John Paul Wellington Furse, (13 October 1904 – 8 October 1978) was an English naval officer who became a rear-admiral before he retired. He was a painter and botanical illustrator and later a plant hunter with his wife for the Royal Horticultural Society.
Family John Paul Wellington Furse was born in Frimley, Surrey, England. He was the son of portrait painter Charles Wellington Furse and (a British nursing and military administrator) Dame Katharine Furse (formerly Katharine Symonds). His father died in the same week Furse was born. He had 4 uncles and 4 aunts. Including; Rev. Michael Bolton Furse (12 October 1870 – 18 June 1955), an Anglican bishop and Sir William Thomas Furse (21 April 1865 – 31 May 1953), an army lieutenant general. His great-aunt was the botanical artist Marianne North (24 October 1830 – 30 August 1890). As a child, Furse spent a lot of time in the Alps with his family. His brother, Peter Reynolds Furse, was born on 29 October 1901. He became a sub-lieutenant on 15 May 1915. Peter enlisted into the Royal Navy in 1918 (during World War 1), he was a cartographer. In 1922, he graduated from Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. On 25 June 1931, he married Barbara Elizabeth Ross, they then lived in Nairobi, Kenya, and had a daughter Elizabeth Furse in 1936. They then moved to Cape Town, South Africa. During World War II, he returned to the Royal Navy and was eventually made lieutenant commander. After the war, he returned to South Africa before they eventually retired to Hampton, New Brunswick, Canada, since his wife was originally Canadian born. His daughter Elizabeth Furse (13 October 1936 – 18 April 2021) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999. Furse married Cicely Rathbone (1899–1991), on 7 April 1929 in London, England. She was the daughter of Frederick Rathbone. Cicely was often known as Polly. His mother, Katharine, had gone with Polly and Paul to Switzerland later in 1929. Furse and Polly both spent their spare time painting (a Furse family past-time), with often visiting gardens for inspiration. They both mounted an exhibition of their work in 1937, but all the paintings they displayed at the show were lost during the Blitz. Furse had also exhibited paintings at RHS shows in the 1930s. On 10 June 1935, Paul and Polly had a child, John R. Furse. Known as "Chris", he was born in Kent. He also joined the Navy, and became an engineer, like his father. He later married an Australian girl, was assigned to an aircraft carrier in Borneo, and then returned to greet his son Ralf. He had two years as senior engineer on HMS Ark Royal. Later he was a staff engineer on HMS Ajax (his first frigate). John R. Furse wrote a book Elephant Island: An Antarctic Expedition published on 16 October 1979, with the royalties going to the RGS. He died on 30 October 2018.
Naval career He was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1918, when he was just aged 13. He then started his naval education at the Royal Naval College, Osborne, on the Isle of Wight, then he went to Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in Devon. Then ranked as a midshipman, he went onto the Royal Naval Engineering College in Keyham, Leicestershire in 1922, to study engineering. In 1925, he became a sub-lieutenant and then in 1926, he was posted to the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, which was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1927, he became a lieutenant, He then served with HM Submarines between 1927 and 1939. In 1928, he was an engineer on HMS Olympus, a newly built Odin-class submarine, which was commissioned into service on 14 June 1930 and then based out of China Station. In May 1932, he was an engineer on HMS Colombo (a light cruiser) with the Mediterranean Fleet. He then was posted in December 1932 to HMS Dolphin, a submarine depot ship. In 1934, he was Assistant Engineer to the Rear-Admiral. In 1935, he was promoted to lieutenant commander (Lt.Cdr.) In 1937, he was moved to HMS Medway (another submarine depot ship), part of 4 Submarine Flotilla, based at China. In December 1939, he was promoted to commander Cdr. He then served during World War Two between 1939 and 1945; he was a senior engineering officer on board HMS Sandhurst (a converted merchant ship) in 1939. Then he became an assistant naval attaché for Europe and the Americas between 1940 and 1943, with HMS President. As an assistant naval attache, Furse wrote two documents entitled 'British Naval agent in Scandinavia, Mar–Apr 1940' and a note on a reported rumour of a German invasion of the UK, 16–17 September 1940. He then served with 5 and 6 Submarine Flotillas, between 1943 and 1946. He was awarded (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) OBE in June 1946. He returned to HMS President between 1947 and 1950. In December 1948, he was promoted to captain. In 1951, he was chief staff officer to the rear-admiral of HMS Condor, a Royal Naval Air Station in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. In September 1955, he was made a rear-admiral. Then he became director of aircraft maintenance and repair for the Admiralty between 1955 and 1958. based on HMS President. In 1957, he had his portrait taken by Walter Bird, dressed in his Royal Navy uniform for the National Portrait Gallery archives. He was then appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 1 January 1958. His last post was of director general of the Aircraft Department for the Admiralty between 1958 and 1959, based at HMS President. In May 1959, Furse wrote in the Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, 'The Operation of Naval Aircraft and Aircraft Carriers', Vol. 63 on page 301, "in support of allied landings and coastal operations". He then retired from Royal Navy in 1959, when he was 55 years old.
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