Obituary in The Times of 28 April 1936:
Vice Admiral Sir Robert Mansell, Deputy Master of Trinity House.
George Robert Mansell came of a family long connected with the sea. He was the son of Commander George Hope Mansell, RN, and was born on February 18, 1868, when his father was Inspecting Officer of Coastguard at Christchurch, Hants. His grandfather was Captain Sir Thomas Mansell, born in 1777, who served in the Naploleonic wars and was knighted by William IV in 1837.
He entered the Britannia as a cadet in 1881, and two years later went to sea as midshipman of the Temeraire, Captain Compton Domvile, in the Mediterranean. He was afterwards in the Active, flagship of the Training Squadron, and from June 1889, was sub-liutenant for navigating duties in the Martin, brig, and the Forester, gun-vessel. In the following year he served in the gun-vessel Goldfinch, commanded in Australia by Lieutenant-Commander C F Kingsmill. His promotion to lieutenant was dated January 1, 1891, and for the next ten years he was navigator of various ships, including the gunboat Lizard in Australia, the cruiser Intrepid in the West Indies, and the battleship Canopus in the Mediterranean.
From January, 1901, he began his association with the Royal yachts, in which he served for 10½ years. He was appointed to the Victoria and Albert, then being completed to take the place of the old paddle-wheel yacht of the same name, and was first and navigating lieutenant until the Coronation of King Edward VII, when he was promoted to commander and reappointed as navigator. In commemoration of the King’s visit to Ireland in 1903 he was made MVO.
In January, 1907, he was promoted to captain and selected to command the Osborne, the small paddle-wheel wooden yacht, built in 1870, which was so often used by Queen Victoria when crossing to the Isle of Wight. In May, 1908, the new turbine yacht Alexandra was completed to take the place of the Osborne, and Captain Mansell was transferred to the new vessel in command until August, 1911. He made various cruises in her with King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and among his momentoes of such voyages he possessed the Order of St Anne in diamonds, conferred on him by the late Tsar on the occasion of King Edward VII’s visit to Reval in the spring of 1908. He was also present at the Coronation Review of King George.
He retired in 1912, after 31 years on the active list, to enter the service of Trinity House. Not for many years had an officer of the Royal Navy served as Deputy Master of this institution, and for an officer of the Senior Service it must have been a somewhat difficult position to fill. Sir Robert’s unfailing courtesy and tact, however, coupled with his ability and wide experience as a seaman, made him one of the most successful holders of the office.
On the outbreak of the War in 1914 he was recalled to the Navy and appointed from September 14, 1914, in command of the RN College at Keyham, Devonport. This had been occupied in the training of engineer specialists. Under war conditions it became necessary to increase the number of junior naval officers for general service, and larger numbers of cadets were taken from the public schools by what became known as the special entry scheme. Since training at sea was no longer possible, Keyham College was utilized for the instruction of these cadets, some hunderds of whom learnt the rudiments of their profession under Captain Mansell.
On his promotion to rear-admiral (retired) on October 1, 1918, he relinquished command of the College, and after the Armistice he returned to Trinity House.
On succeeding Captain Acton Blake as Deputy Master, he also succeeded him as chairman of the Distribution Committee of King George’s Fund for Sailors, on which he had been elected a member of the General Council in 1924. In 1932 he succeeded the late Captain Sir Arthur Clarke as Deputy Chairman of the Fund. Sir Robert put his whole heart and soul into this work on behalf of sailors and gave up a great deal of his spare time to it. His practical knowledge of the personnel of both the Royal Navy and the Merchant Service and the difficulties encountered by officers and men who after retirement and during periods of unemployment coupled with his sympathetic nature and sound judgement made him an ideal chairman.
As Deputy Master of Trinity House he was also an ex-officio member of the committees of several nautical societies such as the Royal National Life-boat Institution and the Mission to Seamen.
Sir Robert was a splendid example of the British master mariner, a genial and kindly man, beloved by a host of shipmates and friends, who will learn of his passing with deep regret.
He married, in 1901, Lorna, younger daughter of Rear Admiral G E Richards, and they had two sons, both of whom are in the Royal Navy: Lieutenant Victor G D Mansell, serving in HMS Neptune, and Lieutenant John O Mansell RN (Flying Officer RAF) serving in HMS Renown.