Born in 1896; educated at Campbell College, Belfast and Queen's University of Belfast; served in World War One with Machine Gun Corps in France, Belgium and Germany; called to Irish Bar, 1921; Lecturer in Jurisprudence, Queen's University of Belfast, 1931-1935; appointed to determine industrial assurance disputes in Northern Ireland, 1929-1938; King's Counsel (Northern Ireland), 1936; MP (Unionist), Queen's University of Belfast, Parliament of Northern Ireland, 1938-1944; Governor, Campbell College, 1934-1959; Chairman, Joint Select Committee on Road and Rail Transport in Northern Ireland, 1939; Minister of Public Security for Northern Ireland, 1940-1941; Attorney-General, 1941-1944; Judge, High Court of Justice, Northern Ireland, 1944-1947; a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, 1947-1951; Chairman, National Arbitration Tribunal, Northern Ireland, 1944-1946; Pro-Chancellor, Queen's University of Belfast, 1951-1969; Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, 1951-1971; died in 1979.
Born 1919; commissioned as 2nd Lt, 1939; 2nd Lt, Indian Army, 1940; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; Lt, 1941; temporary Capt, 1941-1942; transferred to Royal Artillery, 1943; Capt, 1946; temporary Maj, 1950-1952; Maj, 1952; served with 156 (East Africa) Independent Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery, Kenya during Mau Mau revolt, 1952- 1955; awarded MBE,1955; Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, War Office, 1958- 1963; Lt Col, 1963; General Staff Officer 1, Army Department, Ministry of Defence, 1964-1966; Col, 1966; Col, General Staff, Headquarters British Army of the Rhine, 1969-1972; Central Defence Staff Officer, Ministry of Defence, 1974-1975; retired 1975.
Brackenbury entered the Navy in 1857, served in the MARLBOROUGH on the Mediterranean Station, 1862 to 1863, was promoted to Lieutenant in 1865, to Commander in 1876 and in 1879 commanded the SHAH's naval brigade during the Zulu war. He became a Captain in 1881 and served in the THALIA during the Egyptian campaign of 1882. From 1886 until 1887 he commanded the HYACINTH, South American Station, and the TURQUOISE, East Indies, from 1888 until 1891, during which time he took part in the operations against the Sultan of Vitu. In 1893 he was Captain of the EDINBURGH and witnessed the collision of the VICTORIA and CAMPERDOWN. From 1894 to 1896 he was in charge of Naval establishments at Bermuda. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1896 and in 1898 served as second-in-command of the Channel Squadron in the MAGNIFICENT. Brackenbury received his commission as Admiral in 1905. Be married Frances Mary Francklyn in 1880.
See sub-fonds level descriptions for individual biographies.
Oliver-Bellasis entered the Navy in 1918. He became a lieutenant in 1920 and specialized in torpedoes. He was promoted to lieutenant-commander in 1928 and commander in 1933. From 1932 to 1934 he served in the RENOWN, Home Fleet, and, after a spell at the Admiralty, was in the EAGLE, China Station, 1937 to 1939. During the Second World War, Oliver-Bellasis held both posts ashore and at sea, being promoted to captain in 1941. He was Director of Underwater Weapons from 1947 to 1950 and retired in 1953.
Bethune entered the Navy in 1871 and served from 1873 to 1877 in the TOPAZE, Detached Squadron. In 1878 he was appointed to the ALEXANDER, flagship in the Mediterranean, leaving her in order to join the AGINCOURT, flagship, Channel, 1881 to 1882. He was commissioned lieutenant in 1882, in the CONSTANCE, remaining in her on the Pacific Station until 1886. Still a lieutenant, he retired in 1903 and was promoted on the retired list.
Biography - documents
The founder of the company was William Mackinnon (1823-1893) who, in partnership with William Mackenzie (c 1810-1853) was in business as a general merchant near Calcutta. In the mid-1850s they secured the East India Company's mail contract between Calcutta and Rangoon, for which purpose Mackinnon founded the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company Limited, registered in Glasgow in 1856. Within five years of its founding the company had expanded considerably; from Burma, its ships were serving Penang and Singapore: by coasting from Calcutta to Bombay, dozens of small ports along the Indian coasts were being opened up to large-scale traffic.
In 1861 Mackinnon founded the British India Steam Navigation Company Limited, which superseded the Calcutta and Burmah Company. The mercantile firm of Mackinnon, Mackenzie and Company, Calcutta, became the managing agents, a function which they were to fulfil for well over a hundred years. As, until the opening of the Suez Canal, British India operated exclusively in eastern waters, and thereafter had a large part of its fleet employed in 'foreign-to-foreign' trades, it developed a distinctive organization. The Calcutta office had wide decision-making powers as managing agents, and were the operators of the eastern services. All but the most complicated repairs and overhauls were carried out at the Company's establishments at the Garden Reach workshops at Calcutta or the Mazagon Dock at Bombay. In Britain, the Secretary, based in Glasgow until 1892 and thereafter in London, was the link between Calcutta and the Board of Directors. Entry into the Dutch East Indies internal trade was achieved by the formation in 1865 of a Dutch flag company, the Netherlands India Steam Navigation Company. A connection with China was made in 1868, in conjunction with the Messageries Maritimes of France. There was also westward expansion, British India taking a share of the Moslem pilgrim traffic to Jeddah from 1869, and from 1872 carrying P and O mails, passengers and cargo from Aden to Zanzibar. The first 'Home Line' (in B I terminology a service to and from the United Kingdom) was inaugurated in 1874, as a result of the opening of the Suez Canal. In 1881 a mail contract was arranged with the Queensland government, although it lasted only until 1895. British India ships on the Australian run were grouped under the British India Associated Steamers, to differentiate them from vessels earmarked for the company's main trading routes.
