56-652: Rear-Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope , KCB , KSO (6 July 1767 – 2 May 1818) was a British naval officer, who served with distinction in the Royal Navy throughout the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , including service at the Battle of Trafalgar . A close personal friend of Admiral Nelson , he received many honours following the battle, and later served as a Lord of the Admiralty . Born
112-743: A Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath . He also received a sword of honour and gold medal in recognition of his service at Trafalgar. Hope was buried in Westminster Abbey , where a large wall-mounted memorial by Peter Turnerelli remains to his memory, although his tombstone has been removed to make way for later burials. George Johnstone Hope married his cousin, Lady Jemima Hope, the daughter of James Hope-Johnstone, 3rd Earl of Hopetoun . Lady Hope died in 1808 leaving her husband with two young children. Their son Sir James Hope (1808–81) also became
168-547: A Naval Gold Medal , his third, after those for the Glorious First of June and Cape St Vincent. Only Nelson and Sir Edward Berry share the distinction of three gold medals for service during the wars against France. When not at sea he resided at Collingwood House in the town of Morpeth which lies some 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and Chirton Hall in Chirton, now a western suburb of North Shields . He
224-800: A good reputation in the fleet for his conduct during the battle. After blockading Cadiz , he returned for a few weeks to Portsmouth to repair. At the beginning of 1799 Collingwood was raised to the rank of rear-admiral (of the White 14 February 1799; of the Red 1 January 1801) and, hoisting his flag in HMS ; Triumph , joined the Channel Fleet and sailed to the Mediterranean where the principal naval forces of France and Spain were assembled. Collingwood continued to be actively employed in blockading
280-510: A naval officer and rose to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. Hope was remarried in 1814 to Georgina, daughter of George Kinnaird, 7th Lord Kinnaird , who bore him a second daughter. Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies . In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral . Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral . It
336-673: A naval officer were in many respects of the first order. His political judgement was remarkable and he was consulted on questions of general policy, of regulation, and even of trade. He was opposed to impressment and to flogging and was considered so kind and generous that he was called "father" by the common sailors. Nelson and Collingwood enjoyed a close friendship, from their first acquaintance in early life until Nelson's death at Trafalgar; and they are both entombed in St Paul's Cathedral. As Collingwood died without male issue, his barony became extinct at his death. Thackeray held that there
392-676: A one-star rank; and rear-admiral (two-star), a two-star rank. Rear admiral is a two-star rank in the Sri Lanka Navy . In Sweden , rear admiral is a two-star admiral rank of the Swedish Navy . The Royal Navy maintains a rank of rear admiral. Note that the rank of rear admiral is quite different from the honorary office Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom . In the United States, there have been two ranks with
448-458: A rank of rear admiral; refer to Australian Defence Force ranks and insignia . The abbreviation is RADM. Since the mid-1990s, the insignia of a Royal Australian Navy rear admiral is the Crown of St. Edward above a crossed sword and baton, above two silver stars, above the word "Australia". Like the Royal Navy version, the sword is a traditional naval cutlass . The stars have eight points, unlike
504-595: A small frigate. Nelson had been the leader of a failed expedition to cross Central America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean by navigating boats along the San Juan River , Lake Nicaragua and Lake Leon . Nelson was debilitated by disease and had to recover before being promoted to a larger vessel, and Collingwood succeeded him in command of Hinchinbrook and brought the remainder of
560-415: A vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships that bore the brunt of a battle. In the rear of the squadron, a third admiral commanded the remaining ships and, as this section was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of it was typically the most junior. This has continued into the modern age, with rear admiral the most junior admiralty of many navies. The Royal Australian Navy maintains
616-614: Is junior to the three-star rank vice-admiral and four-star rank admiral, who is generally a Chief of Naval Staff of the Navy. The highest ordinary rank currently filled in the Royal New Zealand Navy is rear admiral and this is the rank held by the Chief of Navy unless that person is also Chief of Defence Force . The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has two ranks with the title of rear admiral: rear-admiral (one-star),
