George Napier Tomlin
Encyclopedia
Vice Admiral George Napier Tomlin CMG, MVO (1875–1947) was a British naval officer.
, and was in two actions ashore on the west coast of Africa as a 17-year old midshipman. In 1911-12 he navigated HMS Medina, with King George V
and Queen Mary
on board, to India and back for the 1911 Delhi Durbar, for which he received the MVO. After the Armistice he was given command of an Allied squadron in the Black Sea, which was responsible for seeing that the terms of the Armistice were carried out. For his services in this connection, he was awarded the CMG. Subsequently he commanded the battleship HMS Canada, built for the Chilean navy, and later handed over to them. His experience during that transaction led to his being ‘lent’ to the Chilean Navy for two years to found a Naval War College after a period on the staff of the corresponding organization at Greenwich. He commanded the Malaya in the Mediterranean, was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1927 and lent to the Egyptian Government for seven years with the titles of Admiral and Pasha. He retired in 1934.
His service record is as follows:
Parts of his uniform have also been put up for sale, described as follows:
Private life
In 1911, when Commander George Napier Tomlin was with the Medina, his engagement was announced in The Sketch to Miss Violet Seymour Osborne.Career
George Napier Tomlin went straight to sea from HMS BritanniaBritannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
, and was in two actions ashore on the west coast of Africa as a 17-year old midshipman. In 1911-12 he navigated HMS Medina, with King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
on board, to India and back for the 1911 Delhi Durbar, for which he received the MVO. After the Armistice he was given command of an Allied squadron in the Black Sea, which was responsible for seeing that the terms of the Armistice were carried out. For his services in this connection, he was awarded the CMG. Subsequently he commanded the battleship HMS Canada, built for the Chilean navy, and later handed over to them. His experience during that transaction led to his being ‘lent’ to the Chilean Navy for two years to found a Naval War College after a period on the staff of the corresponding organization at Greenwich. He commanded the Malaya in the Mediterranean, was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1927 and lent to the Egyptian Government for seven years with the titles of Admiral and Pasha. He retired in 1934.
His service record is as follows:
| Ship | Dates | Post | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anson HMS Anson (1886) HMS Anson was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy, and was the last member of the Admiral-class to be laid down.... |
1st class battleship - Admiral class Admiral class battleship The British Royal Navy's pre-dreadnought Admiral class battleships of the 1880s followed the pattern of the Devastation class in having the main armament on centre-line mounts with the superstructure in between. This pattern was followed by most following British designs until in 1906... |
June 1890 – August 1891 | Midshipman |
| Raleigh | 2nd class cruiser | 1891–1894 | Midshipman |
| Philomel HMS Philomel (1890) HMS Philomel was a Pearl-class cruiser. She was the sixth ship of that name and served with the Royal Navy from her commissioning in 1890 until 1914, when she was transferred to the New Zealand Navy with whom she served until 1947... |
3rd class cruiser - Pearl class Pearl class cruiser The Pearl-class cruiser was a class of nine third-class cruisers designed by Sir William White, five of which were paid for by Australia under the terms of the Imperial Defence Act of 1887 to serve in Australian waters.-Design:... |
August 1894 – November 1894 | Sub-Lieutenant |
| Liberty HMS Liberty Several ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Liberty. was a sloop belonging to John Hancock confiscated by the Royal Navy in 1768 for failure to pay customs duties. She was commissioned under Captain William Reid as a revenue ship. In July 1769 she seized two Connecticut vessels and brought... |
Sailing brig | March 1896 – November 1896 | Sub-Lieutenant |
| Imogene | Yacht | November 1896 –January 1900 | Lieutenant |
| Sirius HMS Sirius (1892) HMS Sirius was an of the British Royal Navy which served from 1892 to 1918 in various colonial posts such as the South and West African coastlines and off the British Isles as a hastily converted minelayer during the First World War. In April 1918, Sirius was deliberately scuttled in the mouth of... |
2nd class cruiser - Apollo class Apollo class cruiser The Apollo class were a class of second-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the late 19th century that served during the Boer War and World War I.... |
March 1900 – September 1900 | Lieutenant |
| Phaëton HMS Phaeton (1883) HMS Phaeton was a second class cruiser of the Leander class which served with the Royal Navy.-Construction:She was built by Napier in Glasgow, being laid down in 1880, launched in 1883 and completed in 1886.-Acceptance Trials:... |
2nd class cruiser - Leander class Leander class cruiser (1882) The Leander Class were a four ship cruiser programme ordered by the Admiralty in 1880. The class comprised HMS Leander, HMS Phaëton, HMS Amphion and HMS Arethusa.-Genesis:... |
October 1900 – September 1903 | Lieutenant |
| Hood HMS Hood (1891) The second warship to be named HMS Hood was a modified Royal Sovereign-class battleship of the Royal Navy, and the last of the eight built. She differed from the Royal Sovereign class in that she had cylindrical gun turrets instead of barbettes, a lower freeboard and a higher metacentric height... |
1st class battleship | September 1903- July 1904 | Lieutenant |
