43-716: Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier , GCB (13 October 1756 – 19 April 1833) was a Royal Navy officer. After seeing action at the capture of Charleston during the American Revolutionary War , he saw action again, as captain of the third-rate HMS Defence , at the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars , gaining the distinction of commanding
86-478: A cutter (6 guns), of unknown names. The cutting out party also burned some 15 merchant vessels loaded with corn and supplies for the French fleet at Brest . However, in this enterprise, 92 officers and men out of the entire party of 192 men, fell prisoners to the French when their boats became stranded. Lord Nelson had contributed no men to the attacking force and so had no casualties. In 1801, Defence sailed to
129-552: A former First Sea Lord and Chief of the Defence Staff, was also appointed an honorary admiral of the fleet. HMS Defence (1763) HMS Defence was a 74-gun Bellona -class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy , built by Israel Pownoll and launched on 31 March 1763 at Plymouth Dockyard . She was one of the most famous ships of the period, taking part in several of the most important naval battles of
172-701: A third tour as First Naval Lord on the Admiralty Board led by Lord Mulgrave when the Second Portland Ministry was formed in April 1807. In May 1807 Gambier volunteered to command the naval forces, with his flag in the second-rate HMS Prince of Wales , sent as part of the campaign against Copenhagen during the Napoleonic Wars . Together with General Lord Cathcart , he oversaw the bombardment of Copenhagen from 2 September until
215-709: The Admiralty after the fall of the first Pitt ministry in February 1801 and became third-in-command of the Channel Fleet under Admiral William Cornwallis , with his flag in the 98-gun second-rate HMS Neptune . He went on to be governor and commander-in-chief of Newfoundland Station in March 1802. In that capacity he gave property rights over arable land to local people allowing them to graze sheep and cattle there and also ensured that vacant properties along
258-612: The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars . In 1811 she was wrecked off the coast of Jutland with the loss of almost her entire crew. During the American War of Independence , Defence served with the Channel Fleet , seeing action at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1780. She was sent out to India in early 1782 as part of a squadron of five ships under Commodore Sir Richard Bickerton , arriving too late for
301-647: The Lieutenant Governor of the Bahamas and Bermudian Deborah Stiles, Gambier was brought up in England by his aunt, Margaret Gambier, and her husband, Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham . He was a nephew of Vice-Admiral James Gambier and of Admiral Lord Barham and became an uncle of the novelist and travel writer Georgiana Chatterton . Gambier entered the Navy in 1767 as a midshipman on board
344-562: The Royal Navy , formally established in 1688. The five-star NATO rank code is OF-10 , equivalent to a field marshal in the British Army or a Marshal of the Royal Air Force . Apart from honorary appointments, no new admirals of the fleet have been named since 1995, and no honorary appointments have been made since 2014. The origins of the rank can be traced back to John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp de Warwick , who
387-580: The bomb ship HMS Thunder , which was promptly dismasted and surrendered to the French. He was taken prisoner for a short period and, after having been exchanged, he was made a post captain on 9 October 1778 and appointed to the 32-gun fifth-rate HMS Raleigh and saw action at the capture of Charleston in May 1780 during the American Revolutionary War . He was appointed commander of fifth-rate HMS Endymion , cruising in British waters, later in
430-679: The coronation of his wife Elizabeth II as Queen. This promotion was to a New Zealand rank, separate from the Royal Navy rank. Following the creation of the Chief of the Defence Staff in 1959, the five naval officers appointed to that position became admirals of the fleet. Recognizing the reduced post– Cold War size of the British Armed Forces, no further appointments were made to the rank after 1995 when Sir Benjamin Bathurst
473-621: The third-rate HMS Yarmouth , commanded by his uncle, which was serving as a guardship in the Medway , and followed him to serve on board the 60-gun fourth-rate HMS Salisbury in 1769 where he served on the North American Station . He transferred to the 50-gun fourth-rate HMS Chatham under Rear Admiral Parry, in 1772, in the Leeward Islands . Gambier was placed on the sloop HMS Spy and