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#1732801825968672-458: Is known to have remarked, "whenever I think how I am to be happy again, my thoughts carry me back to Morpeth." From Trafalgar until his death, no great naval action was fought. Although several small French fleets would attempt to run the blockade and one successfully landed troops in the Caribbean two months after Trafalgar, the majority were hunted down and overwhelmed in battle. Collingwood
728-679: Is named after him, as is one of the eleven houses at The Royal Hospital School . One of the three secondary Schools within Excelsior Academy in Newcastle was named after Collingwood in 2013. March 2010 saw the 200th anniversary of Collingwood's death and a number of major events were organised by 'Collingwood 2010' on Tyneside , in Morpeth and the island of Menorca . Collingwood's residence in Es Castell close to Mahon, Menorca
784-409: Is senior to a commodore and brigadier-general , and junior to a vice-admiral and lieutenant-general . The rank insignia for a rear-admiral is two silver maple leaves beneath a silver crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St Edward's Crown , worn on gold shoulder boards on the white short-sleeved shirt or the tropical white tunic. The service dress features a wide strip of gold braid around
840-424: Is usually equivalent to the rank of major general in armies. In the U.S. Navy and some other navies, there are two rear admiral ranks . The term originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the Royal Navy . Each naval squadron was assigned an admiral as its head, who commanded from the centre vessel and directed the squadron's activities. The admiral would in turn be assisted by
896-689: The Baltic Sea . Hope remained Saumarez's chief of staff until 12 August 1811 when he was made Rear-Admiral of the Blue through seniority and good service, and on 21 August 1812, was promoted to Rear Admiral of the White. In June 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia and Hope was sent back to the Baltic to rescue as much of the Russian fleet as could be saved from the French invasion , and bring it to Britain. The plan
952-717: The First Coalition , Hope was serving as commander in the sloop HMS Bulldog in the Mediterranean Sea , and conducted several convoys to the forces of Lord Hood , who was besieging Toulon at the time. Later in the year, on 13 September 1793, he was promoted to the rank of Post Captain , and in August 1794, given command of the large frigate HMS Romulus , in which he saw action against French ships off Genoa in 1795. Following his appointment to HMS Alcmene , Hope joined Nelson at Aboukir bay, 11 days after
1008-664: The Royal Naval Division (1914 to 1919) was named after Collingwood. It took part in the Antwerp Campaign (October 1914) and at Gallipoli. The Collingwood Battalion received so many casualties at the 3rd battle of Krithia, Gallipoli, on 4 June 1915 that it never reformed. One of the four houses at Collingwood's old school the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, is named after him. One of the five houses of British public school Churcher's College
1064-554: The battle of the Nile . On 19 August Nelson left for Naples but left Hood with three 3rd rates and three frigates, including Alcmene , with which to blockade Alexandria, where the remaining French ships; two of the line, eight frigates and four corvettes, were sheltering. Hope obtained Nelson's good graces by capturing the French gunbrig Légère off Egypt, and seizing dispatches intended for Napoleon . The papers had been thrown overboard by
1120-535: The flagship of Rear Admiral George Bowyer in the Channel Fleet . On 16 June 1791, Collingwood married Sarah Blackett, daughter of the Newcastle merchant and politician John Erasmus Blackett . As captain of HMS Barfleur , Collingwood was present at the Glorious First of June . On board HMS Excellent he participated in the victory of the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797, establishing
1176-699: The Admiral in her poetical illustration Admiral Lord Collingwood in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833. This is to an engraving of a variation on the painting by Henry Howard , apparently by his son Frank Howard . Collingwood is fictionalized as "Admiral Sir John Thornton" in Patrick O'Brian's " The Ionian Mission ." He appears under his own name in Hornblower and the Atropos , when Hornblower's ship joins
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#17328018259681232-560: The British naval brigade at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, and was afterwards commissioned as a lieutenant on 17 June. In 1777, Collingwood met Horatio Nelson when both served on the frigate HMS Lowestoffe . Two years later, Collingwood succeeded Nelson as commander of the brig HMS Badger on 20 June 1779, and on 22 March 1780 he again succeeded Nelson, this time as post-captain of HMS Hinchinbrook ,
