George Tryon

Sir George Tryon
Sir George Tryon
Born	4 January 1832 Bulwick Park, Northamptonshire,
Died	22 June 1893(1893-06-22) (aged 61) Mediterranean Sea off Tripoli
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1848–1893
Rank	Vice Admiral
Commands held	Australian station (1884) Mediterranean station (1891)
Battles/wars	Crimean War
Awards	KCB
Relations	son, George Tryon, 1st Baron Tryon

Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, KCB (4 January 1832 – 22 June 1893) was a British admiral who died when his flagship HMS Victoria collided with HMS Camperdown during manoeuvres off Tripoli, Lebanon.

Tryon was born at Bulwick Park, Northamptonshire, England, the third son of Thomas Tryon and his wife Anne Trollope. He had three brothers: the eldest, Thomas, joined the 7th Royal Fusiliers, fought at Alma and Inkerman and served through the Indian Mutiny. The second, Henry, passed through Sandhurst before joining the Rifle Brigade, fighting at Alma, Inkerman and Balaclava before being killed in an attack on Russian positions in 1854. George was the third son: the fourth, Richard, also served in the Rifle Brigade. George attended a preparatory school and then Eton College before becoming a naval cadet in 1848, two years older than usual, aged sixteen. The choice of a naval career was made by George himself, rather than his family. Other students reported him to be a quick learner with a wide breadth of knowledge, whether because of his natural ability or his longer period of education before joining the Navy. George was described as 'a tall lanky lad nearly six feet high, full of spirits and fond of a lark'

Naval training at this time took place on board ship, and having obtained a nomination and passing the modest exams, he was posted to HMS Wellesley in spring 1848. Wellesley (Captain George Goldsmith under Admiral the Earl of Dundonald) was then at Plymouth preparing to leave as flagship of the North American Station. She was a two-decker sailing ship, since steam power was only then being introduced into the navy. At that time, the principal important art to be taught to new recruits was how to handle a sailing ship, though within ten years almost all first class naval ships would be steam powered. He was required to pay his own schoolmaster at the rate of £5 per year. In particular, his mathematics at the start of his training was considered very poor, but at examinations eighteen months later, he came top of the class. Wellesley sailed on 24 March, arriving at Bermuda on 3 May. In correspondence home, he observed that he was seasick, and that the gales caused considerable broken crockery aboard ship. Yet while the gunroom (where the midshipman lived) suffered badly from its broken cups of a different pattern to those used elsewhere on the ship, their hens, much alike with others on board, never became ill or died.