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	== Career ==		== Career ==
	[[File:HMS Kent.jpg\|thumb\|{{HMS\|Kent\|1901\|6}}]]		[[File:HMS Kent.jpg\|thumb\|{{HMS\|Kent\|1901\|6}}]]
	~~[[File:SMS Nurnberg.png\|thumb\|{{SMS\|Nürnberg\|1906\|6}}, sunk by ''Kent'' in 1914]]~~
	As a midshipman, Bedford was posted to the [[protected cruiser]] [[HMS Charybdis (1893)\|HMS ''Charybdis'']] in early 1900.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times \|title=Naval & Military intelligence\|date=16 March 1900 \|page=6 \|issue=36091}}</ref> He was confirmed as [[sub-lieutenant]] dated 2 August 1900,<ref>{{London Gazette\|issue=27389\|date=20 December 1901\|page=8981}}</ref> and promoted to [[Lieutenant (Royal Navy)\|lieutenant]] on 2 August 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette\|issue=27461\|page=5038\|date=5 August 1902}}</ref> After signal course at the Naval school of Telegraphy at {{HMS\|Victory}},<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times \|title=Naval & Military intelligence \|date=25 September 1902 \|page=8 \|issue=36882}}</ref> he was in November 1902 appointed flag lieutenant to Vice Admiral [[Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe]] as he became Commander-in-Chief [[Australia Station]], and posted to the flagship of the station, {{HMS\|Royal Arthur\|1891\|6}}.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times \|title=Naval & Military intelligence \|date=25 October 1902 \|page=12 \|issue=36908}}</ref>		As a midshipman, Bedford was posted to the [[protected cruiser]] [[HMS Charybdis (1893)\|HMS ''Charybdis'']] in early 1900.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times \|title=Naval & Military intelligence\|date=16 March 1900 \|page=6 \|issue=36091}}</ref> He was confirmed as [[sub-lieutenant]] dated 2 August 1900,<ref>{{London Gazette\|issue=27389\|date=20 December 1901\|page=8981}}</ref> and promoted to [[Lieutenant (Royal Navy)\|lieutenant]] on 2 August 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette\|issue=27461\|page=5038\|date=5 August 1902}}</ref> After signal course at the Naval school of Telegraphy at {{HMS\|Victory}},<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times \|title=Naval & Military intelligence \|date=25 September 1902 \|page=8 \|issue=36882}}</ref> he was in November 1902 appointed flag lieutenant to Vice Admiral [[Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe]] as he became Commander-in-Chief [[Australia Station]], and posted to the flagship of the station, {{HMS\|Royal Arthur\|1891\|6}}.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times \|title=Naval & Military intelligence \|date=25 October 1902 \|page=12 \|issue=36908}}</ref>

Bot at 18:09, 10 August 2022

2022-08-10T18:09:29Z

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{{short description|Royal Navy Vice-Admiral}}
{{About|the sailor|the writer|Arthur Bedford (writer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name = Arthur Bedford
|image = Arthur_Bedford,_1915.jpeg
|caption = Bedford photographed aboard HMS ''Kent'', 1915
|birth_date = 2 August 1881<ref>''[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8115966 UK, Royal Naval Officers' Service Records Index, 1756-1931]''</ref>
|birth_place = [[Greenwich]], [[Kent]], England<ref>''1911 England Census''</ref>
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1949|12|5|1881|8|2}}
|death_place = {{HMS|Newcastle|C76|6}}, [[Malta|Maltese Waters]]
|placeofburial =
|placeofburial_label=
|placeofburial_coordinates= 
|nickname =
|birth_name =
|allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{flag|British India}}
|branch = {{navy|United Kingdom}} {{navy|British India}}
|serviceyears = 1895–1945
|rank = [[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]]
|servicenumber =
|unit =
|commands = [[HMS Kent (1901)|HMS ''Kent'']] [[HMS Forward (1904)|HMS ''Forward'']] [[HMS Tiger (1913)|HMS ''Tiger'']] [[Royal Indian Navy]]
|battles = [[World War I]] * [[Battle of the Falkland Islands]] (1914) [[World War II]]
|battles_label =
|awards = [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] {{nowrap|[[Companion of the Order of the Star of India]]}}
|relations =
|laterwork =
|signature =
}}

[[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]] '''Arthur Edward Frederick Bedford''', [[Order of the Bath|CB]], [[Order of the Star of India|CSI]] (2 August 1881 – 5 December 1949) was a [[Royal Navy]] officer. He served in [[HMS Kent (1901)|HMS ''Kent'']] at the [[Battle of the Falkland Islands]] of 1914 and rose to command the [[Royal Indian Navy]] from 1934 to 1937, when he retired. A year later he rejoined the colours and served until the end of the [[World War II|Second World War]].

