Waldegrave , William , 1753-1825 , Admiral , 1st Lord Radstock Waldegrave , George Granville , d 1857 , Admiral

Waldegrave , William , 1753-1825 , Admiral , 1st Lord Radstock Waldegrave , George Granville , d 1857 , Admiral

William Waldegrave, 1753-1825, entered the Navy in 1766 aboard the JERSEY. He was made Lieutenant in 1772 and captain in 1776 when in the RIPPON he joined Sir Edward Vernon in the East Indies. After 15 months his health broke down and he returned to England. In September 1778 he was sent to the West Indies in the POMONA and the following year captured the large American privateer CUMBERLAND. He then transferred to the frigate LA PRUDENTE and with the assistance of the frigate LICORNE captured the large French frigate CAPRICIEUSE after a desperate action of four hours. In 1782 he commanded the frigate PHAETON before coming ashore at the peace of 1783. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary war he was appointed to the COURAGEUX (74) and was made Rear Admiral the following year. He then commanded a small squadron in the channel before being made Vice Admiral in 1795 when he joined Sir John Jervis in the Mediterranean. In 1797 he was Jervis' third in command at the battle of Cape St Vincent. For the next three years he was governor and commander in chief of the Newfoundland station and colony. He was made Admiral in 1802 but saw no further action. He died in 1825 having been made First Baron Radstock in the Irish peerage for his services in Newfoundland.

George Granville Waldegrave was the eldest son of Willaim Waldegrave and therefore became the second Baron Radstock on his father's death. He was entered on the books of his father's ship COURAGEUX (74) in 1794 but first went to sea in the AGINCOURT in 1798. He was made captain in 1807 and given the frigate THAMES in the Mediterranean. In 1811 he took command of another frigate, the VOLONTAIRE, until the defeat of Napoleon. His years of frigate command were spent in attacks on the enemy's coasting trade, cutting out armed ships and destroying coastal batteries. He was made a CB in 1815 when he came ashore. From 1831 to 1841 he served as naval aide de camp to the monarch, becoming Rear Admiral in 1841. Ten years later he became a full Admiral and died in 1857.