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William Lechmere
William Lechmere (1752 – 12 December 1815) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Lechmere joined the navy and saw service during the American War of Independence, having been promoted to lieutenant in 1774, and then to commander in 1782. He was given his own ship, a sloop, and served off the North American coast for the remainder of the war, until paying off the ship in 1785. He spent time ashore during the years of peace, marrying and receiving a promotion to post captain before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. He returned to service in 1794 and commanded several ships in British waters. During this time he assisted in the transport of Princess Caroline of Brunswick to Britain. He then spent some time on the Halifax station, but like many of his contemporaries he struggled at times to secure postings, and spent some time without a ship. He was back in command of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steeple Aston
Steeple Aston is a village and civil parish on the edge of the Cherwell Valley, in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire, England, about north of Oxford, west of Bicester, and south of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 947. The village is above sea level. The River Cherwell and Oxford Canal pass east of the village. The river forms part of the eastern boundary of the parish. The parish's southern boundary, south of the village, also forms part of Cherwell District's boundary with West Oxfordshire. History The earliest evidence of occupation in the area is an Iron Age burial site in the west of the parish near Hopcroft's Holt. The Domesday Book of 1086 records Steeple Aston as ''Estone'', derived from East Tun meaning "east village". By 1220 it was ''Stipelestun'', with the "steeple" prefix probably referring to the church tower. The Domesday Book of 1086 records that Odo, Bishop of Bayeux was overlord of the manor of Steeple Aston. The Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest naval commanders in history. Nelson was born into a moderately prosperous Norfolk family and joined the navy through the influence of his uncle, Maurice Suckling, a high-ranking naval officer. Nelson rose rapidly through the ranks and served with leading naval commanders of the period before obtaining his own command at the age of 20, in 1778. He developed a reputation for personal valour and firm grasp of tactics, but suffered periods of illness and unemployment after the end of the American War of Independence. The outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars allowed Nelson to return to service, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Willett Payne
John Willett Payne (23 April 1752 – 17 November 1803) was an officer of the Royal Navy who also served as a close friend, advisor and courtier to Prince George before and during his first regency. Payne was notorious as a rake and scoundrel, but was also a Member of Parliament and noted for his bravery in several military actions during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars. Out of favour in his later years, Payne was reconciled with the Prince in 1799, but died whilst still in the service aged 51, from an illness which developed during blockade operations in the Western Approaches. Early career Payne was born in 1752, son of Ralph Payne, Chief Justice of St Kitts and his wife Margaret ''née'' Gallaway. His elder brother Ralph Payne would later become Baron Lavington. Payne was educated at Dr. Bracken's Academy in Greenwich and later attended the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth to train as an officer. During this time he became friends with H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore (Cdre) is a rank of the Royal Navy above captain and below rear admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to air commodore in the Royal Air Force. Commodore has only been a substantive rank in the Royal Navy since 1997. Until then the term denoted a functional position rather than a formal rank, being the title bestowed on the senior officer of a fleet of at least two naval vessels comprising an independent (usually ad hoc and short-term) command. (In this case, for instance, a lieutenant in substantive rank could be a commodore for the term of the command.) History The rank of commodore was introduced during the 17th century in November 1674 (though not legally established until 1806). In 1684 the navy introduced two classes of commodore, the first known as a ''Commodore Distinction'' and the other a ''Commodore Ordinary''; these would later evolve into commodores first and second clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broad Pennant
A broad pennant is a triangular swallow-tailed naval pennant flown from the masthead of a warship afloat or a naval headquarters ashore to indicate the presence of either: (a) a Royal Navy officer in the rank of Commodore, or (b) a U.S. Navy Captain serving in a designated Commodore command billet. The flag is so called as a broad pennant because its dimensions are roughly 2:3. Starting in 1826, a Royal Navy commodore would fly one of two broad pennants depending on whether he had a captain for his ship (First Class Commodore), or also had to command it himself (Second Class). This difference was shown by a ball added to the pennant of the Second Class rank holder, as shown above. In 1958, the rank of First Class Commodore was terminated, after which only the red and white broad pennant with a ball was used by the Royal Navy. The U.S. Navy will also refer to this flag as a Commodore's "command pennant." In the U.S. Navy, the blue and white pennant will contain either ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Vandeput
