John Durnford

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Admiral

Sir John Durnford

Born6 February 1849
Died13 June 1914 (1914-06-14) (aged 65)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
RankAdmiral
Commands heldHMS Vernon
Cape of Good Hope Station
Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Battles/warsThird Anglo-Burmese War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order

Admiral Sir John Durnford GCB DSO (6 February 1849 – 13 June 1914) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station.

Naval career[edit]

Educated at Eton College and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Durnford joined the Royal Navy in 1862 and served in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885 to 1886 for which he was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the DSO.[1] Promoted to captain in 1888, he commanded the torpedo school HMS Vernon from 1895 to 1899.[1] In October 1899 he was appointed in command of the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Jupiter, serving in the Channel Fleet, and in December the following year he was appointed to Algiers for the Medway steam reserve.[2]

Durnford became Junior Naval Lord in February 1901 and was promoted to rear-admiral on 1 January 1902.[3] He served as Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station from 1904 to 1907.[1] He was President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich from 1908 to 1911 and retired in 1913.[1]

He lived at Elmshurst in Fareham.[4]

Family[edit]

In 1881 he married Mary Louisa Eleanor Kirwan; they had one son and three daughters.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Anglo-Boer War". Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Royal Navy senior appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  3. ^ "No. 27393". The London Gazette. 3 January 1902. p. 3.
  4. ^ Obituary: Admiral Sir John Durnford, The Times, 15 June 1914

External links[edit]

Military offices
Preceded by Junior Naval Lord
1901–1903
Succeeded by
Sir Frederick Inglefield
(As Fourth Sea Lord)
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station
1904–1907
Succeeded by
Preceded by President, Royal Naval College, Greenwich
1908–1911
Succeeded by