See also
Husband: | Cyprian Arthur George BRIDGE (1839-1924) | |
Wife: | Eleanor Collier THORNHILL (1857?-1925) | |
Marriage | Sep 1877 (app) | Kensignton (1a 206) |
Census (family) | 1911 | No. 1, Eaton Terrace |
Had 3 servants |
Name: | Cyprian Arthur George BRIDGE | |
Sex: | Male | |
Father: | Thomas Finch Hobday BRIDGE (1807-1856) | |
Mother: | Sarah Christiana DUNSCOMB (1814-1882) | |
Birth | 13 Mar 1839 | St. John's, Newfoundland |
Census | 1901 (age 62) | St. Peters, Eaton Square |
22, Wilston Street, Westminster | ||
Death | 16 Aug 1924 (age 85) | Kingston Hill, Surrey |
Occupation | Navy (Admiral Sir) |
Name: | Eleanor Collier THORNHILL | |
Sex: | Female | |
Father: | George THORNHILL ( - ) | |
Mother: | - | |
Birth | 1857 (app) | Wootton, Oxfordshire |
Death | 28 Aug 1925 (age 67-68) | Hove, Sussex |
No children from marriage to Eleanor Thornhill
1881 Census - Captain Royal Navy Active - Lodger 6, Southwick Street, Kensington
1901 Census - Vice Admiral - 22, Wilton Street, Westminster
01/11/2007 ECU Bridge first went to England in 1851 with a nomination
for the navy given to him by Admiral Cochrane. He was sent to school at
Walthamstow House, passed the entrance examination for the navy in
January 1853, and was appointed to the sloop "Medea" and later to the
flagship "Cumberland" stationed in North America. In early 1854, Bridge
was then transferred to a corvette that sailed into northern waters at the
outbreak of war with Russia, and he participated in the operations carried
out in the White Sea.
After serving two years as cadet, Bridge passed for midshipman in 1855.
He was then appointed to the "Pelorus" for service in the East Indies and
took part in a number of military operations over the following three
years. He was promoted to mate in 1858 and lieutenant in 1859. He then
joined the "Algiers" and saw service in the Mediterranean. Bridge
subsequently served on board the "Hawke" on the Irish station, and the
"Fawn" (1864-1867) in the West Indies.(2) Bridge then transferred to the
"Excellent" in order to qualify in gunnery. He did not, however, serve as a
gunnery specialist, as he was invited by Sir Alfred Ryder to act as his
flag-lieutenant in the Channel fleet.(3)
In April 1869, at the age of thirty, Bridge was promoted to commander
and appointed to the "Caledonia" in the Mediterranean. After two years
service on that ship, he served for one year aboard the gunnery ship
"Cambridge," one year on the "Implacable," and two and a half years on
the "Audacious," the flagship of Admiral Ryder in China.
In September 1877 he was further promoted to captain. Bridge was also
married in the same year to Eleanor Thornhill, daughter of George
Thornhill, of the Indian civil service. There were no children from their
marriage. During the following four years Bridge took half pay and spent
time studying and writing about the beginnings of the German navy,
publishing two papers in the Journal of the Royal United States
Institution. During 1878 and 1879 Bridge also served on the Admiralty
and War Office committees on heavy guns, armor plates and projectiles,
and explosives; for six months in 1881 he was also a member of the
ordnance committee.
He was then appointed to command the "Espiegle" in Australia, also
concurrently becoming the deputy commissioner for the Western
Pacific. Bridge returned from Australia in September 1885, took half pay
for six months, and was then appointed to command the "Colossus," the
newest type of battleship.(4) He left this command in 1888 and was
made director of the recently established Intelligence Department at the
Admiralty in 1889. Bridge was further promoted to flag captain in 1892
and left his post as director in the Admiralty in August of 1894.
In November of the same year, Bridge assumed the post of Commander-
in-Chief of the Australian squadron, a position which he held aboard the
"Orlando" until 1898. He was then promoted to vice-admiral in 1898, but
had no further command until April 1901, when he was appointed
Commander-in-Chief in China. Bridge was further promoted to admiral in
1903, and remained in command in China until the spring of 1904, when
he returned to England. He retired, having reached the requisite age
limit, in March 1904.
Bridge served as an assessor on the North Sea Enquiry Commission
that investigated the Dogger Bank incident (October 1904), and as a
member of the Mesopotamia Commission of Inquiry appointed in August
1916.(5) He was also an Admiralty Representative on the Royal Patriotic
Fund Corporation from 1906 to 1912.(6) He died at Coombe Pines (a
house that he had built for himself in Kingston Hill, Surrey) on 16 August
1924.
Bridge was a proficient reader of Latin, French, German, and Swedish,
and was acquainted with Italian and Spanish. He was a student of war
and military history throughout his life, having written many works on
various relevant subjects in the course of his life.