Edward Eden Bradford joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet in 1872, serving on HMS HERCULES in the channel. Promoted to Midshipman in 1876, he then served aboard HMS DORIS, HMS DANAE and HMS RALIEGH, before taking up position on the schooner HMS SANDFLY as her Sub-Lieutenant. It was during his time on th SANDFLY that Bradford was forced to take charge of the vessel, following the murder of her Commanding Officer and five crew by natives whilst surveying ashore in the Solomon Islands. Bradford's subsequent actions in recovering the bodies of his shipmates and the punishment of the natives earned him a special promotion to Lieutenant in December 1880. Bradford then joined HMS ACHILLES in 1881 and took part in the bombardment of Alexandria, for which he was decorated. He served in the China Station from 1883 to 1891 aboard HMS SAPPHIRE and HMS MUTINE, after which he joined HMS BOADICEA, flagship of the East Indies Squadron as a Commander. Promoted to Captain in 1899, Bradford then served under Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson as his Flag-Captain in HMS MAJESTIC, HMS REVENGE and HMS EXMOUTH. Commodore of Chatham Naval Barracks from 1907 to 1908, Bradford was then made Rear-Admiral of the Home Fleet, with his flag in HMS HIBERNIA. He then commanded the Training Squadron aboard HMS LEVIATHAN from 1911 to 1913, before being promoted to Vice-Admiral and given command of the 3rd Battle Squadron, with which he supported Admiral Beatty at Dogger Bank. At his own request, Bradford retired in 1918 with the rank of Admiral.
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.
Chatham was formally established as a Royal dockyard by Queen Elizabeth I in 1567, although for some time there had been an establishment at Gillingham. It assumed importance because of its strategic position in the Dutch wars and by the late seventeenth century it was the largest of all the yards. From that time, although it grew in area and in the size of its workforce, it lost its predominance to Portsmouth and then to Plymouth, partly because the main naval enemy was then France and the Western approaches became the main theatre of operations, and partly because the Medway silted and navigation became more difficult. Chatham thus became a building yard rather than a refitting base. In the eighteen-sixties there was a large building programme and St Mary's basin was constructed for the steam navy. With the closure of Deptford and Woolwich in 1869, it again became relatively important. During the mid to late twentieth century Chatham was redeveloped for the fitting and maintenance of nuclear submarines. The last warships built were conventional submarines. Many of the eighteenth-century yard buildings survive today, and the yard remained operational as H.M. Naval Base, Chatham, under the command of Flag Officer, Medway until 1984. The yard is now a tourist attraction, owned by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust.
Chatfield attended the School of Naval Architecture at Portsmouth. He was Assistant Master Shipwright at Deptford, 1848 to 1853, and Master Shipwright between 1853 and 1860. He was a member of the Dockyard Committee of Enquiry, which concluded its report in 1861 and to which he attached a minority report.
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
Clarke, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, held livings in Ireland in which he was non-resident. He was a confidant of Nicholas Vansittart, Lord Bexley (1766-1851), and tutor to the Duke of Cumberland's illegitimate son, George Fitzernest. Clarke was appointed Auditor of the Naval Asylum at Greenwich, which position he held from 1805 to 1821. His appointment and those of the Secretary and Chaplain were later criticized by Sir Charles Pole (q.v.) in the House of Commons on the grounds that none of them had ever had any sea service.
Between 1748 and 1749 Clements served in the East Indies in the SYREN. He was in the UNICORN firstly in the Mediterranean and later in the Western Squadron, from 1755, when he became a lieutenant, until 1757, when he was promoted to captain and given command of the London buss. In 1758 he was posted into the ACTAEON in home waters and from 1759 to 1763 he commanded the PALLAS, at first under Admiral Hawke (q.v.) in the Channel and later in the Mediterranean. He was at Portsmouth in the DORSETSHIRE in 1770 and in the Channel in the VENGEANCE in 1778. He became a rear-admiral in 1790.
