A merchantman and other coastal traffic lying on the Thames at Greenwich

Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford (1838-1913) was the son of Vice-Admiral Edward James Bedford. Entering the Royal Navy in July 1852, he served in the Crimean War. He was promoted lieutenant in 1859, commander in 1871 and captain in 1876. In 1877 he commanded the Shah in action against a Peruvian ship and consolidated his reputation in 1884-85 by organizing the Nile flotilla in the relief of Khartoum. Becoming Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station (1892-1895), he was involved in an action against Nana Olomu, chief of Benin, when it was reputed that over 500-600 slaves were freed. He was appointed C.B. in 1886, aide-de-camp to the Queen (1889-1891), Junior Naval Lord (1889) and Second Naval Lord (1895). In 1899 he became Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, a post he held until 1903, when he became Governor of Western Australia. His work as commander of the Cape Station in 1892-95 won him a K.C.B. He was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1897.