George John Cayley Prayers for Those Who Died at Sea, Algiers, Algeria

George John Cayley (1826–1878)

George John Cayley (1826–1878) was the son of Yorkshire MP Edward Stillingfleet Cayley, George was warm-hearted and whimsical, a wayward philosopher. He was a man of contradictions, described as 'part Bohemian, part conventional', unable to completely renegue on his aristocratic roots but left-wing in his politics and outward-looking in his approach to life: 'He had seen many places, known many people in many lands…. He was a man of the world, citizen of the world.'

Relocating with his young family to Algeria in 1870 on account of ill-health, Cayley moved in the circles of the ruling colonial elitebut he also attempted to assimilate into Algerian society in an individualistic way, often eccentrically adopting local Arab dress. A trained barrister, he did not pursue a career or money, he had very little, and 'with what he had he was open-handed'.

Cayley was a talented metal-worker, a craft he continued in Algeria. In 1862 he and the painter George Frederick Watts RA worked together to design the challenge shield for a shooting championship at Wimbledon. A silver dish by Cayley is in the V&A (no. M.377-1911). He was also a talented artist, illustrating a number of his own books, and was acquainted with Sir John Millais, who painted a portrait of his elder son.

A keen tennis player, George Cayley played in the outer court of his home at Algiers and was involved in developing designs for tennis rackets. An early proponent of Lawn Tennis, he wrote an article on the subject for the Edinburgh Review in 1875.