Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Frederick Thomas Pelham, (2 August 1808 – 21 June 1861) 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 who went on to be Second Naval Lord.

Career

He was the son of

Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester PC, PC (Ire), FRS (28 April 1756 – 4 July 1826), styled The Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1768 until 1783, The Right Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1783 to 1801, and then known as Lord Pelham until 1805, ...

(1756–1826), and Lady Mary Henrietta Juliana Osborne (1776–1862),Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Volume 2, page 2103 and entered the navy on 27 June 1823.William Loney RN
/ref>

Active Service

He first served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on HMS ''Sybille'' in the Mediterranean (including an attack on Greek pirates), was promoted to

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 ...

in 1830, before serving with HMS ''Ferret'', until being promoted to

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 21 September 1835. He then served at that rank on off Spain's north coast during the Carlist War before receiving his first command, , in the same theatre in 1837 and 1838, being awarded the cross of San Fernando for his services. He rose to captain on 3 July 1840 and then commanded , a steam paddle frigate, in the Mediterranean Sea from 1847 to 1850. At the suggestion of Sir Hyde Parker,Frederick Thomas Pelham at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> he served as private secretary to the

first Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

, the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

, from March to December 1852, working against a government keen to keep defence spending down, against his own brother Lord Chichester's politics and connections with Sir Francis Baring, and against the political secretary Stafford O'Brien (testifying to the 1853 select committee checking O'Brien's handling of patronage in dockyard appointments). He was made commander of the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

steam reserve in 1853, participating at Bomarsund and other episodes of the 1854 Baltic campaign in that role from his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

. During the construction of he was appointed her commander, but this putative post was cancelled when his friend Richard Saunders Dundas selected him for the second Baltic campaign as captain of the fleet. In that role he headed the attack on Sveaborg (8–10 August), though a surveying officer on the expedition, Captain Bartholomew James Sulivan, blamed Pelham for making Dundas overcautious.

Admiralty Service

In 1855, he was appointed a Companion 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 ...

. Initially Sir Maurice Berkeley declined to take Pelham on at the Board of Admiralty, in December 1856, due to his connections with Northumberland, however Pelham joined the Board the following November as Fourth Naval Lord after Berkeley's retirement, though left it four months later, in March 1858, having been promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

. Under Dundas and the

Duke of Somerset Duke of Somerset, from the county of Somerset, is a title that has been created five times in the peerage of England. It is particularly associated with two families: the Beauforts, who held the title from the creation of 1448, and the Seymours ...

he joined the new Liberal board as Second Naval Lord in June 1859, remaining with it until resigning on grounds of ill health in early June 1861.

Death

Grave of Frederick Thomas Pelham in Highgate Cemetery

He died on 21 June 1861 and was buried on the western side of

Highgate cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

Family

He married Ellen Kate Mitchell on 26 July 1841, with whom he had: * Constance Mary Kate Pelham (died 5 January 1926) * Beatrice Emily Julia Pelham (died 27 February 1939) * Admiral Frederick Sidney Pelham (25 October 1854 – 19 October 1931)

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelham 1808 births 1861 deaths Royal Navy admirals Burials at Highgate Cemetery Companions of the Order of the Bath Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Younger sons of earls Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...