== Early life ==
The son of [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] Sir [[Frederick Bedford]] (1838–1913), by his marriage to Ethel Turner, daughter of E. R. Turner of [[Ipswich]], Bedford was educated at [[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]] on the cadet ship [[HMS Prince of Wales (1860)|HMS ''Britannia'']] (the precursor of the [[Britannia Royal Naval College]]) and joined the Royal Navy as a [[Midshipman]] in 1895.<ref name=who>'Bedford, Vice-Admiral Arthur Edward Frederick (born 1881, died 5 December 1949)' in ''[[Who's Who (UK)|Who Was Who 1941–1950]]'' (A. & C. Black, 1980 reprint, {{ISBN|0-7136-2131-1}})</ref> His father had previously commanded HMS ''Britannia'' from 1886 to 1889.<ref name=who2>'Bedford, Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham
(born 28 Dec. 1838, died 30 January 1913)' in ''[[Who's Who (UK)|Who Was Who 1897–1915]]'' (A. & C. Black, 1988 reprint, {{ISBN|0-7136-2670-4}})</ref>

Bedford came of a long naval tradition. His grandfather, Vice-Admiral Edward James Bedford (1810–1887), had also been a [[Royal Navy]] officer,<ref name=who2/> and was himself the son of [[Lieutenant (naval)|Lieutenant]] Frederick Bedford RN (born 1779), who lost a leg in a naval action near the [[Île d'Yeu]] in 1801. His great-grandmother, Mary Spearing, wife of Frederick Bedford, was the daughter of Lieutenant George Spearing RN (1728–1825), who when he died in his 97th year was Senior Lieutenant of the Royal Navy.<ref>''Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art'', vol. 19 (Devonshire Press, 1887), p. 40</ref><ref>[[William R. O'Byrne]], ''A Naval Biographical Dictionary'', vol. 1 (1849), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm5KAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q&f=false p. 65]</ref>

His brother Denham Maurice Turner Bedford (1886–1974) followed him into HMS ''Britannia'' and the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral.<ref>[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7920172&queryType=1&resultcount=34 Denham Maurice Turner Bedford] at nationalarchives.gov.uk, Retrieved 21 May 2011</ref>

== Career ==
[[File:HMS Kent.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Kent|1901|6}}]]
[[File:SMS Nurnberg.png|thumb|{{SMS|Nürnberg|1906|6}}, sunk by ''Kent'' in 1914]]
As a midshipman, Bedford was posted to the [[protected cruiser]] [[HMS Charybdis (1893)|HMS ''Charybdis'']] in early 1900.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence|date=16 March 1900 |page=6 |issue=36091}}</ref> He was confirmed as [[sub-lieutenant]] dated 2 August 1900,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27389|date=20 December 1901|page=8981}}</ref> and promoted to [[Lieutenant (Royal Navy)|lieutenant]] on 2 August 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27461|page=5038|date=5 August 1902}}</ref> After signal course at the Naval school of Telegraphy at {{HMS|Victory}},<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence |date=25 September 1902 |page=8 |issue=36882}}</ref> he was in November 1902 appointed flag lieutenant to Vice Admiral [[Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe]] as he became Commander-in-Chief [[Australia Station]], and posted to the flagship of the station, {{HMS|Royal Arthur|1891|6}}.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence |date=25 October 1902 |page=12 |issue=36908}}</ref>

He had reached the rank of [[Commander (Royal Navy)|commander]] by the beginning of the [[World War I|Great War]] of 1914–18 and was Commander (second-in-command) of the {{sclass|Monmouth|cruiser|1}} {{HMS|Kent|1901|2}} at the [[Battle of the Falkland Islands]] of 8 December 1914, during which ''Kent'' sank the {{sclass|Königsberg|cruiser|1||1905}} {{SMS|Nürnberg|1906|6}}.<ref name=obit/><ref>[http://www.naval-history.net/WW1Battle1412Falklands.htm Battle of the Falklands] at naval-history.net, Retrieved 20 May 2011: "Armoured cruiser ''Kent'' went after light cruiser ''Nürnberg'' (action started 1615, sunk 1927)."</ref>