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#1732793708693516-540: The Admiralty to command for the remainder of the war. The episode had political and personal overtones. Gambier was connected by family and politics to the Tory prime minister William Pitt . In Parliament, Cochrane represented the constituency of Westminster , which tended to vote Radical . In the aftermath of Basque Roads, Cochrane and Gambier quarreled and Gambier excluded Cochrane from the battle dispatches. Cochrane took
559-706: The Baltic under Captain Lord Henry Paulet with Admiral Hyde Parker's fleet. She was present at the Battle of Copenhagen , but did not see action as she was part of the reserve under Parker. In 1805 she saw action again at the Battle of Trafalgar , where under Captain George Johnstone Hope , she captured the San Ildefonso and fought the Berwick , suffering 36 casualties. Defence
602-612: The County of Buckingham. In 1808 Gambier was appointed to command the Channel Fleet . In April 1809 he chased a squadron of French ships that had escaped from Brest into the Basque Roads . He called a council of war in which Lord Cochrane was given command of the inshore squadron, and who subsequently led the attack. Gambier refused to commit the Channel Fleet after Cochrane's attack, using explosion vessels that encouraged
645-482: The Danes capitulated after three days (an incident that brought Gambier some notoriety in that the assault included a bombardment of the civilian quarter). Prizes included eighteen ships of the line, twenty-one frigates and brigs and twenty-five gunboats together with a large quantity of naval stores for which he received official thanks from Parliament , and on 3 November 1807 a peerage, becoming Baron Gambier , of Iver in
688-493: The French fleet. He told Gambier "I never saw a man so unfit for the command of a fleet as Your Lordship." Cochrane threatened to use his parliamentary vote against Gambier in retaliation for not committing the fleet to action. Gambier called for a court martial to examine his conduct. The court martial, on 26 July 1809 on Gladiator in Portsmouth, exonerated Gambier. Consequently, neither Harvey nor Cochrane were appointed by
731-408: The French squadron to warp further into the shallows of the estuary. This action resulted in the majority of the French fleet running aground at Rochefort . Gambier was content with the blockading role played by the offshore squadron. Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey , who had commanded " Fighting Temeraire " at the Battle of Trafalgar , believed they had missed an opportunity to inflict further damage upon
774-702: The Mediterranean under Captain John Peyton , taking part in the Battle of the Nile in August. On 1 July 1800, Defence , Fisgard , Renown and the hired armed cutter Lord Nelson were in Bourneuf Bay when they sent in their boats to attack a French convoy at Île de Noirmoutier . The British destroyed the French ship Therese (of 20 guns), a lugger (12 guns), two schooners (6 guns each) and
817-600: The battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, gaining the distinction of commanding the first ship to break through the enemy line and subsequently receiving the Naval Gold Medal . Gambier was appointed to the Board of Admiralty led by Earl Spencer in March 1795. Promoted to rear-admiral on 1 June 1795, he became First Naval Lord in November 1795. Promoted to vice-admiral on 14 February 1799, Gambier left
860-586: The battle. After repairs, she was sent to the Mediterranean, joining Admiral William Hotham in time to take part in the Battle of Hyeres in July. Defence was at Plymouth on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels, East Indiamen , and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands. In 1798 she returned to
903-573: The battles of that year. But in 1783 she took part in the last battle of the war, at Cuddalore . She returned to England at the end of 1785. She was then laid up during the years of peace until the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . Recommissioned into the Channel Fleet under Captain James Gambier , she fought at the Glorious First of June in 1794, distinguishing herself in action against Mucius and Tourville , and becoming one of only two British ships to be completely dismasted in
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#1732793708693946-468: The end of Flying Colours , a 1938 Horatio Hornblower novel by C. S. Forester . In July 1788 Gambier married Louisa Mathew, daughter of Daniel Mathew, 1718–1777, of Felix Hall, Kelvedon, Essex and St Kitts, West Indies, and Mary Elizabeth Byam, 1729–1814; they had no children. Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy) Admiral of the Fleet is a five-star naval officer rank and the highest rank of