Throughout the period the company had been consolidating its position with the Indian and home governments as a partner in the business of moving troops and military stores by sea. The British India involvement in East Africa was strengthened in 1890 by a regular service from London to Zanzibar via Aden and Mombasa. It was at this point that Mackinnon took part in the formation of the Imperial British East Africa Company, investing a quarter of the capital in it; however, the government was not prepared to back it. Japan was included in the B I itineraries in 1907 and participation in the trade was strengthened in 1912 by the purchase of the Apcar Line, which since 1901, had had a cargo pooling agreement with British India. Another British India service was the transport of Indian workers from the Coromandel Coast to Burma, Malaya, East Africa and Mauritius, 1892 to 1932. Sir William Mackinnon was succeeded by James Macalister Hall (d 1904) in 1893 and Duncan Mackinnon (d 1914). The appointment in 1913 of James Lyle Mackay (later Earl of Inchcape, 1852-1932) as chairman foreshadowed the amalgamation of B I with P and 0 (q.v.) in 1914, of which combination he was to become the chairman. Lord Inchcape was, however, careful to maintain a great degree of autonomy for British India. First World War losses were partially offset by the acquisition in 1917 of the Ham Line and the Nourse Line (q.v.). A massive replacement of tonnage after the war led to B I's becoming in 1922.
Belcher entered the Navy in 1812, became a lieutenant in 1818 and a commander in 1829. After early experiences surveying in Arctic regions and a lengthy survey of the Pacific, he was given post-rank and a knighthood in 1841. From 1842 to 1847 he commanded the SAMARANG, in which he surveyed the coasts of Borneo, the Philippines and Formosa (Taiwan). In 1852 he was appointed to the Assistance to search for Sir John Franklin (q.v.). He was court-martialled for abandoning his ships but acquitted; one, however, was recovered the following year. He saw no more active service and reached the rank of admiral in 1872.
Blake entered the Navy as a cadet in 1846, was promoted to Lieutenant in 1854 and to Commander in 1860 After two years in the ALECTO in South America, 1863 to 1865, he was on the Pacific Station in the MUTINE in 1865, when Chile was at war with Spain. He then commanded the FALCON, 1866 to 1867, on the Australian Station. Blake was promoted to Captain in 1867 and, as Captain of the DRUID, was in command of the Naval Brigade during the Second Ashanti War, 1873 to 1874, when he died.
Brent entered the Navy as a cadet in 1848, was promoted to lieutenant in 1854 and to commander in 1866. Between 1867 and 1870 he served in the BELLEROPHON in the Channel and the Mediterranean. He was promoted to captain in 1875 and commanded the troopship HIMALAYA from 1879 to 1881, running between Great Britain and the Mediterranean. For a short period he was Director of the Royal Indian Marine but resigned and after further seagoing appointments, retired in 1889. He was made a vice-admiral in 1896.
Stuart was a lieutenant in 1797, was promoted to commander in 1798 and to captain in 1799. As Senior Officer he served at Gibraltar in LE GRENIER, 1800, and then successively in the CHAMPION, Adriatic, 1801 to 1803, and off Flushing in the CRESCENT, 1804 to 1806. He was in the LAVINIA from 1806 to 1810, during which time the frigate squadron under his command during the Walcheren expedition contributed to the surrender of Flushing, 1809. Stuart was Member of Parliament for Cardiff from 1802 to 1814. His last service was in the CONQUISTADOR, in home waters from 1811 until 1814
Caldwell, grandson of Sir Benjamin Caldwell (q.v.), entered the Navy in 1828 as a volunteer on board the Dartmouth and became a midshipman in the Prince Regent in 1830. He served for the next five years on the coast of South America in the Clio, Spartiate and Hornet and then in the Pembroke and Vanguard on the Mediterranean Station. After this he spent three years in the brigs Pantaloon and Rapid, tenders to the Royal George yacht. Caldwell was promoted to lieutenant in 1841 and for two years attended courses in the Excellent on gunnery and at the Royal Naval College on steam. He then served in the Inconstant on the Mediterranean Station from 1843 until 1846, when he joined the Excellent and Prince Regent, home waters. From the latter ship he was promoted to commander in 1847. In 1848 he joined the Powerful on the Mediterranean Station and returned to the Prince Regent in 1851. He was promoted to captain in 1853 and after studying steam at Woolwich dockyard, became Flag Captain to Rear-Admiral Hon. R.S. Dundas (1802-1861), Commander-in-Chief Baltic, in the Duke of Wellington, and remained in her until 1857. Caldwell joined the Mersey in 1859 for three years, serving in the Channel and on the North American and West Indies Station. After a short period in the Royal Adelaide at Devonport, he joined, in 1864, the Asia, guardship of the steam reserve at Portsmouth. Finally Caldwell was aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria from 1866 until his death.
