Portland in Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill

1855-1935

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

1. Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill Marker (English)

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

[English] Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill was the founder of the Canadian Navy. Born in Guelph, Ontario, he attended Upper Canada College and in 1869, entered the Royal Navy in Britain. In 1908, he returned to Canada to advise Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier on the creation of a Canadian navy. He served as the first director of the naval service from 1910-1920 and saw the new navy safely through a period of limited resources and political controversy, and the demands of the First World War. During the War, Kingsmill strengthened the command and intelligence gathering organizations, essential foundations for the future growth of the Canadian Navy. Throughout his service he encouraged and supported the training of young Canadian officers who would eventually lead Canada’s great naval efforts of the Second World War and early Cold War. Kingsmill was knighted by King George V in 1918. He died at his summer home near Portland and is buried here in Emmanuel Anglican Cemetery.

[Français] L’amiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill est le fondateur de la Marine canadienne.

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Né à Guelph, en Ontario, il étudie à l’Upper Canada College et, en 1869, rejoint la Marine royale britannique. En 1908, il revient au Canada afin de servir de conseiller au premier ministre, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, qui souhaite créer une marine canadienne. Il devient le premier directeur du service naval, et occupe ce poste de 1910 à 1920. Grâce à ses efforts, la Marine prospère pendant sa première décennie d’existence, malgré des restrictions budgétaires, des controverses politiques et le déroulement de la Première Guerre mondiale. Pendant la guerre, l’amiral Kingsmill renforce le commandement et les activités de recherche de renseignements, deux éléments fondateurs qui permettront l’expansion de la Marine canadienne. Pendant ces dix années passées à la tête du service naval, il encourage la formation de jeunes officiers canadiens qui dirigeront des opérations navales canadiennes d’importance majeure, aussi bien pendant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale que durant les premières années de la guerre froide. Le roi George V le fait chevalier en 1918. Il s’éteint dans sa résidence estivale, située près de Portland, et repose ici, dans le cimetière anglican Emmanuel.

Erected 2010 by Ontario Heritage Trust/Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien, and the Canadian Navy.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites

Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill Marker (<i>Français</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

2. Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill Marker (Français)

• Patriots & Patriotism • War, World I. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust series list. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1855.

Location. 44° 41.025′ N, 76° 12.571′ W. Marker is in Portland, Ontario, in Leeds and Grenville United Counties. It is on Provincial Highway 15 0.6 kilometers north of Big Rideau Lake Road, on the left when traveling north. The marker is located at Emmanuel Anglican Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Portland ON K0G 1V0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Ontario

and specifically in Southeastern Ontario.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Crosby Methodist Church Bell (approx. 5.3 kilometers away); The Methodist New Connection Church (approx. 5.3 kilometers away); Blanche A. Thompson Leggett (approx. 5.3 kilometers away); Blockhaus de Narrows Blockhouse (approx. 7.1 kilometers away); Rivers, Lakes and Locks / Rivières, Lacs et Écluses (approx. 7.1 kilometers away); The Enemy to the South / l'Ennemi du Sud (approx. 7.1 kilometers away); Two Lakes from One / d'Une Pierre Deux Coups (approx. 7.1 kilometers away); Narrows (approx. 7.1 kilometers away).

Also see . . .
1. Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill (Ontario Heritage Trust)

Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill Marker<br>& Emmanuel Anglican Cemetery (<i>looking north</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

3. Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill Marker
& Emmanuel Anglican Cemetery (looking north)

Excerpt: He was the principal technical adviser to the Canadian government in the creation of the navy in 1908-1910 and became the professional head of the new service for its first 10 years, 1910-1920. The government selected Kingsmill because of his naval expertise. Kingsmill’s expertise came from nearly 40 years of service as an officer in Britain’s Royal Navy, the world’s strongest and arguably most effective fighting sea service at the time. He served on most types of warships in most parts of the world. Although Kingsmill, at just 14 years of age, left his native Ontario to join the Royal Navy as a midshipman, his allegiance and outlook was Canadian. At that time, it was not uncommon for Canadians wishing to become professional (that is full-time) members of the armed forces, to join the British services. Canadians — considered British citizens who lived overseas — had the right to join the British armed services on much the same basis as residents of the British Isles.
During the course of his expansive career, Kingsmill was well recognized for his impressive service and contributions. He was made an Officer of the French Legion of Honour and a Grand Officer of the Crown of Italy. In 1913, he was promoted on the British Royal Navy’s retired list to vice-admiral, then to full admiral in 1917. Kingsmill was knighted by King George V
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

4. Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill Marker
& Emmanuel Anglican Cemetery (looking south)
in 1918.

(Submitted on August 23, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Admiral Kingsmill builds foundation of newly created RCN.

Excerpt: Just four years after its creation on May 4, 1910, Kingsmill was named the first director of the Naval Service of Canada (which later became the RCN). He established a naval college in Halifax and began building Canada’s navy after serving nearly 40 years in Britain’s Royal Navy. Kingsmill firmly grasped the possibilities for a Canadian navy that, although built on British models, would be shaped by Canada’s particular maritime interests, such as the close protection of the coastline and ports, the gathering of marine intelligence for the government in Ottawa, and the enforcement of fisheries regulations.

(Submitted on August 23, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: Kingsmill retired on 31 December 1921. He maintained a summer home on Grindstone Island, in Big Rideau Lake, near Portland, Ontario, where he loved to sail. His guests included the Duke of Devonshire, Governor General of Canada from 1916 to 1921; Sir William MacKenzie, railway entrepreneur; and Neville Chamberlain, later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

5. Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill Gravesite
Located in the northwest corner of Emmanuel Anglican Cemetery.
1937–1940. When he died at Grindstone Island on 15 July 1935, a "huge flotilla of boats brought him in from the island". Kingsmill is buried in the Anglican cemetery in Portland, where an Ontario Heritage Trust plaque commemorates his contribution to Canadian naval history.

(Submitted on August 23, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Charles Edmund Kingsmill Headstone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

6. Charles Edmund Kingsmill Headstone

In Memory of
Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill, R.N.
Born — Guelph Ontario — July 1855
Died — Grindstone Island — July 1935,
and his Wife,
Frances Constance Beardmore
Born — Toronto — November 1875
Died — Ottawa — March 1956

Credits. This page was last revised on August 23, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 23, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 182 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 23, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.