36-612: Admiral Molyneux Shuldham, 1st Baron Shuldham ( c. 1717 – 30 September 1798) was an officer of the British Royal Navy . He served for a time as colonial governor of Newfoundland . Molyneux Shuldham was born in Ireland c. 1717, and was the second son of the Reverend Lemuel Shuldham, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel Molyneux of Ballymulvy, of County Longford . Molyneux entered
72-511: A broad band with three narrower bands. In 2001 the number of stars on the shoulder board was increased to four, reflecting the equivalence to the OF-9 four-star ranks of other countries. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined his career path. The command flags flown by an Admiral changed a number of times during this period, there was no Admiral of
108-490: A few days later he was moved by Sir George Pocock to HMS Rochester , and again by Rodney after a few weeks to Foudroyant . In mid-1763 he was transferred once more to a temporary command aboard HMS Levant , with which he returned to England in August 1763. Peace had been declared between England and France, and Shuldham was ashore on half-pay until December 1766, when he was appointed to HMS Cornwall ,
144-528: A large proportion of the ship's company. Shuldham, with the captain and other officers, was tried by court-martial on 15 October but was acquitted of all blame. He was promoted to commander of HMS Blast in Jamaica on 1 May 1744. On 9 November 1745 he was attacked and captured by two Spanish privateers off the Black River , after stiff resistance. Shuldham suffered mistreatment by privateers, but
180-517: Is a senior rank of the Royal Navy , which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9 , outranked only by the rank of admiral of the fleet . Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of rear admiral , vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. The rank of admiral is currently the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, admiral of
216-630: The Labrador coast and sent his lieutenant, Roger Curtis , to inspect the northern coast and the Moravian missionaries. On 31 March 1775 he was promoted to be rear-admiral of the white . At the general election in the following autumn he was returned to the House of Commons as member for Fowey , and on 29 September, was appointed commander-in-chief on the coast of North America from the river St. Lawrence to Cape Florida . He went out with his flag in
252-663: The Thames to Scotland. This was part of an effort by Edward I to establish a permanent official staff, even if a permanent naval force was not yet considered necessary. Leybourne's immediate purview was subsequently divided into the roles of Admiral of the West and Admiral of the South while Botetourt's became the Admiral of the North ; the first and last merged as the Admiral of
288-494: The guardship at Plymouth . In November 1770 he transferred to HMS Royal Oak , then commissioned in consequence of the expected rupture with Spain. On 14 February 1772 he was appointed commodore and commander-in-chief on the Newfoundland Station , which office he held for three years. He was responsible for the construction of Fort Townshend , which was completed in 1780. Shuldham visited Chateau Bay on
324-426: The reduction of Guadeloupe and its dependent islands, March to May 1759 under Commodore Moore. In July he was moved by Moore into HMS Raisonnable , which was lost on a reef of rocks at Fort Royal off Martinique as she was standing in to engage a battery on 8 January 1762, when the island was attacked and reduced by Rear-Admiral Rodney . In April Rodney appointed Shuldham to HMS Marlborough , from which
360-545: The taking of Havana from the Spanish in 1762 . Whilst making her way back to Britain she was caught in very heavy weather, and on 29 November 1762 her crew were forced to abandon ship, all of her crew being taken off by a passing HMS Antelope before she sank. Her Captain Thomas Burnett was court martialled as a result, and although exonerated would not regain a command until 1770. This article about
396-557: The 18th century, the original nine ranks began to be filled by more than one man per rank, although the rank of admiral of the red was always filled by only one man and was known as Admiral of the Fleet . After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 the rank of admiral of the red was introduced. The number of officers holding each rank steadily increased throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1769 there were 29 admirals of various grades; by
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#1732772146275432-402: The 50-gun HMS Chatham , arriving at Boston on 30 December after a passage of sixty-one days, having been promoted, on 7 December while on the way out, to be vice-admiral of the blue . His work was limited to covering the operations of the troops, and preventing the colonial trade. In July 1776, he escorted Admiral Howe into New York Harbor. He was replaced by Lord Howe , and on 31 July,