When he entered the Navy, in 1747, Carteret joined the SALISBURY and then served from 1751 to 1755 under Captain John Byron (1723-1786). Between 1757 and 1758 he was in the GUERNSEY on the Mediterranean Station. As a lieutenant in the DOLPHIN he accompanied Byron during his voyage of circumnavigation, 1764 to 1766. On his return Carteret was commissioned for another exploratory voyage, this time commanding the SWALLOW, which expedition was led by Captain Samuel Wallis (1728-1795) in the DOLPHIN. The ships separated early in the voyage and Carteret made many independent discoveries. When he returned home he was on half-pay for a time and joined the movement pressing for an increase in the half-pay allowance. In 1779, Carteret was appointed to the ENDYMION and after a few months in the Channel went to the west coast of Africa before sailing for the West Indies to join Admiral Rodney's (1719-1792) fleet. He returned to England in 1781, had no further employment and was made rear-admiral in 1794.
As an historian, he published nine principal naval works and three works of fiction (The fall of Asgard, 1886, For God and Gold, 1887 and Cophetua the Thirteenth, 1889.) Between 1898-1914, he edited five historic works for the Navy Records Society. Serving for many years as Vice President of both The Navy Records Society (NRS) and the Society for Nautical Research (SNR), he was also a member of the Editorial Boards of both societies. In addition, he wrote two articles for the Mariner's Mirror between 1913 and 1921. Amongst his other major titles he was an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, The Director of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence, Lecturer at the Royal Naval War College, Lectured at Oxford, Cambridge and London and was the Official Naval Historian of the Great War.
Childers, first cousin of Hugh Childers (1827-1896), the politician, entered the Navy as a cadet in 1850 on board the Queen. From 1852 he was in the Britannia at the Crimea until late 1854, being present at the battles of Alma and Sebastopol. He then joined the Tribune, Mediterranean Station, and was in her in 1857 at the beginning of the Second China War, when she went to the Canton River, before crossing the Pacific to British Columbia in 1859. In 1860 he became a lieutenant and served in the Victorious and Firebrand, both in the Channel Fleet. Between 1861 and 1863 Childers went round the world in the Charybdis. After a gunnery course and a short period in the Canopus in 1867, he was appointed Transports Officer for the Abyssinian expedition in the Black Prince. His final appointment was the command of the Flirt in the North Sea, 1868 to 1869
Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian, father of Hood Hanway Christian, entered the navy in circa 1761, being promoted to Lieutenant in 1771. Serving mostly in the Channel and Mediterranean, in 1778 he was appointed Captain of HMS SUFFOLK, which carried Commodore Rowley's broad pennant to North America, seeing action of Grenada in 1779 and Martinique in 1780. Moving on to the HMS FORTUNEE he participated in the actions off the Chesapeake, 1781, St Kitts and Dominica in 1782. He returned home during the peace, and did not find employment again until 1790, as second captain on board the HMS QUEEN CHARLOTTE with Lord Howe. In 1795 he was advanced to Rear-Admiral of the Blue, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the West Indies Station, with his flag in the HMS PRINCE GEORGE, but the fleet was scattered in a storm and limped back to Spithead. He did not arrive in Barbados until April 1796, having been invested with the Order of the Bath, where he undertook the conquest of St. Lucia with Sir Ralph Abercromby. In 1797 he was sent to the Cape of Good Hope as second in command, being promoted to commander-in-chief in 1798, a few months before his death. Hood Hanway Christian was the eldest son of Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian. He joined the navy in 1792 as a volunteer and served on the ships of his father until 1798, serving in both the West Indies and the Cape of Good Hope. He then moved on to HMS GARLAND, HMS BOADICEA (taking part in the attack on the Spanish batteries of the Isle d'Aix) in 1799, and on to HMS QUEEN CHARLOTTE, the flagship of Lord Keith in the Mediterranean. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1800, serving onboard HMS PHEONIX, taking part in the reduction of Genoa. In 1806, after serving with distinction in Rear Admiral Rainier's flag ship HMS TRIDENT, he received a post dated commission, returning home to captain HMS HEROINE, which was part of the Walcheron expeditionary armament. From 1811 to 1814, he was the captain of HMS IRIS, which was based off northern Spain, and from which he actively helped Spanish patriots. This culminated in the capture of the fortress at Castro, of which he was appointed governor. From 1824 to 1828 he served as Commodore on the Cape of Good Hope Station.
Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian, father of Hood Hanway Christian (q.v), entered the navy in c 1761, being promoted to Lieutenant in 1771. Serving mostly in the Channel and Mediterranean, in 1778 he was appointed Captain of HMS SUFFOLK, which carried Commodore Rowley's broad pennant to North America, seeing action of Grenada in 1779 and Martinique in 1780. Moving on to the HMS FORTUNEE he participated in the actions off the Chesapeake, 1781, St Kitts and Dominica in 1782. He returned home during the peace, and didn't find employment again until 1790, as second captain on board the HMS QUEEN CHARLOTTE with Lord Howe. In 1795 he was advanced to Rear-Admiral of the Blue, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the West Indies Station, with his flag in the HMS PRINCE GEORGE, but the fleet was scattered in a storm and limped back to Spithead. He didn't arrive in Barbados until April 1796, having been invested with the Order of the Bath, where he undertook the conquest of St. Lucia with Sir Ralph Abercromby. In 1797 he was sent to the Cape of Good Hope as second in command, being promoted to commander-in-chief in 1798, a few months before his death.