Coast Lines Ltd of Liverpool was formed by the merging of three lines in 1913 and until 1917 was known by their joint names, Powell, Bacon and Hough. The name of Coast Lines Limited was adopted in 1917, when the company was absorbed into the Royal Mail Group (q.v.). After the dissolution of the group in 1931, the company became independent under the chairmanship of Sir Alfred Read (1871-1955), who had previously been a director. From 1917 to 1951 Coast Lines acquired a controlling interest in a large number of coastal shipping companies, eventually numbering about twenty, of which the most important were: the British and Irish Steam Packet Company Ltd, acquired in 1917; City of Cork Steam Packet Company Limited, acquired in 1918; the Belfast Steamship Company Limited, acquired 1919; Burns and Laird Lines, acquired 1920 and 1919; and Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company Limited, acquired in 1943. Some idea of the extent of the Company's activities, spanning the whole of the British and Irish seaboard and extending to the Scottish and Channel Islands, can be gained from the fact that during 1951, with a fleet of 109 ships, the total of cargo carried was in excess of four million tons, and of livestock more than half a million head, while over a million passengers were also carried. This period saw the high water mark of the British, as distinct from the cross-channel, internal freight and passenger trades. The British and Irish Steam Packet Company Limited was sold to the Irish Government in 1965, together with its subsidiary, the City of Cork Steam Packet Company. The last stage of the streamlining of the Coast Lines Limited and its associates took place when the company was acquired, in 1971, by the P and 0 Group. See E.R. Reader, 'The world's largest coaster fleet', Sea Breezes, February 1949.
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).
Dawkins entered the Navy in 1841. After becoming a lieutenant in 1848 he served in the RATTLER and was given charge of two Brazilian slavers as prizes in 1849. He then served in the MODESTE and in the GLATTON, a floating battery which went to the Crimea, 1855 to 1856. After this he was in the ESK commanded by Sir Robert McClure (q.v.) in a cruise to the Far East, and was present in the BITTERN at the attack on Canton in 1857. He returned home in the COMUS. He was commander in the MARS, Channel Squadron, in 1859, was promoted to Captain in 1863 and in 1866 went to the Pacific in command of the ZEALOUS. In 1873 he was appointed to the VANGUARD, which in September 1875 sank after colliding with the IRON DUKE. At the subsequent court martial Dawkins was held responsible for the accident. After 1875 Dawkins made several unsuccessful applications to the Admiralty for employment and for a reconsideration of his case. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1878 on the retired list but the finding of the court martial was never reversed.
Domvile entered the Navy in 1892 and served in the SOVEREIGN in the Channel. From 1895 to 1897 he went to the CRESCENT, flagship in North America, followed by a period in the ACTIVE, Training Squadron. After promotion to lieutenant in 1898, Domvile was in the REVENGE in the Mediterranean before taking the specialist gunnery course in EXCELLENT, after which he was a staff officer there. From 1903 to 1907 he was on the Mediterranean Station, firstly as gunnery officer in the MONTAGU and then in the LEVIATHAN. His next appointment was with the Home Fleet, from 1907 to 1901 It was at this time that he ran foul of Sir John (later Lord) Fisher (1841-1920) over an essay which won the Gold medal of the Royal United Service Institution in 1907. Promoted to commander at the end of 1909, Domvile commanded the destroyers BONETTA and RATTLESNAKE in home waters, 1910 to 1912, after which he became Assistant secretary to the Committee on Imperial Defence until 1914. He spent the whole war with the Harwich Force in command of the MIRANDA, LIGHTFOOT, ARETHUSA, CARYSFORT, CENTUAR and CURACAO, the latter four being Admiral Tyrwhitt's (1886-1951) flagships. Domvile was Director of the Plans Division at the Admiralty from 1919 to 1922, then Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean between 1922 and 1925. He commanded the ROYAL SOVEREIGN in the Atlantic Fleet, 1925 to 1926. In 1927 he reached flag rank and became Director of Naval Intelligence from 1927 until 1930. After commanding the Third Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean between 1931 and 1932, he ended his service career as President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1932 to 1934. Subsequently he became known for his pro-German views and in June 1940 was detained under the Defence Regulations. He was released from Brixton Prison in 1943. Domvile wrote two autobiographical works: 'By and large' (London, 1936) and 'From admiral to cabin boy' (London, 1947).