468-488: The 60-gun HMS Warwick , going out to the West Indies , where, near Martinique on 11 March 1756, she fell in with a French 74-gun ship and two frigates, which overpowered and captured her. War had not then been declared, but hostilities had been going on for several months, as Shuldham very well knew, and the story that he mistook the enemy's ships of war for merchantmen would be but little to his credit if there
504-705: The English long depended upon levies of their subjects' vessels for any major naval expeditions. Nonetheless, historians have sometimes extended the concept of an English navy and its supposed admirals and lord high admirals back as far as Alfred the Great , counting several kings as themselves admirals, along with various dukes and earls who commanded fleets at prominent engagements such as Hubert de Burgh off Sandwich in 1217 . Other lists begin their count at King Henry III 's appointment of Sir Richard de Lucy on 28 August 1223 or 29 August 1224. A similar commission
540-415: The Fleet rather than Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey , who as senior active admiral nearing the age limit would customarily have received the promotion; John Baird became an Admiral; James Erskine a vice-admiral; and Harry Rawson a rear-admiral. Ironically, all these younger men would die at least a decade before de Horsey. In the time before squadron distinctions were removed or age limits instituted,
576-565: The North and West in 1364; and from 1408–1414 they were all reunited as the High Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine , the forerunner to the present Lord High Admiral . (During this process, the short-lived post of Admiral of the Narrow Seas was used in 1412 and 1413. It was subsequently revived from 1523 to 1688.) The first royal commission as Admiral to a naval officer was granted in 1303 to Gervase Alard . By 1344, it
612-638: The Red rank until that post was introduced in 1805 prior to this the highest rank an admiral could attain to was Admiral of the White who then flew the Cross of St George . The next promotion step up from that was to Admiral of the Fleet. [REDACTED] Media related to Admirals of the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons HMS St Michael (1669) HMS St Michael was a 90-gun second rate ship of
648-531: The brunt of the Spanish fire, her captain James Cornewall , and 42 crew were killed and 120 wounded out of her crew of 750 men. Command passed to his distant cousin, Frederick Cornewall , the First Lieutenant , who was severely wounded and lost his right arm. Cornewall was buried at sea. Marlborough was reduced to a 68-gun ship in 1752. She formed part of Sir George Pocock 's fleet at
684-579: The close of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816 there were 190 admirals in service. Thereafter the number of admirals was reduced and in 1853 there were 79 admirals. Although admirals were promoted according to strict seniority, appointments to command were made at the discretion of the Board of Admiralty . As there were invariably more admirals in service than there were postings, many admirals remained unemployed, especially in peacetime. The organisation of
720-469: The concept of yellow admirals (formally known as granting an officer the position of "Rear-Admiral without distinction of squadron"), being captains promoted to flag rank on the understanding that they would immediately retire on half-pay . This was the navy's first attempt at superannuating older officers. During the Interregnum , the rank of admiral was replaced by that of general at sea . In
756-499: The death of James Hawkins-Whitshed resulted in ten men moving up to higher ranks. In 1996, the rank of admiral of the fleet was put in abeyance in peacetime, except for members of the Royal family but was resurrected on an honorary basis in 2014 for the appointment of Lord Boyce . Admirals of the fleet continue to hold their rank on the active list for life. The current ranks are rear admiral, vice admiral, admiral and admiral of
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#1732772146275792-627: The fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of the royal family. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is general ; and in the Royal Air Force , it is air chief marshal . The title admiral was not used in Europe until the mid-13th century and did not reach England before the end of that century. Similarly, although some royal vessels are attested under King John ,
828-519: The fleet his deputy, the vice admiral , would be in the leading portion or van . Below him was another admiral at the rear of the fleet, called rear admiral . Promotion up the ladder was in accordance with seniority in the rank of post-captain , and rank was held for life, so the only way to be promoted was for the person above on the list to die or resign. In 1747 the Admiralty restored an element of merit selection to this process by introducing
864-596: The fleet into coloured squadrons was finally abandoned in 1864. The Red Ensign was allocated to the Merchant Navy , the White Ensign became the flag of the Royal Navy, and the Blue Ensign was allocated to the naval reserve and naval auxiliary vessels. The 18th- and 19th-century Royal Navy also maintained a positional rank known as port admiral . A port admiral was typically a veteran captain who served as