Hood Hanway Christian was the eldest son of Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian (q.v). He joined the navy in 1792, as a volunteer, and served on the ships of his father until 1798, serving in both the West Indies and the Cape of Good Hope. He then moved on to HMS GARLAND, HMS BOADICEA (taking part in the attack on the Spanish batteries of the Isle d'Aix) in 1799, and on to HMS QUEEN CHARLOTTE, the flagship of Lord Keith in the Mediterranean. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1800, serving onboard HMS PHEONIX, taking part in the reduction of Genoa. In 1806, after serving with distinction in Rear Admiral Rainier's flag ship HMS TRIDENT, he received a post dated commission, returning home to captain HMS HEROINE, which was part of the Walcheron expeditionary armament. From 1811 to 1814, he was the captain of HMS IRIS, which was based off northern Spain, and from which he actively helped Spanish patriots. This culminated in the capture of the fortress at Castro, of which he was appointed governer. From 1824 to 1828, he served as Commodore on the Cape of Good Hope Station.
Chatfield entered the Navy in 1886, was promoted to lieutenant in 1894 and to captain in 1909. He was captain of the Medina during the Royal Tour of King George V and Queen Mary to India, 1911 to 1912, and later Flag-Captain to Admiral Beatty (1871-1936), 1913 to 1919, combining this duty with responsibility for fleet gunnery in the Queen Elizabeth, 1917 to 1919. He was a delegate to the Washington Naval Conference of 1920, becoming a rear-admiral in that year and he subsequently held a variety of Admiralty and sea-going appointments. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1926. In 1929 he was Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet and of the Mediterranean Fleet from 1930 to 1932. He was First Sea Lord, 1933 to 1938, became Admiral of the Fleet in 1935 and was made a baron in 1937. He was appointed Minister of Co-ordination of Defence, with a seat in the War Cabinet, by Neville Chamberlain in 1939, after serving as chairman of a committee which reported on the defence of India. In April 1940 he resigned as he felt the post was rendered redundant. During the rest of the war he was appointed to various civil defence committees. He wrote two autobiographical works: The navy and defence (London, 1942) and it might happen again (London, 1947).
The volumes in this collection were originally part of one formed at Clumber House by Henry Pelham, fourth Duke of Newcastle (1785-1851).
Cockburn went to sea in 1786, became a lieutenant in 1793 and then served in the Mediterranean under Lord Hood (q.v.) and Nelson (q.v.). He was promoted to captain in 1794. In 1796 he commanded the MINERVE and was sent to relieve the garrison at Elba; he continued in the Mediterranean until 1802. His next command was of the PHAETON in which he went to North America and India. He returned to England in the Howe in 1805. Afterwards he served in the CAPTAIN, ABOUKIR and POMPEE, playing a major part in the reduction of Martinique, 1809, and then returning to England in the BELLEISLE. At the taking of Flushing, 1809, he was in the PLOVER and commanded a flotilla as the army retreated from the Scheldt. Then he resumed his command of the Belleisle. In 1810 Cockburn was active off the coasts of France and Spain in the IMPLACABLE and was later appointed a commissioner in what resulted in an attempt to mediate between Spain and her South American colonies. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1812 and hoisted his flag in the MARLBOROUGH; in her he was sent to North America, 1813, where he was engaged in the destruction of shipping and the harrying of the settlements of the south and middle states and also took part in the burning of Washington. When the peace was concluded he returned to England. After the battle of Waterloo, 1815, Cockburn conveyed Napoleon to St. Helena in the Northumberland and stayed there as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape Station until 1816. He was made vice-admiral in 1819, admiral in 1827 and Admiral of the Fleet in 1851. He also held the posts of junior Lord of the Admiralty, 1818 to 1830, 1834 to 1835, and First Naval Lord, 1841 to 1846. He was a Member of Parliament for various constituencies, 1818 to 1828 and 1841 to 1847.
Codrington entered the Navy in 1783 and served in the LEANDER, AMBUSCADE and FORMIDABLE in North America and the Mediterranean until 1791. In 1794 he was Earl Howe's (q.v.) Flag Lieutenant in the QUEEN CHARLOTTE and subsequently commanded the fireship COMET and the sloop LA BABET in home waters. In 1796 he was appointed captain of the DRUID, again in home waters, but was unemployed from 1797 until 1805. In this year he commissioned the ORION and was present at Trafalgar. From 1807 he commanded the BLAKE for six years in the Mediterranean, during the Walcheren expedition, 1809, and off the coast of Spain. He was then appointed to the TONNANT, going to the North American Station where he organized the supplies of the army at the capture of Washington. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1814, remaining on the station until 1815. It was not until 1826 that he again saw active service when he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, flying his flag aboard the ASIA, and during this command he undertook operations against the pirates in the Levant. He subsequently took a leading part in the interpretation of allied policy in the Greek War of Independence. These operations culminated in the Battle of Navarino, 1827; this secured Codrington's fame while it also ensured his recall in 1828. After a short period of unemployment, he was appointed to command the Channel Squadron in 1831. He then became Member of Parliament for Devonport, 1832 to 1839, when he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, a post he held until 1842. The papers have been used by Lady Bourchier, Codrington's daughter, in Memoir of the life of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington (London, 1873, 2 vols) and in C.G. Pitcairn Jones, ed. , 'Piracy in the Levant' (Navy Records Society, 1934).
