author
Baron Charles William De la Poer Beresford Beresford
1846–1919
A fighting admiral with a talent for public controversy, he became one of the best-known naval figures of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain. His career mixed sea service, politics, and outspoken campaigns about the strength and direction of the Royal Navy.
1 Audiobook
The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Beresford
by Baron Charles William De la Poer Beresford Beresford
About the author
Born in Ireland in 1846, Charles William de la Poer Beresford entered the Royal Navy as a boy and rose to become an admiral. He served in a long naval career that included action in the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, and Sudan, and he built a reputation for personal dash as well as strong opinions.
Beresford also spent many years in public life as a Member of Parliament, moving between naval service and politics. He was known for criticizing Admiralty policy in public and for pressing the case for a larger, more efficient navy, which made him both popular with parts of the public and difficult for some superiors.
In 1916 he was created 1st Baron Beresford. Remembered as a lively, combative figure, he left behind memoirs and a public image shaped as much by his speeches and arguments as by his service at sea.