The naval school of navigation, HMS Dryad, was founded in 1903. It was based at Portsmouth until 1941 when it moved to Southwick near Fareham in Hampshire. In 1974 it became the School of Maritime Operations, though retaining the name of Dryad. See B B Schofield, The Story of HMS Dryad (Havant, Hampshire,1977).
Edgell was promoted to lieutenant in 1828, to commander in 1837 and to captain in 1846. He was appointed to command the TRIBUNE in 1855 when she was in the Crimea. During this commission she went to the Pacific and finally to China. In 1857 Edgell was the Senior Naval Officer at Hong Kong and he transferred into the BITTERN tender commanding the gun boats on the Canton River during the hostilities with the Chinese. In 1858 be was given command of the squadron in Indian waters, during which time he commanded the CHESAPEAKE and later the RETRIBUTION. The latter returned to England and was paid off in 1860. Edgell had no further active employment and was promoted on the retired list, reaching the rank of vice-admiral in 1871.
Born in Bristol, Eggins spent several years at sea and in 1922 gained a master's ticket. In that year he became a Falmouth pilot, retiring in 1958.
After attending the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth, Elkins joined the Atlantic Fleet, 1921 to 1923, as a midshipman in the HOOD, WRYNECK and WILD SWAN successively. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1924, qualified as an Interpreter (German) in 1928 and specialised in gunnery in 1929. During the Invergordon incident of 1931 he was the lieutenant in charge of the VALIANT'S shore patrol on the evening when the trouble began. In 1937 he became a commander and in 1939 took command of the BIDEFORD in China and the Mediterranean. In 1940 as Naval Liaison Officer he was sent to assist the intended evacuation of the 51st Highland Division from St Valery-en-Caux but fog prevented the main withdrawal Elkins was captured but he and Captain Lesley Hulls of the Gordon Highlanders escaped and sailed to England. After this Elkins served in the RENOWN which was one of the four ships that bombarded Genoa in February, 1941. Elkins was appointed to the Naval Ordnance Department at Bath and was promoted to captain in 1942 He then went to the DIDO, Home Fleet (Tenth Cruiser Squadron) in 1944 and was at Copenhagen when the Germans surrendered. In 1952 Elkins was aide-de-camp to King George VI and to Queen Elizabeth II, becoming a rear-admiral in that year and a vice-admiral in 1955 From 1955 to 1956 he was second-in-command on the Far East Station and then, from 1956 to 1958, was Flag Officer, British Joint Staff Mission, Washington He retired in 1959.
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).
George Eliott, son of Sir Gilbert Eliott, 3rd Bt., of Stobs, descended through four generations from a younger branch of the Minto family, received a French military academy training and fought on the Continent at an early age with the Prussian army. After training as a field engineer, he served during the War of 1739 to 1748 in the British Army, becoming a captain in 1745 and a lieutenant-colonel in 1754. During the Seven Years War he was present at the capture of Havana. In 1774 he was made Commander-in-Chief of the forces in Ireland and the following year he went out, as Governor, to prepare Gibraltar for the threatened attack from Spain. This did not come until 1779. From then until 1783 the Rock was under constant siege, being relieved on three occasions. For his skilful defence Eliott was raised to the peerage in 1787.
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Owing to the death of his father, Fisher had to go out to work at an early age. However, his interest in science won him recognition and in 1817 he was able to go to Cambridge University. In 1818 he sailed as astronomer with the naval expedition to Spitsbergen commanded by Captain David Buchan (d c 1839) in the DOROTHEA and the TRENT. He then returned to Cambridge. In 1821 he graduated and was ordained. In that year he sailed with Captain W E Parry (1790-1855), on his second expedition, 1821 to 1823, to search for the North-West Passage, in the double capacity of chaplain and astronomer. During both these expeditions he made astronomical and magnetic observations and did some pioneer work on the physical, chemical and physiological consequences of the Arctic climate. In recognition of his work he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1825. From 1828 to 1832 he served in the Mediterranean as chaplain in the SPARTIATE and ASIA and continued his work on astronomy and magnetism. From 1834 to 1863 Fisher was Headmaster of the Greenwich Hospital School, where he continued his scientific work and established an observatory.
