Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam

The Earl of Clanwilliam
The Earl of Clanwilliam
Born	(1832-10-03)3 October 1832
Died	4 August 1907(1907-08-04) (aged 74) Badgemore House, Henley-on-Thames
Buried at	Wilton, Wiltshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1845-1902
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Tribune HMS Hercules Steamship reserve at Portsmouth Flying Squadron North America and West Indies Station Portsmouth Command
Battles/wars	Crimean War Second Opium War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George

Admiral of the Fleet Richard James Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam GCB KCMG (3 October 1832 – 4 August 1907), styled Lord Gillford until 1879, was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he served at the Battle of Escape Creek and at the Battle of Fatshan Creek during the campaign against Chinese pirates. He also took part in the Battle of Canton, where he was severely wounded, during the Second Opium War.

As a senior officer Meade went on to be commander of the Steamship reserve at Portsmouth, commander of the Flying Squadron and Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station. His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.

Born the eldest son of Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam and Elizabeth Meade (daughter of George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke), Meade was educated at Eton College and joined the Royal Navy in November 1845. Promoted to lieutenant on 15 September 1852, Meade was appointed to the frigate HMS Impérieuse in which he served in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War. He transferred to the frigate HMS Raleigh in September 1856 bound for China and, although the ship was wrecked near Hong Kong, all the crew survived. He served under Commodore Charles Elliot at the Battle of Escape Creek in May 1857 and under Commodore Henry Keppel at the Battle of Fatshan Creek in June 1857 during the campaign against Chinese pirates.