Collingwood entered the Navy in 1760 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1775. After serving in the Mediterranean and in American waters, he spent most of the American War in the West Indies, becoming a captain in 1780. He did not return to England until 1786. It was during this period that he became a firm friend of Nelson. From 1793 to 1795 he commanded the PRINCE and took part in the battle of the First of June 1794. He was then in the EXCELLENT, 1795 to 1798, Mediterranean Fleet, distinguishing himself at the battle of St. Vincent in 1797. Between 1799, when he became rear-admiral, and 1802 he was in the Channel in the TTRIUMPH and the BARFLEUR, returning there on the renewal of the war in 1803. After Trafalgar, 1805, when he was second-in-command to Nelson (q.v.), he succeeded to the command of the Mediterranean Fleet, which appointment he held until his death. Among a number of biographes there are G.L. Newham Collingwood, A selection from the private correspondence of Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood (London, 1828) and Oliver Warner, The life and letters of Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood London, 1968). The papers have been used in Edward Hughes ed.,The private correspondence of Admiral Lord Collingwood (Navy Records Society, 1957).
Edward Owen, elder son of Commander William Owen, entered the Navy in 1786, was made a lieutenant in 1793 and a commander in 1796. In 1797 he commanded a division of gun-brigs at the Nore. He was promoted to captain in 1798, commanding several ships in home waters during hostilities with France. In 1809, in the Clyde, he commanded the Brouershaven Squadron during the Walcheren expedition. From 1822, when he was promoted to rear-admiral, to 1825, he Commander-in-Chief, West Indies. In 1827 he was Surveyor-General of the Ordnance and from March to September, 1828, was a Member of the Council of the Lord High Admiral. Between 1828 and 1832 he was Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies. He was appointed vice-admiral in 1837. From 1841 to 1845 he was Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, and he became admiral in 1846. Owen was Member of Parliament for Sandwich from 1826 to 1829.
Cope-Cornford was an architect who turned to writing. His contributions to the National Observer attracted the attention of Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), who was to remain a lifelong friend. In 1905 he went to Berlin to gather material on the Imperial German Navy. He became naval correspondent and leader writer of for the Old and, on its demise, joined the staff of The Morning Post as naval correspondent, becoming second leader writer in 1915. He was a critic of Admiral Fisher's (1841-1920) policies. He wrote many articles for Punch, edited the Memoirs of Admiral Lord Beresford by himself (London, 1914) and wrote a number of books on naval and maritime subjects.
The Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty was established by Order-in-Council in 1795 for the purpose of supplying up-to-date charts and hydrographic information to ships of the Royal Navy, in the first instance from a mass of undigested material accumulated at the Admiralty. In 1809 the Department also became responsible for supplying the fleet with chronometers. Through the nineteenth century the scope of the Department was steadily expanded until by the 1880s Great Britain became the first nation to offer a world coverage of charts and sailing directions on sale to shipping of all nations.
Cunningham entered the Navy from the merchant service in 1775 and served in the West Indies throughout the American War. He was made lieutenant in 1782 and commanded the Admiral Barrington brig in that year. In 1788 he went to the East Indies and in 1790 was made commander of the ARIEL. He became a captain in 1793 and went to the Mediterranean, returning with Lord Hood's (q.v.) despatches. His next appointment was in 1796 to the CLYDE which was refitting at the Nore at the outbreak of the mutiny: he acted decisively and after seventeen days managed to bring his ship safely away. He was appointed, in 1803, a Commissioner of Victualling and, in 1806, Commissioner of Deptford and Woolwich dockyards. In 1823 he went to Chatham dockyard and retired with the rank of rear-admiral in 1829. In this year he published A Narrative of... the Mutiny at the Nore (Chatham, 1829).
Not a great deal appears to have been generally known about John Cowl and Sons save that it was one of five shipbuilding yards - of which the other 4 were Stribley, Rawl, Willment and Tredwen- located along the banks and in the shallow creeks of the Camel river at Padstow. The yard seems to have been opened in the early 1870s by John Cowl, whose indentures of apprenticeship (CWL/2) show that he began his time as a shipwright with John Tredwen, Carpenter of Padstow in 1836. Cowl appears to have put in some time at sea, though for how long it is difficult to say. Joseph Cowl, his father or more likely a brother or younger relative is credited (CWL/4) with having designed a number of Padstow built ships in the years 1855-70: e.g. the schooner JANE BANFIELD, in 1866 of 320 tons, built by Stribley's; the SAPPHO, also built by Stribley's and the EMPRESS OF CHINA, the same; the MORNING STAR, 480 tons, also built at Padstow, is said to have been designed by Joseph Cowl also.
The vessels built by the Cowl yard include the following:-
The EMMA, of 138 tons, in 1877 and the JANIE, of 134 tons, in 1878, both for Jenkins of New Quay, as was the KATIE, built by Cowl at Padstow in 1881, and which was in due course to become, in the hands of the Stephen family of Par, one of the last schooners still trading from a British port which had not been fitted with an engine. (CWL/12- appears to be the builder's specification for KATIE). Other ships built by the Cowl yard were the J. K. ALLPORT, of 100 tons, in 1876 for C ALLPORT of Plymouth, and the FAIRY GLEN, also of 100 tons, in 1879 for W. B. Williams. It would appear that the last clipper schooner built by John Cowl and Sons was the AMARANTH, in 1886 for WC Phillips. The company, which continued repairing ships into the 1890s, appears to have failed eventually with the demise of wooden shipbuilding at Padstow.
