Sir Erasmus Ommanney (22 May 1814 – 21 December 1904) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and an

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

of the

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Early life

He was born in London in 1814, the seventh son in a family of eight sons and three daughters of Sir Francis Molyneux Ommanney (1774–1840), a naval agent and from 1818 to 1826 MP for

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

, and his wife, Georgiana Frances, daughter of Joshua Hawkes.Davis, Peter.
Erasmus Ommanney R.N.
Retrieved on 12 December 2008. He was named after Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower who had mentored his uncle Admiral Sir John Acworth Ommanney. The Ommanneys had long distinguished themselves in the Royal Navy, Ommanney's grandfather being Rear Admiral Cornthwaite Ommanney (d. 1801), and his uncles were Admiral Sir John Acworth Ommanney and Admiral Henry Manaton Ommanney. Major General Edward Lacon Ommanney

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

was his eldest brother and

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

George Druce Wynne Ommanney was a younger brother.L. G. C. Laughton, 'Ommanney, Sir Erasmus (1814–1904)’, rev. Andrew Lambert, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004

Naval career

Ommanney entered the Royal Navy aged 12 in August 1826 under his uncle, Captain John Ommanney, the captain of HMS ''Albion'', which in December 1826 convoyed to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

the troops sent to protect

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

against the Spanish invasion.Markham, Clements R.
Two Arctic Veterans: Sir Erasmus Ommanney and Sir James Donnett
" ''

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

'' Journal 1904. Retrieved on 12 December 2008. The ship then went to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, and on 20 October 1827 Ommanney took part in the

Battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O.S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied ...

aged just 13. The captured flag of the Turkish Commander-in-Chief was handed down by seniority among the surviving officers until 1890, when Ommanney, the sole survivor of the action, presented it to

King George I of Greece George I (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, Romanization, romanized: ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until Assassination of George I of Greece, his assassination on 18 March ...

. Having passed his naval examination in 1833, Ommanney served for a short period as mate in the brig HMS ''Pantaloon''. On 10 December 1835 he was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, and in the same month was appointed to the transport ship HMS ''Cove'', which was ordered to

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; ; ; ), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a s ...

to release a number of whalers caught in the ice. He received the special commendation of the Admiralty for this dangerous service. In October 1836 he joined the frigate HMS ''Pique'', and a year later he was appointed to HMS ''Donegal'' as flag-lieutenant to his uncle, now Sir John Ommanney, Commander-in-Chief on the Lisbon and Mediterranean stations. Ommanney was promoted

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 9 October 1840, and from August 1841 to the end of 1844 served on board the steam sloop HMS ''Vesuvius'' in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Here he was employed on the coast of

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for the protection of British subjects during the French hostilities, which included the bombardment of

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

by the

Prince de Joinville The first known lord of Joinville (French ''sire'' or ''seigneur de Joinville'') in the county of Champagne appears in the middle of the eleventh century. The former lordship was raised into the Principality of Joinville under the House of Gui ...

's naval squadron. Ommanney was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 9 November 1846, and from 1847 to 1848 was employed under the government commission during the

Irish Famine The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger ( ), the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a historical social crisis and had a major impact ...

, carrying into effect relief measures and the new poor law. In 1845 Ommanney was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, and on 4 June 1848 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS). When Captain Horatio Austin was appointed to command HMS ''Resolute'' during the Franklin search expedition in February 1850, he chose his friend Ommanney as second in command. The ''Resolute'' and Ommanney's ship, HMS ''Assistance'', each had a steam tender (''Pioneer'' and ''Intrepid''). The expedition also organized an extensive system of sledge journeys, by which means the coast of Prince of Wales Island was surveyed. On 25 August 1850 Ommanney discovered the first traces of the fate of Sir

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

, which proved that his ships had wintered at Beechey Island when he discovered "fragments of stores and ragged clothing and the remains of an encampment". On the headland of nearby Beechey Island, Ommanney found a large cairn. More relics were scattered nearby but, although the cairn was dismantled, no further traces of the ill-fated expedition were to be found. The expedition returned to England in October 1851. In December 1851 Ommanney was appointed Deputy Controller-General of HM Coastguard, holding this position until the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

of 1854, when he commissioned HMS ''Eurydice'' as senior officer of a small squadron in the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

, where he blockaded

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

, stopping the coasting trade, and destroyed

Russian Government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

property. His White Sea service ended in a battle between his squadron and a

Solovetsky Monastery The Solovetsky Monastery (, ) is a fortified monastery located on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea in northern Russia. It was one of the largest Christian citadels in northern Russia before it was converted into a Soviet Union, Soviet pris ...

. Ommanney's service in the

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was marked by his aggressive operations against Russian shore positions and gunboats, summoning defenceless towns to surrender, and his exaggerated reports of successes. On 14 January 1853 Ommanney was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its headquarters are in Burlington House, on Pi ...

. On 27 February 1844 he married Amelia (Emily) Mary (d. 17 May 1857), the daughter of Samuel Smith of HM Dockyard, Malta. Their son Erasmus Austin Ommanney joined the

in 1863, retired with the rank of

in 1879, took

holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

in 1883, and was vicar of St Michael's,

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

, from 1892 to 1911.

Later years

Ommanney married Mary Stone in 1862. She died on 1 September 1906, aged 81. In March 1867 he was appointed Knight of the Order of the Bath. On 14 July 1871 Ommanney was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

, retiring on 1 January 1875. He was promoted to

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on the retired list on 1 August 1877, in which year he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed for his scientific work in the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

. He had been elected FRS in 1868 for the same reason, and to the end of his life continued to take a great interest in geographical work and service subjects. He attended meetings of the

and the Royal United Service Institution, and for many years he was a councillor of both bodies, and of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a Charitable organization, charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Scienc ...

. He was also a JP for Hampshire. Following the succession of King

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

, he was among several retired admirals appointed to advancement as

Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902, and was appointed Knight Commander (KCB) in an investiture on board the royal yacht ''Victoria and Albert'' outside

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, 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 b ...

on 15 August 1902, the day before the fleet review held there to mark the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

. Ommanney died on 21 December 1904 at his son's home, St Michael's vicarage, St Michael's Road,

, Hampshire, and was buried in

Old Mortlake Burial Ground Old Mortlake Burial Ground, also known as Old Mortlake Cemetery, is a cemetery in Mortlake in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, at Avenue Gardens, London SW14 8BP. Established in 1854, and enlarged in 1877, it is now managed by Richmon ...

, which is now in the

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. Ommanney Bay on the west side of Prince of Wales Island in the

Canadian Arctic Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories a ...

, and Erasmus Ommanney Island (, ''Ostrov Ommani''), a small crescent-shaped island located off the northwestern tip of Jackson Island in Arctic Russia, are named after him.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ommanney, Erasmus 1814 births 1904 deaths English explorers of North America English justices of the peace English polar explorers Explorers of Canada British explorers of the Arctic Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Polar Medal Royal Navy admirals British military personnel of the Greek War of Independence 19th-century English explorers

Early life

Naval career

Later years

See also

References

External links