Coat of arms on a memorial plaque to Vice-Admiral Harry Tremenherre Grenfell KCB CMG (1845-1906), and his wife Dame Amy Grenfell (1848-1907), who was the sister of Harriet Annie Robertson, in St Peter's church, Widmerpool.
The inscription reads:
To the Glory of God
and in loving memory of
Vice-Admiral Sir Harry
Tremenherre Grenfell K.C.B.
Born March 9th 1845 – died February 19th 1906
and of his wife Dame Amy Grenfell
of Wellesbourne House Warwickshire
daughter of Andrew Low Esqre
of Savannah Georgia U.S.A.
Born August 7th 1848 – Died January 12th 1917."GRENFELL, HARRY TREMENHEERE (1845 - 1906), was born in 1845, the fifth son of Admiral John Pascoe Grenfell of the Brazilian Navy and his wife, Maria Dolores Massini.
He entered the Royal Navy in 1858 and was made a lieutenant in March 1866. His promotion to commander came as a haul down vacancy in 1876 and in this rank he commanded the paddle steam ship HMS Cockatrice during the Egyptian war, 1882, receiving the Egyptian medal and the Khedive's bronze-star. In 1892 he invented the night sight for ordnance. His commission as captain was dated February 4 1895 and when commanding HMS Benbow he gallantly jumped overboard to rescue a boy who was in danger of drowning, and with the assistance of another officer supported the lad until they were all picked up by a boat. During the operations in Crete 1896-97 he commanded HMS Royal Sovereign, and for his services on this occasion received the C.M.G. in 1900.
In March of that year he was raised to flag-rank, and in September 1901 hoisted his flag in HMS Barfleur (10,500 tons) as second in command on the China station. Later moving to the larger battleship HMS Albion (12,950 tons). After a period of two years on that station he returned to England, and in October, 1904, was appointed second in command in the Mediterranean, with his flag in HMS Venerable. In February 1905 he became a vice-admiral, and in June was made a K.C.B.
Vice-Admiral Grenfell was considered by his superiors to be a most distinguished officer. He was a great sportsman, an accomplished athlete and extremely strong. He was reputed to be able to carry a small pony under one arm and walk about with it.
He was taken sick in Malta in January 1906 and although expected to recover and return to duty he died on February 19th.
In 1871 Sir Harry married Amy, a daughter of Mr Andrew Low, of Savannah, Georgia, USA."
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"Grenfell was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 13 March, 1866.
Grenfell was promoted to the rank of Commander on 22 June, 1876, in the haul-down promotion of Rear-Admiral The Honourable Arthur A. Cochrane.
Fresh from completing a torpedo coursem Grenfell was appointed to the wooden gunboat Cockatrice on 8 March, 1879. After she touched ground in the Dardanelles on 27 April, 1880, Grenfell was informed by the Commander-in-Chief that he should be more careful in future.
In October, 1882, Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station Sir William Hewett thanked Grenfell for his services in Cockatrice on a mission after a party was lost in the desert. Grenfell would be awarded the Egyptian Medal in 1882.
Appointed to the third class protected cruiser Pegasus on 5 January, 1885. In April 1886, Grenfell was chastised for navigating her too close to shore when she grounded at Woosung and for displaying insufficient energy in getting her afloat promptly.
He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 4 February, 1886.
Grenfell was appointed to the central battery ironclad Superb on 3 May, 1893.
He was made captain of the Benbow in 1894, during which command he "gallantly jumped overboard to rescue a boy who was in danger of drowning."
He was appointed in command of the battleship Revenge on 6 November, 1896, and then immediately placed in command of the battleship Royal Sovereign in December, 1896.
For his services in Crete, on 1 January, 1900, Grenfell was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.). On 3 March he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, vice Armand T. Powlett. On 2 March, 1901, Grenfell hoisted his flag in the Sans Pareil, port guardship at Sheerness, as Second-in-Command of the Reserve Squadron.
Grenfell was appointed to Second-in-Command on the China Station on 9 September, 1901, his flag to be hoisted in H.M.S. President that day and hauled down at sunset while he went on leave for passage to China, boarding S.S. Ballume on 2 October, embarking at Marseilles. Grenfell's tenure in China was abbreviated by illness, and he was superseded by the Honourable Assheton Gore Curzon-Howe on 13 June, 1903. He was found to be in improving condition and started his return to Britain from Yokohama via Canada on 3 July. He arrived home on 5 August, 1903.
After completing a three week course at Greenwich in Strategy and Fleet Tactics, Grenfell succeeded Custance as Rear-Admiral in the Mediterranean Squadron on 25 October, 1904.
Chatfield later claimed:
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. He 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. On the occasion of the King's birthday, Grenfell was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) on 30 June. His insignia and warrants were dispatched to him in the Mediterranean on 28 December, 1905, but on 31 January, 1906, Grenfell was sent home in Maine, seriously ill and on two months sick leave. He would die on 19 February of nephritis, dropsy and pneumonia."
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