The son of Edward George Dannreuther (1844-1905), pianist and writer, Hubert Edward Dannreuther was born on 12 December 1880. Following in his older brother Tristan's footsteps, he joined HMS BRITTANIA as a naval cadet in 1895. He was appointed Chief Naval cadet in 1896 and in 1897 he went to the Australia Station as midshipman on HMS FLORA, and, whilst in Australia, served on HMS ORRLANDO and HMS ROYAL ARTHUR. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1902. From 1911-1912 he was a Gunnery Lieutenant on HMS EXMOUTH, flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. Whilst in this post, he commanded a guard of honour for the official landing of the King in Malta in January 1912. During the First World War he saw action whilst Gunnery Lieutenant of HMS INVINCIBLE, then the flagship of Admiral Sturdee, at Heligoland Blight on 28 August 1914 and also, at the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914. In relation to the latter, he was mentioned in despatches and promoted to Commander in Jan 1915. Hubert Edward Dannreuther was the most senior of the survivors from HMS INVINCIBLE, then the flagship of Admiral Hood, when she was blown up at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 with the loss of 1025 men. After 20 minutes in the freezing waters, he was picked up by HMS BADGER. Mentioned in despatches and awarded the DSO and the Russian Order of St Anne, he was granted a special audience with the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace on 4 June 1916 to give an account of the action. From 1916-1918 Dannreuther served as Commander of HMS RENOWN and, from 1919-20, on HMS EXCELLENT. In 1917 he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with palms. Made a Captain in 1920, he served as the Vice-President of the Chemical warfare Committee from 1920-1923 and served on HMS DAUNTLESS from 1924-1926. He was Captain - Superintendent of Training, HM Australian Navy and in command of the Flinders Naval Depot in Australia from 1927-1929. He was Captain of HMS EAGLE 1929-1930. From 1931-1932 he served as the Commodore of the Royal Naval Barracks in Portsmouth and was appointed Naval Aide-de Camp to the King from 23 Sep 1932 before being promoted to Rear-Admiral in the same year, whereupon he was put on the retired list. He married Janie Hay Thorborn in 1916 and they had 3 children, Hubert Harold (1917), Ion Alexander (1920) and Raymond Portal (1923).
Legge served with his cousin, Sir Edward Spragge (d 1673), in the Second Dutch War, 1665 to 1667. During the Third Dutch War, 1672 to 1674, he was Captain of the FAIRFAX, under Sir Robert Holmes (1622-1692) and took part in the battle of Solebay, 1672. In 1673, he commanded the ROYAL KATHERINE, under Prince Rupert (1619-1682). He held various posts in the household of the Duke of York and was Lieutenant-Governor, then Governor, of Portsmouth from 1670 to 1682, when he was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance; he was created Baron Dartmouth in the same year. In 1683 he was sent to Tangier to supervise the evacuation. After the accession of James II in 1685, he was appointed Admiral of the Fleet in 1688, in the hope that he would be able to use the fleet to prevent the invasion of the Prince of Orange. This he was unable to do and he took the oath of allegiance to William and Mary in 1689. In 1691 he was accused of plotting on behalf of the exiled James and died while imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Dick entered the Royal Navy in 1914, following an education at both Osborne and Dartmouth Royal Naval Colleges. As a Midshipman, Dick saw action at the Battle of the Falklands, Jutland and at Archangel in North Russia. Dick was promoted to Lieutenant in 1918, Commander in 1933 and Captain in 1940, serving as Deputy Chief of Staff, Mediterranean Station (Matapan), 1940-42. Then as Commodore, was Chief of Staff to Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Mediterranean Station, 1942-44. After the war, Dick served as the Captain of HMS Belfast, 1944-46, before taking several land-based positions, including Director, Tactical and Staff duties, Admiralty, 1947-48 and Chief of Staff to Flag Officer, Western Europe, 1948-50, before his promotion to Rear-Admiral. Dick was then Naval ADC to the King for one year, after which he served as Flag Officer, Training Squadron, 1951-52, before being offered the NATO post of Standing Group Liason Officer to North Atlantic Council, which he held for three years, before retiring in 1955.
Entering the service in 1893, Dewar specialized in gunnery. He was a lieutenant in 1900 and became a commander in 1911. In 1912 he won the Royal United Service Institution Gold Medal for his essay on the influence of overseas commerce on the operations of war and its past and present effects. He was Assistant Director of the Plans Division of the Admiralty in 1917, was promoted to captain in 1918 and commanded cruisers on the North America and West Indies Station, 1922 to 1924. Between 1925 and 1927 he was Deputy Director, Naval Intelligence Division. His command of the ROYAL OAK in the Mediterranean in 1928 ended in the notorious 'incident'. In 1929 he became a rear-admiral, was retired the following day and advanced to vice-admiral in 1934. During the Second World War, however, he served again at the Admiralty. He stood as Labour candidate for Portsmouth in 1931. Dewar was one of the founder members of The Naval Review and a strong advocate of naval reform and of improved staff training. He wrote an autobiography, 'The Navy from within' (London, 1939).
Probably the leading naval architect of his day, Tennyson D'Eyncourt was trained at Armstrong's yard at Elswick and at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. On completion of his apprenticeship, he remained with Armstrong's until 1898 when he became naval architect to Fairfields on the Clyde. In 1902 he returned to Armstrong's and made a reputation both for technical competence as well as skill in securing foreign orders. In 1912, D'Eyncourt was appointed Director of Naval Construction and thereby became responsible for the British wartime shipbuilding programme, as well as for the development of tanks and airships. He retired in 1924 and rejoined Armstrong's until they amalgamated with Vickers in 1927. Afterwards he acted as a consulting naval architect and was connected with numerous institutions such as the National Physical Laboratory, the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects He published an autobiography, 'A shipbuilder's yarn; the record of a naval constructor' (London, 1948).
