Harry Tremenheere Grenfell

Vice-Admiral SIR Harry Tremenheere Grenfell, K.C.B., C.M.G. (9 March, 1845 – 19 February, 1906) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Chatfield later recalled:

He left no special mark on the Fleet, but was respected for his strong personality which in fighting days might well have been an asset. He had one peculiarity worth mentioning. He was fond of cats. His cabin literally swarmed with Siamese cats, attractive but cruel-looking animals, fawn-coloured with black faces and tails, the latter very short with a kink in them. They could be fierce and were disliked by the galley's crew which looked after the cabin. The father of the tribe was called Satan and looked not unlike him! Grenfell also had glass tanks in his gun-ports full of frogs and strange fish. For these and for the cats the cabin was kept at a temperature of about ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit, and was painfully odorous. Grenfell was fond of giving luncheon parties when, despite the complaints of the ladies, he would refuse to open any skylights or scuttle to let in a breath of air. one day Satan disappeared. hhe was found only some weeks later, locked in a drawer: the revenge, it was supposed, of one of the galley's crew whom he had scratched or bitten.

On 20 February, 1905 Grenfell was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral dated 16 February.

Bibliography

• "Vice-Admiral Sir H. T. Grenfell" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 20 February, 1906. Issue 37948, col F, pg. 8.

Service Record

• The National Archives. ADM 196/15.