Fitzgerald entered the Navy in 1818. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1823. In May 1839 he was appointed to the MAGNIFICENT, flagship of Commodore Peter John Douglas at Jamaica, and in March 1841 to the RACER, North America and West Indies. Following his promotion to Captain in November 1841, Fitzgerald was sent in 1842 by Sir Charles Adam, the Commander-in-Chief, on a mission to Guatemala. In 1845 he was appointed Captain of the VERNON, flagship of Rear-Admiral S H Inglefield on the south east coast of America and later in the East Indies. On the death of Inglefield in 1848 he was for a time Senior Officer on the station, arriving home in the autumn of that year. In 1853 he was appointed Captain of HMS WINCHESTER, flagship of Sir Fleetwood Pellew, in the East Indies. For reasons of health he was transferred to the CALLIOPE the following year, on the Australian Station, and brought her home in 1855. He was appointed Superintendent of Sheerness Dockyard in 1857 and died there in 1859.
Edmund Fremantle, grandson of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Fremantle, entered the Navy in 1849 in the Queen on the Mediterranean Station. From 1852 he served in the SPARTAN on the East Indies and China Stations and was involved in the Burma War. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1857. He next served in the ORION and ROYAL ALBERT on the Mediterranean and Channel Stations and from 1860 in the NEPTUNE, with Captain Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby, on the Mediterranean Station, until his promotion to commander in 1861. Fremantle then commanded the despatch vessel ECLIPSE on the Australian Station, 1864 to 1867, and saw service in the Maori War, 1864 to 1866. He was promoted to captain in 1867. He commanded the BARRACOUTA between 1873 and 1874 on the Cape Station, after which he served in the DORIS between 1874 and 1876 as part of the Detached Squadron. From 1877 he commanded the LORD WARDEN for a year on coastguard service and then went to the INVINCIBLE in the Mediterranean, 1879 to 1881. He was Senior Naval Officer at Gibraltar from 1881 to 1883. His next command was the DREADNOUGHT in 1884. After his promotion to rear-admiral in 1885, he was second-in-command of the Channel Squadron with his flag in the AGINCOURT. He was Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, from 1888 to 1891, on the China Station from 1892 to 1895 and at Devonport from 1896 to 1899. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1890 and admiral in 1896. Fremantle published The Navy as I have known it (London, 1904). See also Anne Parry, The Admirals Fremantle (London, 1971).
Fremantle was the youngest son of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Fremantle (q.v.). He entered the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth, in 1823 and afterwards served as midshipman in the Challenger, 1828, and the Pallas, 1828 to 1829, on the Home Station. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1829 and to commander in 1836, when he commanded the Clio, Southampton and Wanderer at the Cape of Good Hope and on the South American Station and in China respectively. He was promoted to captain in 1842 while in the Wanderer. After service in North America, he was appointed to the Arrogant, 1852 to 1853, on the Home Station and then the Juno on the Australian Station, 1853 to 1857. He was accused of over-strict discipline in the Juno and had no further employment.
Eldest son of Admiral Sir Edmund Robert Fremantle, Sydney Fremantle entered the Navy in 1881. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1887, to commander in 1889 and to captain in 1903 After a distinguished career afloat he was made Head of the War Division at the Admiralty in 1910 and President of the Signal Committee at Portsmouth in 1912. He became a rear-admiral in 1913 and was made Head of the Signals Division at the Admiralty in 1914. He was second-in-command of the Third Battle Squadron in 1915, and was appointed to command the Ninth Cruiser Squadron in 1916 and the Second Cruiser Squadron in early 1917. In August of that year he was in command of the British Aegean Squadron. In January 1918 he was made Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, was promoted to vice-admiral and in May 1919 was appointed to command the First Battle Squadron. Fremantle was promoted to admiral in 1922 and was Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, from 1923 to 1926. Ho retired in 1928. See Fremantle's autobiography, My Naval Career (London, 1949).
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).
For some fifty years George H. Gabb (fl 1880-1930) built up a collection not only of manuscripts relating to science, but also of scientific instruments.
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.