Duff entered the Navy in 1875, passed as a sub-lieutenant in 1881 and as a lieutenant in 1884, after which he specialized in torpedo duties. He was promoted to commander in 1897 and to captain in 1902. In 1911 he became Director of Naval mobilization and two years later was promoted to rear-admiral. During the first half of the war he was second-in-command of the Fourth Battle Squadron, flying his flag in the EMPEROR OF INDIA in 1914 and in the SUPERB at Jutland, 1916. Duff was then appointed as Director of the Anti-Submarine Division. In 1917 he was made Assistant Chief of Naval Staff. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1918 and from 1919 to 1922 was Commander-in-Chief on the China Station. He retired in 1925.
Dixie entered the Navy in 1795 as a first-class volunteer and was captured by the French in 1797. After ten months in captivity he joined La Pomone, serving in the Mediterranean and then joined the Orion in the West Indies. In 1804 he was with Nelson (q.v.) who confirmed him as a lieutenant; he was present at the battle of Trafalgar, 1805. Until 1814 he was in North America. He retired in 1815 and in 1851 was promoted to captain on the retired list.
Dare first went to sea in 1878 as an apprentice with Shallcross and Higham of Liverpool and much of his early service was spent on the west coast of South America. He took his second mate's certificate in 1883, but was dogged by ill health and did not take the first mate's and master's certificates until 1891 and 1894. He then went into steam, sailing first with the Bedouin Steam Navigation Company and later with F. Leyland and Company, both of Liverpool. Failing health finally forced him to leave the sea in 1901 and he retired to his home town of Leicester.
Duff was promoted to the command of the TERROR bomb vessel off the coast of Scotland in 1744 and then to the Anglesea between 1747 and 1748 off the coast of Ireland. In 1755 he was appointed to the ROCHESTER in the Channel. He contributed to the victory of Quiberon Bay, 1759, by leading the French in pursuit of his small squadron to bring them within range of the main British fleet. His next command was the FOUDROYANT in the West Indies where he was present at the reduction of Martinique in 1762. In 1775 he was promoted to rear-admiral and appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland. His last command was as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, in the PANTHER between 1777 and 1780. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1778.
Gilbert Elliot, eldest son of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd St. (q. v.), was called to the English Bar in 1774 and entered Parliament two years later as the Member for Morpeth, transferring to Roxburghshire in 1777. He gave independent support to the government during the War of American Independence, only going over to the Opposition in 1782. Having lost his seat in 1784, he was returned for Berwick in 1786. In 1790 he was returned for Helston, Cornwall, and in 1793 transferred his allegiance to Pitt's government. In this year he was appointed Civil Commissioner at Toulon and served as Viceroy of Corsica between 1794 and 1796. He attempted to make Corsica the centre of British power in the Mediterranean and it was through him that Nelson (q.v.) attacked Porto Ferraio. In September 1796 he was ordered to withdraw from Corsica to Naples, after which he returned to England in March 1798. In 1799 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Vienna and was Governor-General of India, 1806 to 1813. He was created Baron Minto in 1797 and Earl of Minto in 1813. See Countess of Minto ed. , 'Life and letters Of Sir Gilbert Elliot, first Earl of Minto...' (London, 1874).
After an early period of military service abroad, Hugh Elliot, second son of Sir Gilbert Elliot (q.v), had a varied diplomatic career until, in 1803, he was appointed to Naples. Here he encountered a complicated situation. The Queen of Naples wished, and so influenced Elliot, that the English army should remain to defend Naples. However, the British military commander insisted that the army should go to Sicily, the Fleet duly escorted the Royal Family there and Elliot was recalled. He was later appointed Governor of the Leeward Islands and finished his career as Governor of Madras. See Countess of Minto, 'A memoir of the Right Honourable Hugh Elliot' (Edinburgh, 1868).
William Elliot was the fourth son of Gilbert Elliot, first Earl of Minto. He served in the ARDENT and MEDUSA in the Channel between 1803 and 1806 and in the AURORA and MODESTE in the East Indies under his brother, George, later Admiral Sir George Elliot (1784-1863). He was promoted to lieutenant in 1808 and on the same station served in the PROCRIS between 1808 and 1810 and in the BUCEPHALUS until his death in India.
John Elliot, brother of Sir Gilbert Elliot 3rd Bt., (q.v.), went to sea in the AUGUSTA in 1745. He was made a lieutenant of the SCARBOROUGH in 1756 and gained promotion to command the HUSSAR in the following year under Hawke (q.v.) and then under Anson. In 1758 he commissioned the AEOLUS and in 1760 captured the small French squadron which was attempting a raid on Belfast. He was appointed to the GOSPORT, a forty-gun ship, but soon went back to his frigate off Brest. In 1761 he went to the Mediterranean in the Chichester. During the peace he commanded several ships and in 1777 was appointed to the TRIDENT which carried the Peace Commission of Lord Carlisle to Philadelphia. From the end of 1779 he commanded the EDGAR and was present at the first relief of Gibraltar. This was then followed by service in the Channel and in 1781, under Kempenfelt (1718-1782), he assisted in the capture of the French convoy. In 1782 Elliot went to the Romney. From 1786 to 1789 he was Governor and Commander-in-chief, Newfoundland, and in 1787 was made rear-admiral. He became a vice-admiral in 1790 and hoisted his flag in the Barfleur. Although promoted to admiral in 1795, he saw no further service.