900-417: The fleet, also known as flag ranks because admirals, known as flag officers , are entitled to fly a personal flag . An admiral of the fleet flies a Union Flag at the masthead, while an admiral flies a St George's cross (red cross on white). Vice admirals and rear admirals fly a St George's cross with one or two red discs in the hoist, respectively. The rank of admiral itself is shown in its sleeve lace by
936-432: The line of the Royal Navy , built by John Tippetts of Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in 1669. St Michael was rebuilt at Blackwall Yard in 1706, at which time she was also renamed HMS Marlborough . On 5 April 1725 Marlborough was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt at Chatham . She was relaunched on 25 September 1732. On 11 February 1744 during the Battle of Toulon . Marlborough and Namur bore
972-625: The navy in 1732 as captain's servant on board HMS Cornwall , with Captain George Forbes (afterwards Earl of Granard and governor of County Longford). He afterwards served in HMS ; Solebay with Captain Charles Fanshawe , and for upwards of four years in HMS Falkland with Fitzroy Henry Lee . He passed his examination on 25 January 1739, being then described on his certificate as 'near twenty-two.' According to
1008-411: The official ranks became admiral of the white and so forth, however each admiral's command flags were different and changed over time. The Royal Navy has had vice and rear admirals regularly appointed to the post since at least the 16th century. When in command of the fleet, the admiral would be in either the lead or the middle portion of the fleet. When the admiral commanded from the middle portion of
1044-471: The shore commander of a British naval port and was in charge of supplying, refitting, and maintaining the ships docked at harbour. The problem of promoting strictly by seniority was well illustrated by the case of Provo Wallis who served (including time being carried on the books while still a child) for 96 years. When he died in 1892 four admirals under him could immediately be promoted. By request of Queen Victoria , John Edmund Commerell became Admiral of
1080-486: The statement in Charnock, he was not seventeen. On 31 August 1739 he was promoted to be lieutenant of HMS Tilbury , one of the ships which went out to the West Indies with Sir Chaloner Ogle , and took part in the unsuccessful attack on Cartagena in 1741. In 1742 he was first lieutenant of her when, on 21 September, she was set on fire in a drunken squabble between a marine and the purser's boy and burnt, with
1116-464: Was also carrying many of the antique vases collected by Sir William Hamilton . Colossus was wrecked in a gale on the Isles of Scilly , but while many of Sir William's vases were lost, Shuldham's body was recovered through 'heroic efforts'. He had married Margaret Irene, widow of John Harcourt of Ankerwycke Park but left no issue, and thus the title became extinct. Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral
Molyneux Shuldham, 1st Baron Shuldham - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-534: Was any reason to suppose it true. He, with the crew of the Warwick , was sent to France, kept a prisoner at large at Poitiers for nearly two years, and returned to England in a cartel on 16 March 1758. A court-martial acquitted him of all blame for the loss of the ship, and on 25 July 1758 he was appointed to HMS Panther , in which he joined Commodore Sir John Moore in the West Indies and took part in
1188-516: Was compensated by the Spanish governor of Havana . After finally returning to England, he was promoted to be captain of HMS Sheerness on 12 May 1746, then employed on the coast of Scotland; in December 1748 he was appointed to HMS Queenborough , and in March 1749 to HMS Unicorn . In October 1754 he was appointed to HMS Seaford , from which, in March 1755, he was moved to
1224-520: Was created a peer of Ireland by the title of Baron Shuldham . Early in 1777 he returned to England, and from 1778 to 1783 was Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth . He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1777. He was promoted on 24 September 1787 to be admiral of the blue , and on 1 February 1793 to be admiral of the white . He died at Lisbon in the autumn of 1798. His body was transported back to England aboard HMS Colossus , which
1260-615: Was given to Sir Thomas Moulton in 1264, who held the formal title of Keeper of the Sea and the Sea Ports. On 8 March 1287, Sir William de Leybourne was specifically commissioned as the Admiral of the Seas of England ( Latin : Admirallus Maris Angliae ) and, in 1294, captain of all sailors and mariners of the king's dominions. Sir John de Botetourt served under him as warden at sea from
1296-424: Was only used as a rank at sea for a captain in charge of one or more fleets. In Elizabethan times the fleet grew large enough to be organised into squadrons . The squadron's admiral flew a red ensign , the vice admirals white , and the rear admirals blue on the aft mast of his ship. As the squadrons grew, each was eventually commanded by an admiral (with vice admirals and rear admirals commanding sections) and
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