Gower entered the Navy in 1755. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1762 and took part in two voyages of circumnavigation early in his career. He was promoted to captain in 1780 and served on the East Indies and Newfoundland stations. In 1792 he was appointed to command the LION in which he took the embassy of Earl Macartney (1737-1806) to China In November 1794, he was appointed to command the TRIUMPH and was with Admiral Sir William Cornwallis (q.v.) during the 'Cornwallis retreat' in 1795. He was involved in the mutiny at the Nore when he commanded the NEPTUNE, one of the ships commissioned for the defence of the Thames, and continued to serve in her, in the Channel Fleet, until his promotion to rear-admiral in 1799. In 1804 Gower became a vice-admiral and in 1809 an admiral.
Griffin served in the Baltic Fleet, 1716 to 1717, in the WEYMOUTH and then in the PANTHER. He became a lieutenant in 1718 and was in the BARLEUR and ORFORD, Mediterranean Station, until 1720; from 1727 to 1730 he served in the GIBRALTER, the PRINCESS LOUISA and the FALMOUTH on the same station. He was promoted to captain in 1731, served in the West Indies in the Shoreham from 1731 to 1733 and on the Channel Station under Sir John Norris (c 1670-1749) from 1735 until 1740 in the Blenheim, Oxford and Princess Caroline It was in the latter ship that he sailed to join Admiral Vernon's fleet in the West Indies in October 1740. During the abortive attack on Cartagena in 1741 he commanded the BURFORD. Griffin was then at Portsmouth until 1743 in the ST GEORGE. It was during his service in the Captain, 1744 to 1745, that he was accused of an error of judgement, court-martialled but acquitted. He was made rear-admiral, in 1747, when he hoisted his flag in the PRINCESS MARY and went to the East Indies. In the following year he was promoted to vice-admiral and, on his arrival back in England, found himself the object of criticism over an alleged failure to attack eight French ships: he requested a court martial, was found guilty of negligence and suspended from his rank. Although reinstated in 1752, he had no further active employment.
See Sub-fonds level descriptions for biographical histories.
Graves was the second son of Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves and first cousin to Admiral Samuel Graves (1713-1787) He was with his father in the NORFOLK at the attack on Cartagena in 1741 and went with him to the Mediterranean and transferred into the MARLBOROUGH in 1742. In 1743 he was appointed Lieutenant of the ROMNEY and was present at the action off Toulon in February 1744. In 1746 he was in the PRINCESSA at the attack on L'Orient and he then served in the MONMOUTH under Anson and Hawke in the Channel. Between 1751 and 1754 he made two voyages to Africa. In 1754 he was given command of the HAZARD in home waters. He was made a captain in 1755 and appointed to the Sheerness, but in 1757 was court-martialled for refusing an engagement with an enemy ship, which appeared to be of superior force, and sentenced to be reprimanded. Graves was appointed to the UNICORN in 1758 and served in the Channel under Anson and Rodney. In 1761, as Captain of the ANTELOPE, he was Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland. On his arrival he found there had been a French invasion and he organized a relief expedition which drove them from the island. On his return home he was made Captain of the TEMERAIRE in 1764 and in 1765 was sent to the west coast of Africa to investigate charges of maladministration in the British forts. He served as Member of Parliament for East Looe, January to May, 1775. In 1778 he commanded the CONQUEROR in North America and the West Indies, returning home the next year on his promotion to rear-admiral when he served as second-in-command of the Channel Fleet. He was sent to America as Commander-in-Chief in 1780 and led the British fleet at the action off the Chesapeake in March 1781 which resulted in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Graves sailed for home from the West Indies in 1782 but lost several ships in a storm He was made a vice-admiral in 1787 and in 1788 Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. He hoisted his flag in the CAMBRIDGE in 1790. In 1793 he was appointed second-in-command of the Channel Fleet under Lord Howe. He was promoted to admiral in 1794. He was raised to the Irish peerage for his part in the battle of the First of June 1794 but received a wound which forced him to give up his command and he saw no further service.
The yard at Halifax was established in February 1759. A Storekeeper had been stationed there since 1756, a Master Attendant since 1757 and the Admiralty ordered the construction of a careening wharf and other facilities for refitting ships in 1758. By 1774 there were two careening wharves, and these facilities remained largely unaltered until the mid-nineteenth century. Between 1881 and 1897 coaling facilities, a graving-dock and a torpedo boat slip were added. In January 1907 the yard was handed over to the Canadian Government and it remains the principal Atlantic base of the Canadian naval force.
