Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, (4 January 1832 – 22 June 1893) was a Royal Navy officer who died when his flagship collided with during manoeuvres off Tripoli, Lebanon.
Early life Tryon was born at Bulwick Park, Northamptonshire, England, the third son of Thomas Tryon and his wife Anne Trollope. He had three brothers: the eldest, Thomas, joined the 7th Royal Fusiliers, fought at Alma and Inkerman and served through the Indian Mutiny. The second, Henry, passed through Sandhurst before joining the Rifle Brigade, fighting at Alma, Inkerman and Balaclava before being killed in an attack on Russian positions in 1854. George was the third son: the fourth, Richard, also served in the Rifle Brigade. George attended a preparatory school and then Eton College before becoming a naval cadet in 1848, two years older than usual, aged sixteen. The choice of a naval career was made by George himself, rather than his family. Other students reported him to be a quick learner with a wide breadth of knowledge, whether because of his natural ability or his longer period of education before joining the Navy.Fitzgerald p. 1113 George was described as 'a tall lanky lad nearly six feet high, full of spirits and fond of a lark'.Fitzgerald p. 21
Naval training at this time took place on board ship, and having obtained a nomination and passing the modest exams, he was posted to HMS Wellesley in spring 1848. Wellesley (Captain George Goldsmith under Admiral the Earl of Dundonald) was then at Plymouth preparing to leave as flagship of the North American Station. She was a two-decker sailing ship, since steam power was only then being introduced into the navy. At that time, the principal important art to be taught to new recruits was how to handle a sailing ship, though within ten years almost all first class naval ships would be steam powered. He was required to pay his own schoolmaster at the rate of £5 per year. In particular, his mathematics at the start of his training was considered very poor, but at examinations eighteen months later, he came top of the class. Wellesley sailed on 24 March, arriving at Bermuda on 3 May. In correspondence home, he observed that he was seasick, and that the gales caused considerable broken crockery aboard ship. Yet while the gunroom (where the midshipman lived) suffered badly from its broken cups of a different pattern to those used elsewhere on the ship, their hens, much alike with others on board, never became ill or died.Fitzgerald pp. 13–16
As a midshipman, Tryon was not an official member of the crew, but a supernumerary, available as spare crew for posting to other ships. He narrowly avoided a posting to Imaum, a hulk lying in Port Royal harbour which needed crew, which would have been a very unpromising start to his career. Although officially posted to that ship, he prevailed upon Lieutenant Cochran (son of Lord Dundonald) to arrange that he would remain on loan to Wellesley. Tryon started to make sketches of the places he visited, which while not very good at the start, improved steadily. In November the ship reached Halifax, where George noted, 'the other day another of our men was murdered here'.Fitzgerald pp. 17–20, quote p. 21 Although Wellesley was a sailing ship, it was accompanied by a paddle-wheel steamer: when the wind failed the steamer would tow the sail ship, when the wind blew well the steamer would be towed to save coal.Fitzgerald p. 29
In the summer of 1849, Tryon had the chance of joining a tour of the United States, but declined in favour of study, and to allow him command of a cutter, which was unusual for a junior cadet. In the summer of 1850, he took the tour, visiting Boston, New York, Washington, where they visited the House of Representatives, were introduced to senior politicians and witnessed a debate over California's requested admission to the Union as a free rather than slave state. He commented on the great welcome given to them once it became known that they were English. He also commented on the absence of beggars in the streets.Fitzgerald pp. 24–27
Mediterranean fleet Wellesley returned to Chatham in June 1851. After leave, Tryon was posted to HMS Vengeance, captained by Lord Edward Russell. Vengeance sailed for the Mediterranean in August 1851. The ship was second fastest of the battleships and frigates (after Phaeton), lending considerable prestige to her crew at a time when sailing ability and speed were still considered all important. Admiral William Robert Mends later said of Tryon, 'He served with me, when I was commander of the Vengeance, for two years as a midshipman, and a better young officer never existed; ever full of energy and zeal. As a boat midshipman and signal midshipman he was unrivalled.'Fitzgerald p. 33 The ship stopped at Alexandria, and Tryon was given ten days leave to visit Cairo, where the party were received as guests of the Pasha. The party were obliged to stay on as guests, missing the sailing of their ship. The consul advised Captain Russell who then joined the party, which had now transformed into a diplomatic mission promoting British plans for a railway from Alexandria to Cairo. Tryon wrote home, explaining the British desire to create a land route to India, and the continuous vying for power in the region between Britain and France. On a trip to Gibraltar, Tryon and others from the ship joined the local foxhunt in a group of around forty (some in red), riding across the rugged and precipitous terrain on local ponies. Vengeance returned to England in 1852, reaching Spithead on Christmas Day.Fitzgerald pp. 30–38