| Magnificent HMS Magnificent (1894) HMS Magnificent was one of the nine Majestic-class battleships of the Royal Navy .-Technical characteristics:HMS Magnificent was laid down on 18 December 1893 at Chatham Dockyard... |
1st class battleship - Majestic class Majestic class battleship The Majestic class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built under the Spencer Programme of 8 December 1893, that sought to counter the growing naval strength of France and the Russian Empire... |
July 1904 – November1906 | Lieutenant |
| Excellent | Gunnery shore establishment | 1907 | Lieutenant |
| Albemarle HMS Albemarle (1901) HMS Albemarle was a pre-Dreadnought Duncan-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle.-Technical Description:... |
1st class battleship - Duncan class | February 1909 – November 1909 | Commander |
| Formidable HMS Formidable (1898) HMS Formidable —the third of four ships of that name to serve in the Royal Navy—was the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships. She was the second British battleship to be sunk by enemy action during the First World War... |
1st class battleship - Formidable class Formidable class battleship The Royal Navy's Formidable class battleships was an eight-ship class of pre-dreadnoughts designed by Sir William White and built in the late 1890s... |
November 1909 - January 1910 | Commander |
| Albemarle HMS Albemarle (1901) HMS Albemarle was a pre-Dreadnought Duncan-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle.-Technical Description:... |
1st class battleship - Duncan class | January 1910 – November 1911 | Commander |
| Albemarle HMS Albemarle (1901) HMS Albemarle was a pre-Dreadnought Duncan-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle.-Technical Description:... |
1st class battleship - Duncan class | January 1910 – November 1911 | Commander |
| Medina | November 1911-1912 | ||
| Navigation school Portsmouth | 1913 | ||
| Victoria and Albert HMY Victoria and Albert III HMY Victoria and Albert III a Royal Yacht of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The yacht was designed by the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy Sir William White. She was launched in 1899 but was not ready for service until 1901... (?) |
Royal Yacht | January 1914 – August 1914 | Commander |
| Agincourt HMS Agincourt (1913) HMS Agincourt was a dreadnought built in the early 1910s. The ship was originally ordered by Brazil, but the collapse of the rubber boom plus a lessening of the rivalry with Argentina led to her resale while still under construction to the Ottoman Empire who renamed her as Sultan Osman I... |
Dreadnought battleship | August 1914 - 1915 | Commander |
| Agincourt HMS Agincourt (1913) HMS Agincourt was a dreadnought built in the early 1910s. The ship was originally ordered by Brazil, but the collapse of the rubber boom plus a lessening of the rivalry with Argentina led to her resale while still under construction to the Ottoman Empire who renamed her as Sultan Osman I... |
Dreadnought battleship | 1915–1916 | Captain |
| ? | |||
| Liverpool HMS Liverpool (1909) HMS Liverpool was a 4,800 ton Town-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy commissioned in 1909. Named for the port city of Liverpool, the cruiser served continuously in home waters subordinated to the Home Fleet from 1909 through the initial stages of the First World War.During the war,... |
Light cruiser - Town class Town class cruiser (1910) The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire... |
January 1919 – March 1919 | Captain |
| Canada | Super-dreadnought battleship | April 1919–1920 | Captain(?) |
| Senior Officer’s War Course at Greenwich | 1921–1923 | Training staff | |
| Chilean Naval War College | 1924(?) – 1925(?) | Training staff | |
| Malaya | Super-dreadnought battleship - Queen Elizabeth class Queen Elizabeth class battleship The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a class of five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy. The lead ship was named after Elizabeth I of England... |
1926(?) | Captain(?) |
| Egyptian Navy | 1927-34 | Admiral and Pasha | |
Medals
Tomlin's medals were put up for sale in 2007, and described as follows:- "A highly important group of Medals and Orders to Rear Admiral George Napier Tomlin (1875-1947), comprising CMG, MVO East and West Africa Medal Benin River 1894, Gambia 1894 (G.N. TOMLIN. MID RN HMS RALEIGH), 1914-15 Trio MID CAPTAIN RN, Delhi Burbar Medal 1911, Chilean Order "AL MERITO" 2nd Class; Order of Leopold IIOrder of Leopold IIThe Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Léopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as king of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system...
(Grand Officer), Order of the Gown of Italy (Grand Officer (neck badge and breast star), Order of the NileOrder of the NileThe Order of the Nile is Egypt's highest state honor. The award was instituted in 1915 by Sultan Hussein Kamel to be awarded by Egypt for exceptional services to the nation...
2nd Class (neck badge and breast star), together with companion group of miniatures mounted as worn, his naval sword and naval dirk and a copy photograph. Captain George Napier Tomlin HMS Liverpool Commanding Allied Squadron in support of the White Army during the Russian Civil War. Known to have been in Touapse and Novorossisk during November 1918".
Parts of his uniform have also been put up for sale, described as follows:
- "English tole cased four piece dress uniform set, originally belonging to Royal Navy Vice-Admiral George Napier Tomlin (1875 to 1947), commander of the Allied Squadron in support of the White Army during the Russian Revolution and sailing on the HMS Liverpool (active 1909-1921).
- "The set a gilt brass and shagreen mounted steel dress sword and scabbard (24.5" long), a pair of Gieves Limited, London, gold and silver epaulettes (5.5" wide by 7.5" long), and an Admiral's dress ..."