Hamond was the son of Captain Sir Andrew Snape Hamond (1738-1828), Controller of the Navy. He entered the Navy in 1785, was promoted to lieutenant in 1795 and commander in 1798. He served during the French wars but was invalided in 1814. His next appointment was in 1824 to the Wellesley and in 1825 he conveyed the British ambassador, Sir Charles Stuart (1779-1845), later Lord Stuart de Rothesay, to Brazil. While there Hamond was promoted to rear-admiral. He was ordered home in the SPARTIATE and on the way he delivered the Treaty of Separation between Brazil and Portugal to the King of Portugal. From 1834 to 1838 he was Commander-in-Chief on the South American Station; this was his last employment. Hamond became a vice-admiral in 1837, an admiral in 1847 and Admiral of the Fleet in 1862.
Lee was a civil lawyer, and admitted as an advocate in Doctor's Commons in 1729. He was Member of Parliament for Brackley, 1733 to 1742, and afterwards represented Devizes, 1742 to 1747, Liskeard, 1747 to 1754, and Launceston, 1754 to 1758. In 1742 he was on the Board of Admiralty but in 1744 followed Lord Carteret (1690-1763) out of office. His connection with the Navy ceased from this time.
Hawker, son of Captain James Hawker (c 1731-1787), went to sea in 1793. He joined the SWIFTSURE, home waters, in 1794, commanded by his brother-in-law, Captain Charles Boyles (q.v.), and was also with him in the West Indies when he was promoted to lieutenant in the RAISONNABLE. Again in the West Indies, 1803, Hawker commanded the prize brig, LA MIGNONNE, and in 1804, having been promoted to captain, was appointed to the THESEUS, flagship of the station. He then commanded the TARTAR, 1805 to 1806, and the MELAMPUS, 1806 to 1811, on the North America and West Indies Stations, engaged against the enemy's privateers. From 1813 to 1815, in the BELLEROPHON and then in the SALISBURY, he was Flag-Captain to Sir Richard Goodwin Keats (q.v.), Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland. His last appointments were to the BRITANNIA, 1828 to 1829, and ST VINCENT, 1829 to 1830, flagships at Plymouth to the Earl of Northesk (1758-1831). He became rear-admiral in 1837, vice-admiral in 1847 and admiral in 1853.
Admiral Henry Dennis Hickley was born in 1826 and served for almost fifty years in the British Navy and Admiralty. He served as a Lieutenant on H.M.S. Diadem; was Commander on H.M.S. Hope and Her Majesty's Steam Ship Gladiator; and became Captain of H.M.S. Princess Royal, Adventure, Royal Adelaide, Jamar, Hotspur, Endymion, and Impregnable between 1864 and 1878. Promoted to Rear Admiral of the Fleet on 24th January 1880, he was subsequent elevated to Vice-Admiral in June 1886, becoming an Admiral on the Retired List from 5th April 1892. Admiral Hickley was married to Mary Hickley and was the father of Lieutenant John Dennis Hickley, whose papers are also contained in the collection. Admiral Hickley died in 1903 at the age of 77, his son having predeceased him
Hampshire entered the Navy in 1888. He served from 1890 to 1892 in the Benbow and Immortalite, Mediterranean Station and from late 1892 in the Cleopatra, North America and West Indies Station. He became a lieutenant in 1896 and retired in 1910 as a commander, although he served again during the First World War. He was present at the Dardanelles landing and later commanded the ST GEORGE, base ship at Mudros.
