Nowell Salmon

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox military person Admiral of the Fleet Sir Nowell Salmon, Template:Postnominals (20 February 1835 – 14 February 1912) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he served in the naval brigade and took part in the Siege of Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny. He was a member of the force defending the Residency when he volunteered to climb a tree near the wall of the Shah Nujeff mosque to observe the fall of shot, despite being under fire himself and wounded in the thigh. He and his colleague, Leading Seaman John Harrison, were awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces for this action.

A few years later Salmon was dispatched from British Honduras (now Belize) to take custody of William Walker, an American citizen who had briefly been president of Nicaragua, but who was now attempting further conquests in Central America. The British Government regarded Walker as a menace to its own affairs in the region. Salmon captured Walker and delivered him to the authorities in Honduras, who promptly had him court-martialed and executed.

Salmon went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, then Commander-in-Chief, China Station and finally Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.

Early career

Salmon was the son of Reverend Henry Salmon, Rector of Swarraton and Emily Salmon (daughter of Admiral William Nowell), Salmon was educated at Marlborough College and joined the Royal Navy as cadet in May 1847.<ref name=heath224>Heathcote, p. 224</ref> Promoted to midshipman, he was appointed to the second-rate Template:HMS in the Baltic Sea in March 1854 and saw action during the Crimean War.<ref name=heath224/> Promoted to lieutenant on 5 January 1856, he joined the gunboat HMS Ant in March 1856 before transferring to the frigate Template:HMS on the East Indies Station later that year.<ref name=heath224/> He served in the naval brigade and took part in the Siege of Lucknow in November 1857 during the Indian Mutiny.<ref name=heath224/> He was a member of the force defending the Residency when he volunteered to climb a tree near the wall of the Shah Nujeff mosque to observe the fall of shot, despite being under fire himself and wounded in the thigh.<ref name=heath224/> He and his colleague, Leading Seaman John Harrison, were awarded the Victoria Cross.<ref name=heath224/> His citation reads:

Date of Act of Bravery, 16 November 1857

For conspicuous gallantry at Lucknow, on the 16 November 1857, in climbing up a tree, touching the angle of the Shah Nujjiff, to reply to the fire of the enemy, for which most dangerous service, the late Captain Peel, K.C.B., had called for volunteers.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>{{#if:|

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Salmon took part in the Recapture of Lucknow in March 1858 and was promoted to commander on 22 March 1858.<ref name=heath224/> He became commanding officer of the sloop Template:HMS on the North America and West Indies Station in November 1859.<ref name=heath224/> In 1860, Salmon was dispatched from British Honduras (now Belize) to take custody of William Walker, an American citizen who had briefly been president of Nicaragua, but who was now attempting further conquests in Central America. The British Government regarded Walker as a menace to its own affairs in the region.<ref>Scroggs, pp. 72–4</ref> Salmon captured Walker and delivered him to the authorities in Honduras, who promptly had him court-martialed and shot.<ref name=heath224/>

Promoted to captain on 12 December 1863, Salmon became commanding officer of the ironclad warship Template:HMS in the Mediterranean Fleet in March 1869 and then commanded the ironclad warship Template:HMS under the Commander-in-Chief, Queenstown in Ireland in April 1874.<ref name=heath224/> He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 29 May 1875 and made a naval aide-de-camp to the Queen on 12 December that same year,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> before becoming commanding officer of the battleship Template:HMS in the Mediterranean Fleet on 28 November 1877.<ref name=heath225>Heathcote, p. 225</ref>

Senior command

The armoured cruiser HMS Imperieuse, Salmon's flagship as Commander-in-Chief, China

Promoted to rear admiral on 2 August 1879,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> Salmon became Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, with his flag in the corvette Template:HMS, in April 1882.<ref name=heath225/> Promoted to vice admiral on 1 July 1885,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 21 June 1887.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station, with his flag in the armoured cruiser Template:HMS, in December 1887.<ref name=heath225/>

Salmon was promoted to full admiral on 10 September 1891,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and became Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in June 1894.<ref name=heath225/> He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 22 June 1897,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and led Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Review at Spithead on 26 June.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-camp to the Queen on 23 August 1897.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> Promoted to admiral of the fleet on 13 January 1899,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he retired in February 1905,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> died at his home in Southsea on 14 February 1912 and was buried at St Peter's Churchyard in Curdridge.<ref name=heath225/>

Salmon's Victoria Cross is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum in London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Family

In January 1866 Salmon married Emily Augusta Saunders; they had a son and a daughter.<ref name=heath225>Heathcote, p. 225</ref>

Sources

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:DP-xlink
• William Loney Career History
• The Times Obituary of Sir Nowell Salmon (15 February 1912)

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