Fisher entered the Navy in 1888 and served as a sub-lieutenant and lieutenant in the Mediterranean In 1903 he was appointed a senior staff officer of the Gunnery School on Whale Island. He was made a commander in 1906 and a captain in 1912 . After more than four years with the Grand Fleet he was called in May 1917 to the Admiralty as Director of the then recently-formed Anti-Submarine Division In 1919 he commanded the IRON DUKE, flagship, Mediterranean Fleet, and was then Chief of Staff to Admiral Sir John De Robeck (1862-1928), in both the Mediterranean and Atlantic Fleets Fisher became rear-admiral in 1922, commanded the First Battle Squadron, Mediterranean Fleet, in 1924 and in 1926 was appointed Director of Naval Intelligence He joined the Board of the Admiralty as Fourth Sea Lord in 1927 and, after rising to vice-admiral, became in April 1928 Deputy Chief of Naval Staff In the autumn of 1930 he was appointed second-in-command, Mediterranean Fleet, until April 1932. He was then promoted to admiral and returned to the Mediterranean as Commander-in-Chief in October. His command covered the period which included the Abyssinian crisis of 1935 His final appointment was Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. There is a biography by Admiral Sir William James, Admiral Sir W.W Fisher (London, 1943).
Thomas Fremantle entered the Navy in 1777 and after service in the West Indies was promoted to lieutenant in 1782. He was promoted to captain in 1793 when he commissioned the Tartar frigate and went to the Mediterranean. He led the way into Toulon in 1793 and in the following year served under Nelson at the siege of Bastia, after which he commanded the INCONSTANT, in which he took part in the action off Toulon, March 1795, and in the blockade of the North Italian coast In 1797 he accompanied Nelson to the attack on Santa Cruz where both were severely wounded. Fremantle took part in the battle of Copenhagen in 1801 and was also at Trafalgar He returned to England in 1806, was made a Lord of the Admiralty until his appointment as Captain of the Royal Yacht in 1807. In 1810 he was promoted to rear-admiral and to a command in the Mediterranean, and in 1812 took command of the squadron in the Adriatic In 1818 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, and died at Naples. See Anne Parry, The Admirals Fremantle (London, 1971)
Franklin entered the Navy in 1800. He served as midshipman under his cousin, Captain Matthew Flinders from 1801 to 1803, surveying the coasts of Australia. He began his Arctic career as second-in-command to Captain David Buchan (d c 1839) during the Spitsbergen expedition of 1818. From 1819 to 1822 he commanded an expedition down the Coppermine River of Canada to the Arctic Ocean. From 1825 to 1827 he commanded a second expedition to the Arctic Ocean down the Mackenzie River. He was knighted in 1829. Franklin was in the Mediterranean from 1830 to 1833 and between 1833 and 1844 was Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). In 1845 at the age of fifty-nine, he took command of an expedition in search of the North-West Passage in the EREBUS and TERROR. He died on board the EREBUS off King William Island. See Sir J Franklin, 'Narrative of the journey to the shores of the Polar Seas in the years 1819, 1820, 21 and 22' (London, 1823) and 'Narrative of a second expedition to the shores of the Polar Sea, in the years 1825, 1826 and 1827' (London, 1828). Among a number of biographies is Richard J. Cyriax, Sir John Franklin's Last Arctic Expedition (London, 1939).
Fraser entered the Navy in 1880. As a midshipman he served in the MONARCH and the AGINCOURT, Mediterranean Station, between 1882 and 1885 and then in the ACTIVE between 1885 and 1886 mostly in the East Indies. Having attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, he was promoted to lieutenant in 1888. In 1890 he was appointed to the KINGFISHER in the East Indies, after which he specialised in torpedo duties, serving at the torpedo school Vernon in 1894 and again between 1897 and 1900. He organized the illumination of the Fleet at the opening of the Kiel Canal in 1899, probably the first time this had been done by electricity. After promotion to commander in the same year, he joined the VINDICTIVE in the Mediterranean. During this period he became seriously ill and had eventually to be invalided, retiring as captain in 1907. During the First World War he served in the Torpedo and Mining Division of the Admiralty, specialising in defensive mining.
The General Maritime Assurance Company appears to have been established in London in 1839 with an authorised capital of one million pounds. At a time when there was a great deal of activity in the promotion of specialist marine insurance companies, of the authorised ten thousand shares, only 7,500 were allotted; by 1848 only five thousand were still registered. The affairs of the company did not flourish, and the company seems to have ceased trading in 1848. The directors of the company, who also took charge of its liquidation, were defendants in Hallet v Dowdall, 1852, a case concerning the liability of shareholders in insurance claims.
F W G Grant, Shoreham Pilot and Captain, born 8th March 1905, at Southwick, Sussex, son of Frederick Grant (born 1866, discharged Ebenezer in 1890) and Ellen Grant (formerly Sayers). His Father was a Trinity House Pilot licensed for the London Outports District of Shoreham-by- Sea, Sussex. Captain FWG Grant was appointed a Trinity House Pilot. A former master of the Tug "Harold Brown" owned by the Shoreham Harbour Trustees in 1971. Mr Grant had a varied life as a deck boy before qualifying as a master.
Dr Philip Gosse (1879-1959) ended his career as Superintendent of the Radium Institute, London in 1930, after which he not only collected documents and books relating to piracy, but wrote many works on the subject.