Michael Henley ([1742-1813]) was an apprentice waterman and lighterman from 1757 to 1764. By 1770 he was trading as a coal and rope merchant and three years later he acquired a wharf and premises in Wapping. In 1775 he appears to have purchased his first sea-going ship; other vessels followed, which he employed in the east coast coal trade, and later in other trades in the Atlantic, West Indies, Mediterranean and Baltic, mostly on charter. During the American War of Independence, he also chartered ships to the government as transports. In 1780 his eldest son Joseph (1766-1832) was bound apprentice to him and within a few years he was running the day-to-day aspects of the business. Michael Henley spent much of his time travelling to the various ports at which his ships called regularly, in particular Newcastle and Portsmouth, but on occasions he also visited Ireland and Scotland. The shipping activities of the Henleys increased substantially during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Between 1775 and 1832 they owned over a hundred and twenty ships. They stopped trading directly as coal merchants early in the nineteenth century, though retaining a strong interest in the trade. At the same time their ships became more involved in the West Indies trade and in the timber trades with the Baltic, North America and Canada and the Bay of Honduras. Many of their vessels were chartered to the Transport Board, after its re-establishment in 1794, as troop and horse ships or victuallers. After 1815 shipping suffered from the post-war slump and Joseph now divided his time between his shipping interests and Waterperry, his Oxford estate. He owned a smaller number of ships, which were principally involved in the North American and Baltic trades, although there were two notable Transport voyages to Ceylon and the Mediterranean between 1820 and 1822. He appears to have continued to own one or two ships up until the time of his death.
James Yates was born at Toxteth Park, near Liverpool, on 30 April 1789, the son of a minister. He went in 1805 to Glasgow University and in 1808 to Manchester College, followed by York College, to study Divinity. In 1810 he attended Edinburgh University, followed by Glasgow University again in 1811. He became the unordained minister of a Unitarian congregation in October 1811 and graduated MA from Glasgow in 1812. With Thomas Southwood Smith, he founded the Scottish Unitarian Association in 1813. He published his 'Vindication of Unitarianism' in 1815. In 1817 he succeeded Joshua Toulmin as colleague to John Kentish at the new meeting, Birmingham, a post which he resigned at the end of 1825, and for a time left the ministry. In 1827 he spent a semester at the University of Berlin, as a student of classical philology. He was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society, 1819; Linnean Society, 1822; Royal Society, 1831; and appointed secretary to the Council of the British Association, 1831. In the same year he was elected a trustee of Dr Williams' foundations (resigned 1861). In 1832 he succeeded John Scott Porter as minister of Carter Lane Chapel, Doctors' Commons, London. He issued in 1833 proposals for an organisation of the Unitarian congregations of Great Britain on the Presbyterian model: the plan did not come to fruition. Soon after 1836 he left the ministry and, being unordained, became a lay minister. His interest in denominational history and controversy was unabated. Yates contributed much material to Sir William Smith's 'Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities', published in 1842, and numerous papers on archaeological subjects to the learned societies of London and Liverpool. He died at Lauderdale House, Highgate, on 7 May 1871, and was buried at Highgate cemetery. In his will he left endowments for Chairs at University College London.
Albert Pollard was born in Ryde on 16 December 1869. He went to Jesus College Oxford and achieved a first class honours in Modern History in 1891. He became Assistant Editor of the Dictionary of National Biography in 1893. He was Professor of Constitutional History at University College London from 1903 to 1931. He was a member of the Royal Historical Manuscripts Commission, and founder of the the Historical Association, 1906. He was Editor of History, 1916-1922, and of the Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, 1923-1939. He published 500 articles in the Dictionary of National Biography, and many other books and papers concerning history. Pollard died on 3 August 1948.
Ernest Gardner was born in London. He was educated in London and Caius College Cambridge. From 1884 he was continuously employed in archaeological work, excavation, study and teaching, on many sites, especially in Greece. From 1887 to 1895 he was Director of the British School of Archaeology at Athens. He was Yates Professor of Archaeology at University College London from 1896 to 1929. Gardner published many writings on archaeology, with emphasis on Greek art, archaeology and excavations.
Miers was born in Rio de Janeiro on 25 May 1858. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College Oxford. In 1882 he joined the British Museum as an Assistant, a post he held till 1895; he was also an Instructor in Crystallography at the Central Technical College in South Kensington from 1886 to 1895. Miers became Editor of the Mineralogical Magazine, 1891-1900. From 1895 to 1908 he was Waynflete Professor of Mineralogy at Oxford. He was Principal of the University of London from 1908 to 1915; and also Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester and Professor of Crystallography, 1915-1926. Miers was Vice-President of the Chemical Society, 1901-1904; of the Geological Society, 1902-1904; and of the Royal Society of Arts, 1913. He was President of the Mineralogical Society, 1904-1909; President of the Museums Association, 1928-1933; Library Association, 1932; and the Council of the Royal Society, 1901-1903. He was a trustee of the British Museum, 1926-1939. Throughout his life, Miers published numerous scientific papers. He died on 10 December 1942.
