Kingsmill, Sir Charles Edmund

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kingsmill
    • Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill, CMG (7 July 1855 – 15 July 1935) was a Canadian-born naval officer and the first director of the Department of the Naval Service of Canada. After retiring from a career in the Royal Navy, he played a prominent role in the establishment of the Canadian Naval Service in 1910. Along with Rear-Admiral Walter Hose, he is considered the father of the Royal Canadian Navy.
    • In 1870, at age 14, Kingsmill joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman. He was promoted sub-lieutenant in 1875, lieutenant in 1877, commander in 1891, and captain in 1898. During his career in the Royal Navy, he commanded HM Ships Goldfinch (1890–1891), Blenheim (1895), Archer (1895–1898), Gibraltar (1900), Mildura (1900–1903), Resolution, Majestic(1905–1906), and Dominion.
    • In 1908, Kingsmill retired from the Royal Navy and returned to Canada.[11] He was appointed honorary aide-de-camp to His Excellency the Governor-General in 1909. At the behest of then prime minister Wilfrid Laurier, he accepted the post of director of the Marine Service in the Department of Marine and Fisheries under then Minister of Marine and Fisheries Louis-Philippe Brodeur. The appointment predetermined his eventual appointment as rear-admiral and director of the Naval Service of Canada upon the formation of The Canadian Naval Service on 4 May 1910. King George V designated Canada’s naval forces as the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on August 29, 1911.By 1914, at the beginning of World War I, the new navy’s fleet consisted of two old cruisers and a collection of converted civilian and commercial vessels.
    • In 1913, he was promoted on the British Royal Navy’s retired list to vice-admiral,then to full admiral in 1917. He was made a knight bachelor in 1918. He was awarded for outstanding services as the Director of Naval Services of Canada 1910–1921.
  • Second Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=1540
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/173559649/charles-edmund-kingsmill