In 1918, he joined the staff of the [[Dover Patrol]]. In early 1919, he was in command of the [[scout cruiser]] {{HMS|Forward|1904|6}} when she rescued members of the [[Tolstoy (family)|Tolstoy family]] from the evacuation of [[Odessa]], about to be captured by the [[Bolsheviks]].<ref>Lionel Dawson, ''Mediterranean Medley'' (Rich & Cowan, 1933), pp. 26-27 & 212: "The Countess was one of the Tolstoys, and her case was, indeed, a hard one. Only twenty-five years old, she had been Maid of Honour to the Dowager Empress. Having twice rescued her husband, a Guards' officer, from the Bolsheviks after he had fought all through the War, he had, quite recently, died within forty-eight hours of influenza, leaving her with two small children... she had a letter of introduction to Queen Alexandra with her... On the strength of this, I was authorised by the late Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, then flying his flag in ''Lord Nelson'' as Rear-Admiral Black Sea, to ask Commander (now Rear-Admiral) Arthur Bedford, commanding the scout ''Forward'', if he would give her a passage to England, whither he was about to sail. Naturally he agreed ; and she left with him the same afternoon, with her family and luggage, being conveyed on board in the Admiral's barge, the victim of as complete a ''bouleversement'' of fortune as it is possible to imagine... News followed us that Odessa had, in due course, been occupied by the Bolsheviks."</ref>
For two years he was naval assistant to the [[Second Sea Lord]], then in 1926 was appointed [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] of the Fleet in the [[Mediterranean Fleet]]. In 1928 he took command of the [[HMNB Devonport|Royal Navy depot]] at [[Devonport, Devon|Devonport]], after which he was in command of the [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Tiger|1913|6}}. In 1931 he was appointed [[aide-de-camp]] to [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]] and then promoted [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|Rear-Admiral]]. From 1932 to 1934 he was Chief of Staff to [[William Wordsworth Fisher|Vice-Admiral Sir William Fisher]] in the Mediterranean, then from 1934 to 1937 was [[Flag Officer]] commanding the [[Royal Indian Navy]]. Promoted [[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]] in 1936, he retired in November 1937,<ref name=brassey>Earl Brassey, ''Brassey's annual'' (Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, 1938), p. 22: "ROYAL INDIAN NAVY Rear-Admiral H. Fitzherbert, CMG, in November succeeded Vice-Admiral AEF Bedford, CB, CSI, as Flag Officer Commanding RIN, and Naval Adviser to the Commander-in-Chief in India and Defence Member of the Executive Council"</ref> but rejoined the Navy before the outbreak of the Second World War and served again from 1938 to 1945. He returned to the Retired List in May, 1945.<ref name=who/><ref name=obit>'Vice Admiral A. E. F. Bedford, Former Commander of the Royal Indian Navy', obituary in ''[[The Times]]'' dated 6 December 1949</ref>

While commanding the Royal Indian Navy, Bedford was also Naval Adviser to the [[Commander-in-Chief, India|Commander-in-Chief in India]] and Defence Member of the [[Viceroy's Executive Council]].<ref name=brassey/>

== Honours ==
Bedford was appointed Companion of the [[Order of the Bath]] (CB) in 1934 and of the [[Order of the Star of India]] (CSI) in 1937.<ref name=who/>

== Private life ==
In 1914, Bedford married Gladys Mort, the daughter of William Edye Mort of [[Sydney]], [[Australia]], and they had one son, Frederick, who as a lieutenant in the [[Fleet Air Arm]] was killed on active service over [[Malta]] on 21 February 1942, at the age of 22.<ref name=obit/><ref>[http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Sussex/BoxgrovePriory.html Boxgrove Priory] page at roll-of-honour.com/Sussex, Retrieved 21 May 2011</ref> Bedford's father had been [[Governor of Western Australia]] from 1903 to 1909.<ref name=who2/>

In retirement, Bedford lived at [[Easthampnett]], near [[Chichester]], [[Sussex]], and was a member of the [[United Service Club]] in [[Pall Mall, London|Pall Mall]] and the [[Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC]].<ref name=who/> He died on board {{HMS|Newcastle|C76|6}} in Malta on 5 December 1949, where he had gone to visit his son's grave.<ref name=obit/><ref>{{cite news |title= Princess Elizabeth|work=[[The Times]] |page=4 |date=6 December 1949 }}</ref>

== Publications ==
*Vice Admiral A. E. F. Bedford, "The Royal Indian Navy", in ''The Naval Review'', vol. XXVI, no. 2 (May 1938)<ref>Cited in N. A. M. Rodger, ''Naval power in the twentieth century'' (1996), p. 212</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box|title=[[Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy|Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy]]|after=[[Herbert Fitzherbert|Sir Herbert Fitzherbert]]|before=[[Humphrey Walwyn|Sir Humphrey Walwyn]]|years=1934–1937}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Arthur}}
[[Category:1881 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:People from Greenwich]]
[[Category:Royal Indian Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War I]]
[[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Navy vice admirals]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Russian Civil War]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Kent]]

Arthur Bedford - Revision history

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