No information could be found at the time of compilation.
Oliver Lodge studied at University College London from 1874 to 1881. During this time he assisted George Carey Foster in the teaching of physics. From 1876 he also taught physics and later chemistry at Bedford College London. He received his DSc in 1877 and in 1881 was appointed Professor of Physics and Mathematics at University College Liverpool. He was awarded the Rumford Medal by the Royal Society in 1898 and in 1900 became Principal of Birmingham University.
John Marshall was a student in the Faculty of Arts at University College London from 1874 to 1876. He studied comparative philology and became a philologist.
Written in England.
Henry Meen: a native of Norfolk; entered Emmanuel College Cambridge, 1761; graduated BA, 1766; MA, 1769; BD, 1776; Fellow of Emmanuel College; ordained; appointed to a minor canonry in St Paul's Cathedral; instituted to the rectory of St Nicholas Cole Abbey, with St Nicholas Olave, London, 1792; collated as prebendary of Twyford in St Paul's Cathedral, 1795; also held the office of lecturer there; obtained no other preferment, these posts leaving him ample time for literary pursuits; studied the writings of Lycophron, and proposed undertaking an edition of Lycophron's works; his criticisms on Lycophron appeared in the 'European Magazine', 1796-1813, but his complete translation was never published; died at the rectory, Bread Street Hill, London, 1817. Publications: while an undergraduate, published a poem in blank verse, 'Happiness, a Poetical Essay' (London, 1766); revised and completed the Revd Francis Fawkes's unfinished translation of 'Apollonius Rhodius' (1780), annexing his own version of Colothus's 'Rape of Helen, or the Origin of the Trojan War', afterwards also published elsewhere; 'A Sermon before the Association of Volunteers' (1782); 'Remarks on the Cassandra of Lycophron' (1800); collected the poems of Elizabeth Scot, 'Alonzo and Cora' (1801); 'Succisivae Operae, or Selections from Ancient Writers, with Translations and Notes' (1815).Gilbert Wakefield: an associate of Henry Meen; born in the parsonage house of St Nicholas, Nottingham, 1756; educated at the free schools of Nottingham and Kingston; obtained a scholarship at Jesus College Cambridge, 1772; followed a distinguished university career; elected Fellow of his college; ordained deacon, 1778; curate at Stockport and Liverpool; endeavoured to rouse public opinion against the slave trade; studied theology, which led him to adopt Unitarian doctrines; resigned his curacy; married and vacated his Fellowship, 1779; never formally connected with any dissenting body; classical tutor at the liberal Warrington Academy, 1779-1783; moved to Bramcote, near Nottingham, 1783; later moved to Richmond, Surrey, and to Nottingham; intended to take on private pupils, but these were not numerous; left Nottingham and became classical tutor in the newly established dissenting college in Hackney, 1790; resigned, 1791; continued to reside at Hackney, and devoted himself to scholarship; his political opinions were increasingly radical, and he sometimes defended them impulsively; Wakefield's 'Reply' to the tract of Richard Watson, Bishop of Llandaff ( 'Address to the People of Great Britain', 1798, which defended Pitt, the war, and the new income tax), opposing the war and contemporary civil and ecclesiastical system and accusing the bishop of absenteeism and pluralism, brought a prosecution for seditious libel; Wakefield defended himself, but was convicted and sentenced to two years' imprisonment in Dorchester gaol, 1799; corresponded with Charles James Fox, and pursued his scholarly work; released, 1801; returned to Hackney, but died of typhus fever soon after; buried in St Mary Magdalene's Church, Richmond. Publications: editions of classical works; New Testament translations; many tracts and pamphlets on religious and political subjects.
Unknown.
Fragments of medieval and early modern manuscripts on parchment can commonly be found inside the binding of printed works. This method of recycling was a common practice between the medieval period and the 17th century, when manuscripts superseded by printed editions were sold to printers and bookbinders. Medieval manuscripts are often visually appealing and parchment was robust but expensive, so folios from manuscripts were recycled for use as decorative covers and endpapers or to reinforce the binding of new printed works.