {{HMS|Serapis|1866|6}}]] Tryon left the Admiralty to take up command of {{HMS|Raleigh|1874|6}}, a new ship under construction. He was attached to the depot ship {{HMS|Pembroke}} about a month before, until ''Raleigh'' was commissioned on 13 January 1874. Tryon took the opportunity to suggest improvements to her final fitting out. After a cruise of Ireland she was attached to the 'Flying Squadron' commanded by Rear Admiral Sir [[George Granville Randolph]]. ''Raleigh'' proved to be the fastest of the six ships under steam, but still also the second fastest under sail alone, after ''Immortalite''. The squadron set out on a tour to Gibraltar, then South America where, at the Falkland Islands, officers from the ships hired a schooner to tour around and organised hunting parties across the island. Next they went to South Africa, arriving at the Cape of Good Hope on 6 March 1875. There ''Raleigh'' took on board Sir [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Garnet Wolesley]] and his staff to transport them to Natal. The remainder of the squadron returned to the Mediterranean, where ''Raleigh '' joined them later. At Gibraltar, Randolph was replaced by Rear Admiral [[Rowley Lambert]], and the whole squadron was ordered to go to Bombay, to attend the Prince of Wales who would shortly be making a tour of India.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 128β138</ref> Tryon showed concern for the wellbeing of his men and the better ordering of the Navy. Before ''Raleigh'' had left England, thirty men had deserted from the ship, and more took the opportunity to escape from ships of the squadron at Montevideo. Tryon wrote a memo to the Admiralty recommending that the penalties for desertion should be reduced, suggesting that a number of those deserting were of little use to the navy and should be let go, while others who were good seamen, but who had some urgent personal reason for absconding, were afraid to return later because of the severe penalties. He also instituted a programme of weighing his men and ensuring they got enough food, noting that if, as frequently happened on board ship, the men weighed less by the end of a tour than at the start, then likely their strength and fitness was reduced too. He instituted a 'dry canteen' on board to try to improve their diet.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 133β134, 137β138</ref> Travelling to the cape, a man fell overboard in high seas. Tryon had to make the difficult decision whether to try to rescue him, because any small boat risked sinking, taking her crew down also. However, the man was seen to be swimming strongly, so the ship was halted and a boat launched to rescue him. The boat got away well, though was sucked back under the stern of the ship before breaking free. The ship then had to manoeuvre under sail, tacking as best she could to follow the boat while keeping it on the safe side for recovery. All went well, and Tryon received congratulations from the other captains for his skill in carrying out the rescue.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 139β141</ref> The squadron arrived in Bombay shortly before the Prince, who was travelling on {{HMS|Serapis|1866|6}} and {{ship|HMY|Osborne|1870|6}}, and a number of grand events took place. On one evening a dinner was arranged for the Prince in the Caves of Elephanta, on an island near Bombay. The ships were arranged around the approach with illuminations and fireworks brought from England. As the Prince's ship approached, rockets were set off, one or two hundred at a time. One of ''Raleigh''{{'}}s sails caught fire, but preparations had been made in anticipation that something would catch fire in the rigging, and it was soon put out. As ''Raleigh'' was the only ship fast enough to keep up with ''Serapis'' and ''Osborne'', Tryon then accompanied the royal progress to Goa, Bepore, and Colombo, where the party disembarked for a tour of Ceylon. ''Raleigh'' was required to accommodate all the newspaper correspondents who wished to accompany the Prince. The royal party rejoined at Madras to travel to Calcutta, where ''Raleigh'' had to leave the party, being too big to navigate the [[Hooghly River|Hooghly]]. ''Raleigh'' rejoined once more at Bombay for the return trip to England via the Suez canal, setting out on 13 March 1876. Now she was required to accommodate gifts given to the Prince, including two tigers, a leopard, a number of birds and smaller animals, which occupied the space previously taken by the journalists. The remainder of the Flying Squadron left for China. The royal party arrived at Portsmouth on 11 May and were met at [[The Needles]] by the Princess of Wales. The whole party proceeded through the [[Solent]] with an elephant standing on each of the paddleboxes on ''Osborne''.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 142β146</ref> ''Raleigh'' was refitted and sent to join the Mediterranean squadron, where tension was once again rising with Turkey and Russia. In autumn 1876 Tryon was at Bashika Bay, where he had been twenty-two years before. He noted the improved health of the sailors this time, which he ascribed to the fact that fresh water was now produced on board ship rather than having to be brought aboard. The political tension came to nothing, and the tour was highlighted by escort duty to the [[Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia|Duchess of Edinburgh]] aboard the Russian Imperial yacht, hunting trips and visits to places of interest. In June 1877 Tryon was replaced by Captain Jago as commander of ''Raleigh'' after a tour of three and a half years and returned home.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 146β151</ref> ===Committee to revise the Signal Book=== From June 1877 to October 1878, Tryon remained in England. In January 1878 he was appointed to a committee set up to revise the general signal book. President of the committee was Rear Admiral Hope, other members were Captain [[Philip Howard Colomb|Philip Colomb]], Captain [[Lord Walter Kerr|Walter Kerr]], Commanders Bruce and Romilly. Colomb and Tryon represented divergent views on signalling, but all members of the committee were experts in the field while Kerr and Hope held the balance.