in the steam frigate in October 1872. Promoted to commander on 18 September 1873, he became second-in-command in the new steam frigate in January 1874. In 1876 Wilson became commander and chief of staff at the new torpedo school , where his duties included rewriting torpedo manuals, inventing aiming apparatus and developing mine warfare. El Teb Promoted to captain on 20 April 1880, Wilson was appointed to command the torpedo boat depot ship . In the Summer of 1882 he was ordered to take the Hecla to Egypt to deliver ammunition for British troops taking part in the Anglo-Egyptian War; on arrival, working with Captain John Fisher, he installed a heavy gun on a railway carriage and created an improvised armoured train. He was awarded the Ottoman Empire Order of the Medjidie, 3rd Class on 12 January 1883. Early in 1884 the Hecla was sent to Trinkitat on the Red Sea coast of Sudan to support British troops defending Suakin during the Mahdist War. Wilson attached himself to the Naval Brigade and the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC: Admiralty and Fleet command Wilson became Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station and Captain of the Raleigh in March 1886. He went on to be assistant director of Torpedoes at the Admiralty in April 1887 and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 21 June 1887. He went on to be Captain of Vernon in 1889 and Captain of the battleship in the Mediterranean Fleet in 1892. He was appointed Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 14 February 1892. In the Sans Pareil he was briefly Flag Captain to the Commander in Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in late 1893. Promoted to rear-admiral on 22 June 1895, he was given command of the experimental torpedo squadron, hoisting his flag in the cruiser before becoming Second-in-Command of the Reserve Fleet in 1896. He became Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy in August 1897 and Senior Officer in Command of the Channel Squadron in March 1901, hoisting his flag in the battleship upon taking command in April 1901. He was promoted to vice-admiral on 24 May 1901, and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, following which he was knighted and received the insignia in