989-491: The first ship to break through the enemy line. Gambier went on to be a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and First Naval Lord and then served as Governor of Newfoundland . Together with General Lord Cathcart , he oversaw the bombardment of Copenhagen during the Napoleonic Wars . He later survived an accusation of cowardice for his inaction at the Battle of the Basque Roads . Born the second son of John Gambier,
1032-543: The first ship to run aground and that HMS St George (flagship) immediately let go its anchor but that the ship swung around on her cable and also went aground as a result." This account was corroborated by an account printed in Gentleman's Magazine in 1812. In the incident, "HMS St George was also destroyed, with the loss of 838 lives, including Reynolds." Given the fog of war and passage of time, this historical debate may never be conclusively resolved. Atkins' body
1075-502: The fleet role. In a break with tradition the rank was awarded to the most senior Admiral of the Red, who retained this substantive rank while also serving as Admiral of the Fleet. Appointments were for life, remunerated via a £5 daily stipend and an annual allowance of £1,014 for the hiring and maintenance of servants. It was intended that only one officer would hold the rank at any time, with their presence aboard any naval vessel to be denoted by
1118-703: The flying of the Royal Standard from the main mast . The ranks of Admiral of the Fleet and Admiral of the Red were formally separated from 1805, with an announcement in the London Gazette that "His Majesty [has] been pleased to order the Rank of Admirals of the Red to be restored" in His Majesty's Navy..." as a separate role. The same Gazette promoted 22 men to that rank. From the nineteenth century onward there were also occasional variations to
1161-511: The hour of danger and distress." Defence ran aground and was overcome by a breaking sea. The breakup led to loss of 593 men, her full complement being 597. One of the survivors said that "At half-past twelve the captain told Mr. Baker he would not wear till the St. George did, but would stay by her." On the other hand, the Annual Register (Vol 54), however, states that "HMS Defence was
1204-477: The loss is conflicted. Some say he followed HMS St George onto the reef. As published by Brenton 3 Brenton (1837) Naval History of Great Britain the St George , bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds, ran ashore. Ostensibly, when told of this, Atkins asked whether the admiral had made the signal giving him leave to part company. Hearing a denial, Atkins said: "I will never desert my Admiral in
1247-547: The previous requirement that only one Admiral of Fleet could serve at one time. In 1821 George IV appointed Sir John Jervis as a second admiral of the fleet, to balance the Duke of Wellington ' s promotion as a second Field Marshal in the British Army. In 1830 King William IV increased the number of admirals of the fleet to three, though these additional lifetime postings subsequently lapsed. Between 1854 and 1857 there
1290-631: The sand dunes of Thorsminde , which have been known ever since as "Dead Mens Dunes". The Danish authorities quickly ordered Lieutenant Wigelsen to the area as Receiver of Wreck Captain David Atkins is first noted as a midshipman under Captain Erasmus Gower in HMS ; Edgar in 1780–81. For two years commencing in 1792, he was 3rd lieutenant with Gower in HMS Lion under Gower. John Barrow later claimed Atkins while on Lion
1333-509: The shore could be leased to local people. It was around that time that he also bought Iver Grove in Buckinghamshire . Gambier then returned to the Admiralty as a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and First Naval Lord on the Admiralty Board led by Viscount Melville when the second Pitt ministry was formed in May 1804. Promoted to full admiral on 9 November 1805, Gambier left the Admiralty in February 1806. He returned briefly for
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1376-773: The unusual move of standing in opposition to parliament's pro forma vote of thanks to Gambier. In 1814 Gambier was part of the team negotiating the Treaty of Ghent , ending the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States . He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 7 June 1815. Promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 22 July 1830, he died at his home, Iver Grove in Buckinghamshire, on 19 April 1833 and