1288-560: The British invasion of Egypt. Following the Peace of Amiens , Hope returned to sea aboard the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Defence . When Spain entered the war in December 1804, Defence became part of a newly formed 'Spanish Squadron' under Sir John Orde . The squadron was involved in the blockade of Cádiz when on 8 April 1805, Villeneuve arrived with 11 ships of the line and 6 frigates. The 6 British ships formed line of battle but
1344-533: The Channel fleet until the end of August then joined another squadron under Sir Robert Calder . This squadron was sent to Cadiz, arriving on 15 September, to find Villeneuve's fleet back from the West Indies and under blockade from a small contingent of vessels under the command of Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood . Nelson arrived on the 29th and moved the bulk of his force out to sea, in an attempt to lure out
1400-602: The Collingwood Channel (an entrance of Howe Sound near Vancouver , British Columbia ), are named in his honour. A large monument, The Collingwood Monument , stands in his honour and overlooks the River Tyne at Tynemouth . His Grade II listed statue was sculpted by John Graham Lough and stands atop a pedestal designed by John Dobson . The four cannon on the walls flanking the steps at its base came from his flagship, Royal Sovereign . A battalion of
1456-486: The French captain but two of Alcmene's crew jumped in to retrieve them. Hope then sailed to Naples and successfully evacuated the Neapolitan royal family in the face of a Republican uprising , which was eventually quelled by Nelson's personal intervention. By 1801, Hope was an experienced Mediterranean campaigner, and, in command of the frigate HMS Leda , supported the successful amphibious landings which began
1512-521: The French refused to engage and allowed the squadron to retreat to Lagos Bay. Villeneuve gathered the ships that were ready to sail and put to sea again. Orde believed they were bound for the Channel but in fact Villeneuve was on his way to the West Indies . Orde therefore took his squadron, including Defence , north to rendezvous with the Channel Fleet . Hope and his ship Defence stayed with
1568-637: The Mediterranean fleet a few months after Trafalgar. The Maritime Warfare School of the Royal Navy is commissioned as HMS Collingwood , home to training for warfare, weapon engineering and communications disciplines. The town of Collingwood, Ontario , on Georgian Bay in Canada, the suburb of Collingwood in the Australian city of Melbourne, the town of Collingwood, New Zealand and
1624-718: The Royal Australian Navy when she was appointed Surgeon-General of the Australian Defence Force on 16 December 2011. In the Royal Canadian Navy , the rank of rear-admiral (RAdm) ( contre-amiral or CAm in French ) is the Navy rank equivalent to major-general of the Army and Air Force . A rear-admiral is a flag officer , the naval equivalent of a general officer . A rear-admiral
1680-541: The Spanish admiral's ship and fired her broadsides with such rapidity and precision at Santa Ana that the Spanish ship was on the verge of sinking almost before another British ship had fired a gun. Several other vessels came to Santa Ana ' s assistance and hemmed in Royal Sovereign on all sides; the latter, after being severely damaged, was relieved by the arrival of the rest of the British squadron, but
1736-426: The United Kingdom . When the French fleet sailed from Toulon , Admiral Collingwood was appointed to command a squadron, with orders to pursue them. The combined fleets of France and Spain , after sailing to the West Indies, returned to Cadiz. On their way they encountered Collingwood's small squadron off Cadiz. He had only three ships with him; but he succeeded in avoiding their pursuit, although chased by 16 ships of
George Johnstone Hope - Misplaced Pages Continue
1792-400: The combined French and Spanish fleet. When Villeneuve eventually ordered his fleet to sail on 19 October, Defence was one of the ships that passed the signal to Nelson. On the morning of 21 October 1805, Hope found his ship at the rear of Admiral Collingwood's division at the start of the Battle of Trafalgar . The position of his ship prevented Hope engaging with the enemy until the battle
1848-541: The command of his cousin Captain Richard Brathwaite (or Braithwaite), who took charge of his nautical education. After several years of service under Brathwaite and a short period attached to HMS Lenox , a guardship at Portsmouth commanded by Captain Robert Roddam , Collingwood sailed to Boston in 1774 with Admiral Samuel Graves on board HMS Preston , where he fought in
