Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield

For other people named Inglefield, see Inglefield (disambiguation).
Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield

Rear Admiral Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield, KCB in masonic dress in 1919
Born 1861
Died July 1945
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service 1861–1906
Rank Rear Admiral
Commands held HMS Antrim
Awards CBE (1918)
KBE (1919)
Other work Secretary of Lloyd's of London 1906 - 1921[1]

Rear Admiral Sir Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield, KBE (1861–1945) was a Victorian Royal Navy officer and later secretary of Lloyd's of London. He gave his name to the Inglefield clip, a device he patented in 1890 for quickly attaching signal flags.

Contents

Family

Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield was the youngest son of Edward Augustus Inglefield (1820–1894), Arctic explorer and Royal Navy Admiral. He married Julia Katherine Margaret; in 1891 she submitted a petition for divorce.[2]

Naval career

Midshipman

He was promoted to Midshipman on 16 March 1876, and joined the Emerald-class screw corvette HMS Tourmaline on 5 March 1879,[3] probably on the North America and West Indies Station.

Anti-slavery in East Africa

He was promoted to Lieutenant on 3 July 1883.[4] A painting by Lieutenant E F Inglefield survives in the National Maritime Museum entitled A Pinnace for Chasing Slaves. It seems probable that he served in HMS London during her time engaged in the East African anti-slavery campaign of the late 19th century.

HMS Melita and the Inglefield Clip

Lieutenant Inglefield was sent to Malta in 1889 to become the first lieutenant of the newly-launched HMS Melita. She did not commission until 27 October 1892, and during the long wait he invented the Inglefield clip, patenting the invention in 1894.[5] The prototype device was fashioned in the naval dockyard in Valetta, and it was so successful that by 1895 it had become standard issue to Royal Navy ships.[6] It is still in use today.

Promotion to commander

On 30 June 1895 he was promoted to commander,[7] on the same day as his uncle, Frederick Inglefield, was promoted to captain.[7]

HMS Antrim

In the last years of his naval career, he returned to sea to command the Devonshire-class armoured cruiser HMS Antrim, part of the First Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet.[8] He was placed on the Retired List on 30 June 1907[9] and was appointed to the rank of rear admiral on the retired list on 9 March 1911.[10]

Business interests

On leaving the Navy in 1906, he became the Secretary to Lloyd's of London, retaining the position until 1921. In 1935 he was listed in the Directory of Directors as the company chairman of the Rio de Janeiro Lighterage Company Ltd. He was appointed a Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on 7 January 1918[11] and elevated to Knight Commander on 1 January 1919.[12]

Masonry

Inglefield was a freemason, and was for many years a member of the Lutine Lodge, made up of employees of Lloyds. He was the Provincial Grand Master of Buckinghamshire in 1917.[1]

Inventions

In addition to the Inglefield clip, he continued inventing into later life; in 1923 he submitted Patent GB209652 for improvements to valve arrangements.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b 10,000 Famous Freemasons from A to J Part One, by William R Denslow and Harry S Truman, Kessinger Publishing (2004), ISBN 1417975784
  2. ^ National Archives Document J 77/480/4611 (Divorce Court File 4611)
  3. ^ "P Benyon - Extract from Navy Lists". http://www.pbenyon1.plus.com/Nbd/exec/IJK/Index.html. Retrieved 2008-09-12. 
  4. ^ London Gazette: no. 25247. p. 4. 3 July 1882.
  5. ^ "Patent GB 189316908 (A) - Improvements in Hooks and their Attachments, suitable for Signal Flags, and for Joining Chains, Ropes, Harness Straps, and other analogous Parts.". http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?DB=EPODOC&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=18940728&CC=GB&NR=189316908A&KC=A. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
  6. ^ Melita Historica New Series. 12(1998)3(323-330)
  7. ^ a b London Gazette: no. 26647. p. 3. 26 July 1895.
  8. ^ "The Channel Fleet in 1906". Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20091022063515/http://geocities.com/scs028a/rn1906channelfleet.html. Retrieved 2008-09-12. 
  9. ^ London Gazette: no. 26010. p. 10. 12 July 1907.
  10. ^ London Gazette: no. 30460. p. 9. 10 March 1911.
  11. ^ London Gazette: no. 30460. p. 6. 4 January 1918.
  12. ^ London Gazette: no. 31099. p. 7. 31 December 1918.
  13. ^ "GB Patent 209652 - Improvements in or relating to valves or taps for controlling the flow or supply of liquids". http://www.wikipatents.com/gb/209652.html. Retrieved 2008-09-12.