John Denison (Royal Navy officer)
Rear Admiral John Denison DSO (1853 – March 6, 1939) was a Canadian member of the Royal Navy.
John Denison | |
|---|---|
_(RCN)_in_1877.jpg.webp) John Denison in 1877 | |
| Born | 1853 |
| Died | March 6, 1939 (aged 85–86) Alverstock, Portsmouth, England |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | sailor |
| Known for | Said to be the first Admiral, RN, born in Canada |
| Children | Bertram Denison |
| Parent |
|
His great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and five brothers served as army officers, but Denison joined the Navy in 1867, as a midshipman.[1] From 1893 to 1896 he commanded the royal yacht HMY Victoria and Albert (1855).[2] He was described as the first Canadian to command a fleet.
He served as naval aide de camp to King Edward VII from 1905 to 1906.[2]
He retired in 1909, as a Rear Admiral.[2]
His son, Bertram Denison, followed him into the Royal Navy, serving as a midshipman during the Boer War.[1] He would later transfer to the Army. He was wounded in the head, and left for dead, leading his men in an attack, during the first battle of World War I.[3]
Denison died in Alverstock, near Portsmouth, England on March 9, 1939.[2]
References
-
David Gagan (1973). The Denison Family of Toronto: 1792-1925. University of Toronto Press. p. 22. ISBN 9781487597368.
George Taylor Denison 1783 OR 1853.
- "Admiral John Denison; Retired British Officer, King's Yacht Commander, Held D.S.O." The New York Times. 10 March 1939. p. 23. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- Paul Hunter (8 September 2014). "Toronto's first casualty of World War 1". The Star. Retrieved 9 June 2019.