1904-469: The cuff and, since June 2010, above it a narrower strip of gold braid embellished with the executive curl. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves. A rear admiral in the Pakistani Navy is a senior and two-star rank naval officer, appointed in higher naval commands. Like most Commonwealth navies, the rear admiral rank is superior to commodore and captain. However, the rank
1960-412: The enemy until the Peace of Amiens allowed him to return to England. With the resumption of hostilities with France in the spring of 1803 he left home, never to return. First he blockaded the French fleet off Brest . In 1804 he was promoted to vice-admiral (of the Blue 23 April 1804; of the Red 9 November 1805). Nearly two years were spent off Brest in anticipation for Napoleon's planned invasion of
2016-526: The ensuing gale, many of the prizes were wrecked on the rocky shore and others were destroyed to prevent their recapture, though no British ship was lost. On 9 November 1805, Collingwood was raised to the peerage as Baron Collingwood, of Caldburne and Hethpool in the County of Northumberland . He also received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and was awarded a pension of £2,000 per annum. Together with all Trafalgar captains and admirals, he also received
2072-544: The expedition back to Jamaica . After commanding another small frigate , HMS Pelican , in which he was shipwrecked by a hurricane in 1781, Collingwood was transferred to the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Sampson , and in 1783 he was appointed to HMS Mediator and posted to the West Indies . In 1784 he and Nelson were in Antigua where they both fell for the unobtainable American-born Mary Moutray . He and Nelson sketched each other and Collingwood kept
2128-416: The fleet, she was the first engaged. "See", said Nelson, pointing to Royal Sovereign as she penetrated the centre of the enemy's line, "see how that noble fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action!" Probably it was at the same moment that Collingwood, as if in response to the observation of his great commander, remarked to his captain, "What would Nelson give to be here?" Royal Sovereign closed with
2184-464: The form of a crescent. The British fleet bore down in two separate lines, the one led by Nelson in HMS Victory , and the other by Collingwood in HMS Royal Sovereign . Royal Sovereign was the swifter sailer, mainly because its hull had been given a new layer of copper which lacked the friction of old, well used copper and thus was much faster. Having drawn considerably ahead of the rest of
2240-473: The four pointed Order of the Bath stars used by the army (which are often referred to as "pips"). Prior to 1995, the RAN shoulder board was identical to the Royal Navy shoulder board. The Royal Navy shoulder board changed again in 2001 and the Australian and UK shoulder boards are now identical except for the word "Australia". Rear Admiral Robyn Walker AM , RAN became the first female admiral in
2296-426: The hills with his dog Bounce. He always started off with a handful of acorns in his pockets, and as he walked he would press an acorn into the soil whenever he saw a good place for an oak tree to grow. Some of the oaks he planted are probably still growing more than a century and a half later ready to be cut to build ships of the line at a time when nuclear submarines are patrolling the seas, because Collingwood's purpose
George Johnstone Hope - Misplaced Pages Continue
2352-461: The line. Before half of the enemy's force had entered the harbour he resumed the blockade, using false signals to disguise the small size of his squadron. He was soon joined by Nelson who hoped to lure the combined fleet into a major engagement. The combined fleet sailed from Cadiz in October 1805. The Battle of Trafalgar immediately followed. Villeneuve , the French admiral, drew up his fleet in
2408-539: The remaining prizes to prevent their recapture. Evacuating the crews was "a particularly arduous task in a high sea running" that earned Hope a mention in dispatches. Following his action at Trafalgar, Hope continued to serve in the Defence until 1809, when he was appointed Captain of the Fleet . Under Sir James Saumarez , with his flag in HMS Victory , Hope helped to defend and maintain British trade interests in
2464-414: The sketch. Collingwood remained in the West Indies until the end of 1786, again, together with Nelson and this time his brother, Commander Wilfred Collingwood, preventing American ships from trading with the West Indies. In 1786, Collingwood returned to England, where, with the exception of a voyage to the West Indies, he remained until 1793. In that year, he was appointed captain of HMS Prince ,
2520-399: The son of The Hon. Charles Hope-Weir , and grandson of Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun , Hope joined the navy at 15, in 1782, and spent much of his early career serving on frigates . He was promoted from midshipman to lieutenant on 29 February 1788 and was given command of his own sloop , HMS Racehorse on 22 November 1790. At the time of Britain's entry into the war, as part of