On 10 April 1853 she sailed again for the Mediterranean, arriving at Malta early June to join the Mediterranean fleet under vice-admiral James Dundas. The ship had a new commander, George Le Geyt Bowyear, who reported that Tryon was now signal officer. Considerable competition existed between Vengeance and the fleet flagship in manoeuvres, where Vengeance frequently performed best. Part of Tryon's duties included keeping watch on the flagship before exercises, including going out in a boat at night to see what preparations were being made for the following day.Fitzgerald p. 40 The fleet took station in Bashika Bay outside the Dardanelles between June and October, because of the increasing tension with Russia before the Crimean War. In October the fleet moved through the Dardanelles to the Bosphorus and moored at Beikos Bay.Fitzgerald p. 41 On 30 November, the Russian fleet destroyed a squadron of Turkish ships at Sinop, just after Turkey declared war. Britain was not yet at war with Russia, but Vengeance visited Sinop January 1854 and saw the remains of the ships, which had been caught at anchor by the Russians. The British fleet moved into the Black Sea to land troops at Varna and took part in the bombardment of Odessa on 22 April. Cholera broke out through the fleet in August and eighteen died on board Vengeance. The effect varied from ship to ship, with few officers affected: 140 out of 950 died on board the flagship Fitzgerald p. 46 The ship assisted with the transportation of the army across the Black Sea to the Crimea before attending at the Battle of Alma on 20 September. Tryon as signal midshipman was stationed at the main top and so had a good view of the battle in which two of his brothers were taking part.Fitzgerald pp. 38–48
Vengeance was once again offshore anchored in Kasatch Bay with Tryon as signals officer watching events during the Battle of Inkerman. After the battle he joined the Naval Brigade in the trenches and was wounded. Captain Stephen Lushington, commanding the Naval Brigade, described him as 'a very promising officer.' Tryon arranged the construction of a hut for himself and two other officers from Vengeance, which uniquely boasted glass windows scrounged from the navy.
Tryon passed his seamanship examination on 17 March 1854, at which time he was already acting mate. Having started late, he was anxious to obtain promotion as speedily as possible. Promotion above the rank of captain was on the basis of seniority, so it was important to obtain rapid promotion in the lower ranks. He spent only eight months as mate, then six years as Lieutenant and five and a half years as commander, which was one of the fastest rates of promotion at the time.Fitzgerald pp. 49–50 On 21 October Lieutenant Greathead of Britannia was killed, and in November Tryon was promoted to his position, thereby transferring to Britannia. However, he remained ashore as part of the Naval Brigade.Fitzgerald p. 58
In January 1855 Britannias shore party, together with those from other ships which had been serving together ashore, were all embarked on Vengeance to return to England. Britannia had already departed for England with Admiral Dundas, who had now been replaced as Commander in Chief of the Black Sea fleet by Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons. Tryon took and passed examinations at the Royal naval college Portsmouth and HMS Excellent before returning to a ship. Commander Mends from the Vengeance had now become flag-captain to Admiral Lyons and requested Tryon be appointed to his ship. was a three-decker, steam-powered and brand new. Tryon returned to the Black Sea in June. Tryon now acted as aide-de-camp to the admiral, travelling ashore to report progress in the siege of Sebastopol and later describing the plundering of the town by the victorious armies. He was present at the fall of Kinburn on 17 October 1855, where he was placed in charge of fire-fighting parties. On account of being on duty, he regretfully was unable to liberate any souvenirs for himself. In his letters home he commented on repeated failures by the British and their allies to follow up successes, instead allowing the Russians time to withdraw and regroup.Fitzgerald pp. 61–65
In December 1855 Lyons went to Marseille to attend the peace conference for the Crimea, leaving his ship to sail to Malta. While in the Aegean Sea the gland surrounding the propeller shaft failed, allowing water to flood into the ship. The bilge pumps could not cope with the flow, but the ship was kept afloat by connecting the cooling water pumps used to condense steam in the engine to the bilge instead of open sea. After use the water was pumped overboard and provided the engine remained running the ship could be kept clear of water. The ship was near the island of Zea, so Captain Mends circled the island through the night until with daylight he was able to beach the ship on a sandy bay. The engines then had to be kept working for four days while a dam was built around the ship to keep out the water and allow repairs to be made. Mends chose Tryon to go to Piraeus to summon help rather than a more senior officer because of his 'marked intelligence'.Fitzgerald pp. 67–70