Sydney Eardley-Wilmot

Sydney Eardley-Wilmot was born at Mortlake, Surrey, on 3 October 1847, member of Parliament, judge, and author. He was educated at the academy of the Reverend W. Foster at Stubbington, Fareham. Eardley-Wilmot married Grace Hoare, daughter of Thomas R. Hoare of Burton Park, Petworth, in 1877 and they had one son and three daughters. ==Career==

Eardley-Wilmot was born into a military family - he had four elder brothers, three of whom (William, Revell and Frederick) were army officers. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1869. In January 1870, he joined in the Pacific on which he served for three years and about which he later edited an account of the voyage given by the officers. He was then posted to HMS Excellent to train as a gunnery lieutenant where he served under and was influenced by Commander John Fisher, later Lord Fisher, with whom he became close friends. He consistently advocated for the construction of the largest naval guns possible. In 1908, he was knighted for his service at the Admiralty. ==Writing==

Eardley-Wilmot produced a number of books, all of which related to the Royal Navy, its history, development, and future. Among them were two novels that reflected the changing military threats facing Britain during his career. His first novel, The Next Naval War (1894) described a possible sea war with France, but by the time he produced The Battle of the North Sea in 1912, the enemy had become Germany. The novels were compared and contrasted at a seminar held at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in 2015. His memoirs, ''An Admiral's Memories: Sixty-five years afloat and ashore'' were published by Sampson Low, Marston & Co., in 1927. ==Death and legacy==

Eardley-Wilmot died on 27 February 1929. He left £5,991 net, including £100 to the Royal United Service Institution for a gold medal to be awarded every five years for the best essay by a member on the subject of "Changes in naval warfare owing to new and modified weapons", to be known as the "Eardley-Wilmot" medal. ==Selected publications==

• Our Journal in the Pacific. By the officers of H.M.S. Zealous. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, 1873. (Editor) • The Development of Navies During the Last Half-century. Seeley, London, 1892. • The Next Naval War. Edward Stanford, London, 1894. • Life of Vice-admiral Edmund, Lord Lyons. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, 1898. • Our Navy for a Thousand Years. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, 1899. • Our Fleet To-day, and its Development During the Last Half-century. Revised edition of "The development of navies during the last half-century.". Seeley, London, 1900. • Our Flags: Their Origin, Use and Traditions. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., London 1901. • The Battle of the North Sea in 1914. Hugh Rees, London, 1912. (as "Searchlight") (second edition in own name, 1913) • ''An Admiral's Memories: Sixty-five Years Afloat and Ashore''. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, 1927. == References ==