2576-458: The still potent threat that the French and their allies could pose. His health began to decline alarmingly in 1809 and he was forced to again request the Admiralty to allow him to return home, which was finally granted. Collingwood died as a result of cancer on board HMS Ville de Paris , off Port Mahon as he sailed for England, on 7 March 1810. He was laid to rest beside Nelson in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral . Collingwood's merits as
2632-713: The title of rear admiral since 1985: rear admiral (lower half) (RDML), a one-star rank; and rear admiral (RADM), a two-star rank. Prior to that, a combination of ranks was used. Both the rear admiral (lower half) and rear admiral ranks exist in four of the uniformed services of the United States : the United States Navy , United States Coast Guard , United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps , and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps). Cuthbert Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810)
2688-406: Was Nelson's desire that the fleet anchor after the battle but his order was never passed on and Hope made the decision on his own initiative. During the action and storm, and despite being heavily engaged during the close of the battle; Hope's crew suffered casualties of just seven dead and twenty-nine injured. After the storm, Collingwood, now in charge, selected Hope and four other captains to sink
2744-654: Was an admiral of the Royal Navy , notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars , and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands. Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne . His early education was at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle . At the age of 12, he went to sea as a volunteer on board the sixth-rate HMS Shannon under
2800-546: Was left unable to manoeuvre. Not long afterwards Santa Ana struck her colours. On the death of Nelson, Collingwood assumed his position as commander-in-chief , transferring his flag to the frigate HMS Euryalus . Knowing that a severe storm was in the offing, Nelson had intended that the fleet should anchor after the battle, but Collingwood chose not to issue such an order: many of the British ships and prizes were so damaged that they were unable to anchor, and Collingwood concentrated efforts on taking damaged vessels in tow. In
2856-532: Was never fully enacted due to the defeat of Napoleon. Hope was rewarded with a position as one of the Lords of the Admiralty , a post he retained for the next six years. His service ended abruptly, when he died suddenly whilst working late at the Admiralty on the evening of 2 May 1818. He had served as a Member of Parliament for East Grinstead , Sussex , from 1815 and on 2 January that year, had been inducted as
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#17328018259682912-589: Was no better example of a virtuous Christian Knight than Collingwood. Dudley Pope relates an aspect of Collingwood at the beginning of chapter three of his Life in Nelson's Navy : Captain Cuthbert Collingwood, later to become an admiral and Nelson's second in command at Trafalgar, had his home at Morpeth, in Northumberland, and when he was there on half pay or on leave he loved to walk over
2968-405: Was occupied in important political and diplomatic transactions in the Mediterranean, in which he displayed tact and judgement. He requested to be relieved of his command of the fleet so that he might return home, however the government urgently required an admiral with the experience and skill of Collingwood to remain, on the grounds that his country could not dispense with his services in the face of
3024-416: Was to make sure that the Navy would never want for oaks to build the fighting ships upon which the country's safety depended. Collingwood once wrote to his wife that he'd rather his body be added to Britain's sea defences rather than given the pomp of a ceremonial burial. Sailor Robert Hay who served with Collingwood wrote that: "He and his dog Bounce were known to every member of the crew. How attentive he
3080-402: Was to the health and comfort and happiness of his crew! A man who could not be happy under him, could have been happy nowhere; a look of displeasure from him was as bad as a dozen at the gangway from another man". and that: "a better seaman, a better friend to seamen - a more zealous defender of the country's rights and honour, never trod the quarterdeck." Letitia Elizabeth Landon celebrates
3136-479: Was two and a half hours old, but once within range, the Defence was heavily engaged, fighting with the French ship Berwick (formerly of the Royal Navy), and then the Spanish ship San Ildefenso , whose surrender Hope received after some hours of battle. Hope sensibly anchored both ships during the ensuing storm, and so his prize was one of only four captured ships to survive the following week of gales. It
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