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 ...

George Augustus Giffard, CMG (20 February 1849 – 23 September 1925) 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 was

Admiral-superintendent Chatham Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham; at its most extensive (in the early 20th century) ...

from 1907 to 1909.

Biography

The son of Captain Henry Wells Giffard and the grandson of Admiral John Giffard and of Major-General Sir Benjamin Stephenson, Giffard entered HMS ''Britannia'' as a cadet in 1862. Promoted to lieutenant in 1870, he then joined HMS ''Niobe'' in North American waters. He volunteered for duty and took part in the British Arctic Expedition of 1875–1876, for which he was awarded the Arctic Medal. He was first lieutenant of the screw sloop HMS ''Pelican'' from 1877 to 1882, when he joined HMS ''Penelope'', the flagship of

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 ...

Anthony Hoskins Admiral Sir Anthony Hiley Hoskins, (1 September 1828 – 21 June 1901) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he took part in the Cape Frontier War of 1851 and then saw action at the Battle of Canton in December 1857 and the Battle of ...

during the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

. For his Egyptian service, he received the

Egypt Medal The Egypt Medal (1882–1889) was awarded for the military actions involving the British Army and Royal Navy during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War and in the Mahdist War, Sudan between 1884 and 1889. Resentment at increasing British and other Eur ...

and the

Khedive's Star The Khedive's Star was a campaign medal established by Khedive Tewfik Pasha to reward those who had participated in the military campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan between 1882 and 1891. This included British Army, British forces who served during t ...

. Giffard was appointed in command of the cruiser HMS ''Comus'' in February 1889, as Commodore (second class) in charge of the Newfoundland Fisheries division. The ''Comus'' returned home to pay off at Devonport on 31 March 1900, when officers and crew transferred to the cruiser HMS ''Charybdis'', which succeeded as flagship of the commodore of Newfoundland fisheries. He brought ''Charbydis'' home in November 1901, and was appointed in command of the battleship HMS ''Hannibal'' in May 1902, serving until the following year, when he was 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 ...

on 1 October 1903.{{London Gazette , issue=27603 , date=6 October 1903 , page=6088 He was

Admiral-superintendent The admiral-superintendent was the Royal Navy officer in command of a larger Naval Dockyard. Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham all had admiral-superintendents, as did some other dockyards in the United Kingdom and abroad at certain times. The a ...

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

from 5 February 1907 until 9 August 1909, during which he 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 vic ...

on 1 September 1907. He was promoted to full

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 19 July 1911, and retired from the navy on 16 May 1913.

References

Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War 1925 deaths Royal Navy admirals Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George English justices of the peace