Admiral Sir George Wellesley, G.C.B.

The death occurred on Saturday, at 17, Chester-square, S.W., of Admiral Sir George Greville Wellesley, who joined the Navy in 1827 and retired in 1879 after a distinguished career. He was the youngest son of the late Rev. and Hon. Gerald Valerian Wellesley, D.D., probendary of Durham. His mother, who before her marriage was Lady Emily Mary Cadogan, was the eldest daughter of the first Earl Cadogan. Admiral Sir George Wellesley was born in 1814. He became a sub-lieutenant in 1834, and as lieutenant of the Castor was present at the taking of Caiffa and Tsour, on the coast of Syria, and at the bombardment of St. Jean d'Acre, receiving for his services the Syrian and Turkish medals. He was promoted to the rank of commander in 1842, and became captain in 1844. While in command of the Cornwallis in the Baltic he commanded a detailed squadron at the bombardment of Sveaborg in 1855. Having been promoted to the rank of rear-admiral in 1863, he acted from 1865 to 1869 as superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard, and daring this period rose to the higher rank of vice-admiral. On leaving Portsmouth he became Commander-in-Chief of the North American and West Indian station, retaining the command till 1876 with an interruption of one year, during which he commanded the Channel Squadron. In 1877 he was made a Lord of the Admiralty, and held the office till 1879, the year which saw his retirement from active service. Several public honours followed upon this long period of service. In 1880 he was given the order of K.C.B., and in 1887, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, he was made a G.C.B., and in the following year was appointed a commissioner of the Patriotic Fund. He married in 1853 the youngest daughter of the late Mr. Robert Lukin.