1419-529: The year. In 1783, at the end of the War, he was placed on half-pay. In February 1793 following the start of the French Revolutionary Wars , Gambier was appointed to command the 74-gun third-rate HMS Defence under Lord Howe . By faith an evangelical, he was regarded as an intensely religious man, nicknamed Dismal Jimmy , by the men under his command. As captain of the Defence Gambier saw action at
1462-402: Was jury-rigged and so Atkins refused to leave her without the admiral's permission. As a result, both were wrecked near Ringkøbing . Cressy did not ask for permission and so avoided wrecking. Defence lost all but 14 of her crew of 597 men and boys, including her captain. St George too lost almost her entire crew, including the admiral. Most of the bodies that came ashore were buried in
1505-522: Was a navigator, "showing skill in lunar observations way beyond his years". He followed Gower onto HMS Triumph and was first lieutenant on Triumph from 1794. He was promoted captain in 1798; in 1801, he was promoted to captain; and thence to flag captain to Gower on Princess Royal . In 1805 HMS Seine was captained by him. In 1809, he commanded Defence in the Walcheren Expedition . Accounting for blame for
1548-565: Was abandoned in 1864, though the rank of admiral of the fleet was maintained. The title of First Naval Lord was renamed First Sea Lord in 1904. During the two World Wars a number of serving officers held active commissions as admirals of the fleet, as well as the First Sea Lord—e.g. Sir John Tovey . Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was created an Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1954, following
1591-540: Was appointed ' Admiral of the King's Southern, Northern and Western Fleets ' on 18 July 1360. The appointment gave the command of the English navy to one person for the first time; this evolved into the post of Admiral of the Fleet. In the days of sailing ships the admiral distinctions then used by the Royal Navy included distinctions related to the fleet being divided into three divisions – red, white, or blue. Each division
1634-456: Was appointed admiral of the fleet on his retirement as First Sea Lord. The rank was not abolished and in 2012 the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III ) became an honorary admiral of the fleet (as well as field marshal and marshal of the Royal Air Force ), in recognition of his support to Queen Elizabeth II in her role of as Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces. In 2014, Lord Boyce ,
1677-506: Was assigned at least one admiral , who in turn commanded a number of vice-admirals and rear admirals . While the full admirals were nominally equals, tradition gave precedence to the Admiral of the White who held the fleet rank in addition to his substantive role. The Restoration era brought a general reorganisation of naval ranks and structure, including formalisation of the admiral of
1720-730: Was buried at St. Peter's churchyard in Iver. Gambier was a founding benefactor of Kenyon College in the United States , and the town that was founded with it, Gambier, Ohio , is named after him, as is Mount Gambier , the city and dormant volcano in South Australia , and Gambier Island in British Columbia , as well as the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia . Gambier appears as a minor character near
1763-501: Was no admiral of the fleet at all as the most senior naval officer of the time – Admiral of the Red Thomas Le Marchant Gosselin – was mentally ill and had not served at sea for forty-five years. In deference to Gosselin's seniority the position was instead left vacant until his death in 1857, whereupon it was filled by Admiral Charles Ogle . The organisation of the British fleet into coloured squadrons
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1806-438: Was one of the British ships in support of the 1809 Walcheren Campaign which was intended to capture Vlissingen (Flushing) and Antwerp in the Netherlands. She ran aground on 24 December 1811 off the west coast of Jutland , Denmark. She was under the command of Captain D. Atkins and in the company of St George , under Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds , and Cressy , when a hurricane and heavy seas came up. St George
1849-484: Was then posted to England to serve on the 74-gun third-rate HMS Royal Oak , a guardship at Spithead . He was commissioned as a lieutenant on 12 February 1777, in which rank he served successively in the sloop Shark , the 24-gun frigate HMS Hind , the third-rate HMS Sultan under Vice-Admiral Lord Shuldham , and then in HMS Ardent under his uncle's flag. Lord Howe promoted Gambier to commander on 9 March 1778 and gave him command of
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