John Denison (Royal Navy)

John Denison great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and five brothers served as army officers, but he served instead in the Royal Navy.

He joined the Navy in 1867, as a midshipman. From 1893 to 1896 he commanded the royal yacht HMY Victoria and Albert II. He was described as the first Canadian to command a fleet.

He served as naval aide de camp to King Edward VII from 1905 to 1906.

He retired in 1909, as a rear admiral.

His son, Bertram Denison, followed him into the Royal Navy, serving as a midshipman during the Boer War. He would later transfer to the Army. He was wounded in the head, and left for dead, leading his men in an attack, during the first battle of World War One.

Denison died in Alverstock, near Portsmouth, England on March 9, 1939.