Hedworth Meux


Sir Hedworth Meux

Meux as a vice admiral
Birth nameHedworth Lambton
Born(1856-07-05)5 July 1856
London
Died20 September 1929(1929-09-20) (aged 73)
Danebury, Hampshire
Buried
Bury Green Cemetery, Cheshunt
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1870–1916
RankAdmiral of the Fleet
CommandsHMS Dolphin
HMY Osborne
HMS Warspite
HMS Powerful
HMY Victoria and Albert
Third Cruiser Squadron
China Station
Portsmouth Command
Battles / warsAnglo-Egyptian War
Second Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Admiral of the Fleet The Honourable Sir Hedworth Meux, GCB, KCVO (pronounced Mews;[1] Lambton; 5 July 1856 – 20 September 1929) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he was present at the bombardment of Alexandria during the Anglo-Egyptian War.

In 1899, during the Second Boer War, Lambton stopped at Mauritius, and on his own initiative picked up a battalion of soldiers stationed there. Knowing that the British forces at Ladysmith urgently needed more powerful guns, Lambton led a naval brigade to the rescue with four twelve-pounders and two other guns. The enthusiastic response in Britain to the "heroes of Ladysmith" was enormous and made Captain Hedworth Lambton a well-known public figure. He went on to be Commander of the Third Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean Fleet and then Commander-in-Chief of the China Station.

During the First World War Meux, as he was then known, served as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in which role his main responsibility was defending cross-Channel communications, including transport for the British Expeditionary Force crossing to France. He also initiated and organised a life-saving patrol service of small boats.

  1. ^ "Pronunciation of surnames". Retrieved 20 December 2014.