He was born in London as
Herbert Meade, the third son of the then Baron Gillford, who later became, in 1879,
The 4th Earl of Clanwilliam, later
Admiral of the Fleet, and Elizabeth Henrietta Kennedy. He adopted the additional surname of Fetherstonhaugh by Royal Licence in 1931. He joined the Royal Navy and was promoted
lieutenant in 1897. In November 1902, he was posted to the
battleship HMS Venerable, as she received its first commission going to the
Mediterranean Fleet. He was promoted to commander in 1908 and captain in 1914. In 1912 he was given command of
HMS Goshawk which took part in the
Battle of Heligoland in 1914 and was instrumental in the sinking of the German destroyer
V187. He was in command of the light cruisers
HMS Royalist at the
Battle of Jutland in 1916 and
HMS Ceres at the
Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1917. From April 1918 to April 1919 he was the Naval Assistant to the
Second Sea Lord and then took command for a short time of the battlecruiser
HMS Renown before being appointed for three years as Captain of the
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth (1923–26). In 1924 he was also appointed Naval Aide-de-Camp to the king. He was made a
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in July 1922, a
Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the
1925 Birthday Honours and advanced to
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in May 1929. He was promoted to vice-admiral on 8 May 1930 and in 1931 given the post of Vice-Admiral Commanding H.M. Yachts, a position he held until December 1934. He was promoted to the rank of admiral on 31 July 1934, advanced to Knight Grand Gross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in December of that year and retired at his own request in July 1936. From 1939 to 1946 he was
Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords. He died in 1964. He had married in 1911 Margaret Isabel Frances Glyn, the daughter of the Rt. Rev. Hon.
Edward Carr Glyn, the
Bishop of Peterborough and had 2 sons and 2 daughters. The youngest son,
John Herbert Meade, succeeded his cousin as the 7th Earl Clanwilliam. The family lived at
Uppark, West Sussex, a grand 17th-century house which the admiral inherited in 1930. The house is now owned by the
National Trust. ==References==