Edward Rice (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir Edward Bridges Rice, KCB, DL (30 October 1819 – 30 October 1902) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.

Sir Edward Rice
Born	30 October 1819 Godmersham, Kent[1]
Died	30 October 1902 (aged 83) Dane Court, Dover
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1832–1884
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Leander HMS Royal Albert HMS Algiers HMS St George HMS Asia Nore Command
Battles/wars	First Opium War Second Anglo-Burmese War Crimean War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Naval career

Born the son of Edward Royd Rice MP,[2] Rice joined the Royal Navy in 1832.[3] He became mate in 1839, and was on board HMS Dido which took part in operations on the Yangtze River in 1842 during the First Opium War. After promotion to lieutenant in 1844 and commander in 1850, he then commanded a flotilla of boats on the Irrawaddy River in 1852 during the Second Anglo-Burmese War. Rice had charge of the seamen and naval guns on shore at the capture of Prome, for which he received the official thanks of the Governor-General in Council. In 1854, when commander of HMS Prometheus, he attacked the Riff pirates on shore near Cape Tres Forcas, and recaptured an English brig.[2][4]

Promoted to captain in 1855, he commanded HMS Leander at Sevastopol during the closing stages of the Crimean War.[2] He also commanded HMS Royal Albert, HMS Algiers, HMS St George and then HMS Asia,[3] and was aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria from 1869 to 1873. Promoted to flag rank as rear-admiral in 1873, he was appointed Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1875, Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard in 1876, then promoted to vice-admiral in 1878. He was Commander-in-Chief, The Nore from 1882 until he retired in 1884, and was promoted to admiral three days after his retirement. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1881, and promoted to Knight Commander (KCB) in the 1887 Golden Jubilee Honours list.[3][4]

He lived at Dane Court in Dover[5] and in retirement was Deputy Lieutenant of Kent.[2]

Rice was the father-in-law of the English architect William Curtis Green.[6]

He died at Dane Court on 30 October 1902, aged 83.[7]

Family

Rice married in 1864 Cecilia Caroline Harcourt, daughter of Rev. William Vernon Harcourt, of Nuneham Park;[3] they had one son.[5][4]

See also

• O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). "Rice, Edward Bridges" . A Naval Biographical Dictionary . John Murray – via Wikisource.

References

1. Genealogy
2. "The Knees history" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
3. William Loney RN
4. "Obituary". The Times (36913). London. 31 October 1902. p. 8.
5. The Peerage.com
6. Worthington, Hubert. "Curtis Green, William (1875 – 1960)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, accessed 24 February 2020. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
7. "Deaths". The Times (36914). London. 1 November 1902. p. 1.