Admiral of the Blue George Vandeput (died 14 March 1800) was an English naval officer, the illegitimate son of Sir George Vandeput, 2nd Baronet ( – 17 June 1784) and an unknown mother. Naval career He was a midshipman on board HMS ''Neptune'' (the flagship of Sir Charles Saunders, stationed in the St Lawrence River) by 24 September 1759, on which date he was promoted lieutenant and transferred to the ''Shrewsbury'' under Captain Hugh Palliser. From 1759 to peace in 1763 he served on the ''Shrewsbury'', then on 17 April 1764 he was given his first command, the sloop ''Goree'', soon followed on 20 June 1765 by being made post captain of the Surprise (20 guns). Other commands ( ''Boreas'' August 1766-June 1767, the 28 gun ''Carysfort'' June 1767 – 1770, the ''Solebay'' on the home station 1770–1773, and many temporary commands in 1773). Finally he was appointed captain of ''Asia'' just before her commissioning in December 1773, and sailed her to the North American s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or best known. Over the years, the term "flagship" has become a metaphor used in industries such as broadcasting, automobiles, education, technology, airlines, and retail to refer to their highest profile or most expensive products and locations. Naval use In common naval use, the term ''flagship'' is fundamentally a temporary designation; the flagship is wherever the admiral's flag is being flown. However, admirals have always needed additional facilities, including a meeting room large enough to hold all the captains of the fleet and a place for the admiral's staff to make plans and draw up orders. Historically, only larger ships could accommodate such requirements. The term was also used by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Downs (ship Anchorage)
The Downs is a roadstead (area of sheltered, favourable sea) in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast, between the North and the South Foreland in southern England. In 1639 the Battle of the Downs took place here, when the Dutch navy destroyed a Spanish fleet which had sought refuge in neutral English waters. From the Elizabethan era onwards, the presence of the Downs helped to make Deal one of the premier ports in England, and in the 19th century, it was equipped with its own telegraph and timeball tower to enable ships to set their marine chronometers. The anchorage has depths down to 12 fathoms (22 m). Even during southerly gales some shelter was afforded, though under this condition wrecks were not infrequent. Storms from any direction could also drive ships onto the shore or onto the sands, which—in spite of providing the sheltered water—were constantly shifting, and not always adequately marked. The Downs served in the age of sail as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and much of the West End shopping and entertainment district. The name ( ang, Westmynstre) originated from the informal description of the abbey church and royal peculiar of St Peter's (Westminster Abbey), west of the City of London (until the English Reformation there was also an Eastminster, near the Tower of London, in the East End of London). The abbey's origins date from between the 7th and 10th centuries, but it rose to national prominence when rebuilt by Edward the Confessor in the 11th. Westminster has been the home of England's government since about 1200, and from 1707 the Government of the United Kingdom. In 1539, it became a city. Westminster is often used as a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the medieval period. It was at that time located in the farmlands and fields beyond the London wall, when it was awarded to Westminster Abbey for oversight. It became a principal parish church west of the old City in the early modern period as Westminster's population grew. When its medieval and Jacobean structure was found to be near failure, the present building was constructed in an influential neoclassical design by James Gibbs in 1722–1726. The church is one of the visual anchors adding to the open-urban space around Trafalgar Square. History Roman era Excavations at the site in 2006 uncovered a grave from about A.D. 410. The site is outside the city limits of Roman London (as was the usual Roman practice for burials) but is particularly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir John Dashwood-King, 3rd Baronet
Sir John Dashwood-King, 3rd Baronet (4 August 1716 – 6 December 1793), was an English country gentleman. Born John Dashwood, he adopted the additional surname of King by the terms of his uncle Dr. John King's will. Early life The son of Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet, by his third wife, Mary King, he was the half-brother of the infamous Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet. He was a member of the Hellfire Club which his brother had founded. Career His principal interests lay in his lands in Wales and Lincolnshire which he had inherited from his maternal uncles. From 1753 until 1761, he served as Member of Parliament for the pocket borough of Bishop's Castle, controlled by his brother-in-law John Walcott. He served as High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1777. On the death of his half-brother in 1781 he inherited the baronetcy and West Wycombe Park, but made no significant changes there before his death in 1793. Personal life In 1761, he married Sarah Moore (d. 9 April 1777), by wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newfoundland (island)
Newfoundland (, ; french: link=no, Terre-Neuve, ; ) is a large island off the east coast of the North American mainland and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It has 29 percent of the province's land area. The island is separated from the Labrador Peninsula by the Strait of Belle Isle and from Cape Breton Island by the Cabot Strait. It blocks the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, creating the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. Newfoundland's nearest neighbour is the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. With an area of , Newfoundland is the world's 16th-largest island, Canada's fourth-largest island, and the largest Canadian island outside the North. The provincial capital, St. John's, is located on the southeastern coast of the island; Cape Spear, just south of the capital, is the easternmost point of North America, excluding Greenland. It is common to consider all directly neighbouring i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