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 154β156</ref> ===HMS ''Monarch'' 1878=== On 1 October 1878, Tryon was appointed to {{HMS|Monarch|1868|6}} of the Mediterranean fleet under Admiral [[Geoffrey Hornby]], joining her at Artaki in the Sea of Marmora on 18 November. The British were concerned to protect the Bulair peninsula from Russian advances and had stationed ships at Gallipoli and in the Gulf of Xeros so as to have artillery commanding possible approaches. The main part of the British fleet stayed in the eastern part of the Sea of Marmora during the crisis.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 156β157</ref> Tryon was required to sit on the court of enquiry into the explosion of a 12-inch (305 mm) gun on board {{HMS|Thunderer|1872|6}}. On 2 January 1879 while carrying out target practice in the [[Gulf of Δ°zmit|Gulf of Ismid]], one of the guns burst, killing seven men and injuring thirty-six. This was of considerable concern since similar guns were used by many ships. It was eventually concluded that the muzzle-loading gun had been double loaded, which produced exactly the same result when tested on another gun. In the summer of 1879 ''Monarch'' cruised the Levant, visiting various places where Tryon would land, both for pleasure but also seeking useful information. Britain had just acquired Cyprus, which it was intended to develop into a base for 10,000 troops and a resort, but of which Tryon was skeptical because of its poor climate and lack of a good harbour. In his travels he discovered deposits of coal at Ayas in the Gulf of Scanderoon, and was responsible for organising the transport of marble statues from Aleppo for the British Museum. In March 1880 Hornby was replaced as commander of the fleet by Admiral Sir [[Beauchamp Seymour]], who in the summer sent ''Monarch'' and ''Thunderer'' to attend the launching of the battleship {{ship|Italian ironclad|Italia||2}} by the King of Italy at Naples. Tryon was commended by the king for his handling of the British ships.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 157β164</ref> In May 1881 Tryon was sent as senior officer with a group of ships to patrol the coast of Tunisia. Although there was no war, France was concerned about events in Tunisia, and the French gunboat ''Leopold'' searched two British schooners looking for gunpowder. This was a breach of international law and might have escalated into a serious incident, but Tryon handled the matter with tact. He suggested to the senior French officer, Captain Rieunnier, that perhaps a mistake had been made. The French apologised and explained that the commander of ''Leopold'' had misunderstood his instructions.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 164β165</ref> A more serious incident took place when the region of [[Sfax]] in Tunisia rose in revolt against French intervention. The revolt was started by a local artillery commander, who was called upon to produce his troops in support of the French, but in fact despite receiving pay for the men, had none. To divert attention, he organised a local demonstration against the French. This led to other foreign nationals fleeing the region, although it was only the French who were affected. Local Bedawin then took up the revolt which grew out of control, although order and respect for foreign property in the town was maintained by a local leader, Camoum. The French sent ships and then a fleet to bombard the town, and eventually troops which landed to occupy it on 16 July. After order was restored, the French set up a commission of enquiry to investigate claims for damages and invited the British and Italians each to appoint a representative. Tryon was chosen to represent the British on the commission which first met 29 August. The Commission sat for six weeks, by which time the evidence submitted already indicated strongly that damage to property and looting had been carried out by the French troops, at which point the commission was suddenly dissolved. The British official position was one of neutrality, and in effect allowing the French to do what they wanted. This placed Tryon in a delicate position that while he confirmed the views of locals that the French had caused much of the problems and intended to take control of the region, Britain would do nothing to intervene. He was instructed to send reports directly to the Admiralty and foreign office, rather than to his commander, Admiral Seymour. ''Monarch'' spent much of a six-month period at anchor off Tunisia in temperatures of 80β90 degrees Fahrenheit, without any leave being permitted, which made the task an uncomfortable one for all concerned. Although the warship was not required, the Foreign office specifically requested that Tryon should remain for as long as possible.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 165β179</ref> Tryon was commended for his handling of the affair by Earl Granville from the foreign office, the Lords of the Admiralty, and by the French Government.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 179β185</ref> ''Monarch'' was paid off at Malta in January 1882, and the crew returned to England on board ''Tamar''.<ref>Fitzgerald p. 183</ref> ===Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty (1882)=== Tryon had four months leave before being appointed Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty. This post, in charge of a civilian staff, was sometimes given to serving officers and sometimes civilians. Tryon demonstrated great powers of persuasion and an ability to get his way in an argument without offending. His appointment was initially temporary, following the sudden death of the previous appointee, but he proved a great success. One of his most significant contributions was in advancing proposals for the creation of a naval intelligence committee, whose duties would be to collect together all available intelligence both from naval officers and from the army intelligence department. Those first appointed to the committee were Mr Hoste from the civilian establishment and Commander [[William Henry Hall|William Hall]].<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 186β193</ref> The role of Permanent Secretary included many invitations to social engagements, receptions banquets and dinners. Tryon's guiding rule in choosing which invitations to accept was to seek out people who might have useful information. He stated that he learnt something from everybody.<ref>Fitzgerald pp. 195β220</ref>
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