John Durnford

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.

For the English cricketer, see John Durnford (cricketer).

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

Educated at Eton College and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Durnford joined the Royal Navy in 1862 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

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

References
  1. "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
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