Admiral Edmund Lyons, 1st Baron Lyons, (21 November 179023 November 1858) was an eminent British Admiral of the Royal Navy, and diplomat, who ensured Britain's victory in the Crimean War, during which he was Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, by his contribution at the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) with both the Royal Navy and the British Army. As a consequence of his 'intelligence and great ability', 'quiet humour', 'frankness and urbanity', and 'vigilance and practical skill', Lyons was appointed to ambassadorial positions in Sweden, and in Switzerland, and to the court of King Otto of Greece. Lyons (whose brother Vice-Admiral John Lyons was on at the Battle of Trafalgar and served as British Ambassador to Egypt) was the father of the diplomat Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons (who was the British Ambassador to the USA who solved the Trent Affair, and who was later British Ambassador to France). Edmund's nephews included Sir Algernon Lyons, Admiral of the Fleet. Family Edmund Lyons was born at Whitehayes House, Burton, near Christchurch, on 21 November 1790. He was the fourth son of Captain John Lyons, an owner of extensive sugar plantations in Antigua, whose British residence was at St. Austen's, Lymington, Hampshire, and Catherine (née Walrond), daughter of Maine Swete Walrond, 5th Marquis de Vallado. His brothers included Vice-Admiral John Lyons (1787–1872), who was on board at the Battle of Trafalgar and who served as British Ambassador in Egypt; Maine Walrond Lyons, (1798–1827), a lieutenant in the Royal Navy who was killed at Battle of Navarino; and Humphrey Lyons (1802–1873), a lieutenant-general in the Indian (Bombay) Army. His nephews included Sir Algernon McLennan Lyons, Admiral of the Fleet (1833–1908), and Richard Lyons Pearson, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. His godparents were Sir Richard Hussey Bickerton and Lady Bickerton. Naval and diplomatic service Lyons first went to sea on board HMS Terrible in 1798, when he was eight years old. He then returned to England to attend Hyde Abbey School near Winchester, which he attended until 1803, when he joined the Royal Navy and the crew of the frigate HMS Active, with which he remained for four years. He served at the passage of the Dardanelles, under Sir John Duckworth, in February 1807. He was posted to the West Indies later in 1807 and commissioned as a lieutenant in 1809, as which he participated in the capture of Banda Neira, for which he