Alexander Boyle (1810–1884) was a Royal Navy officer whose most famous command was

HMS Victory HMS ''Victory'' is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, ordered in 1758, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is best known for her role as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. She ...

, Nelson's flagship.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

at 41 George Street on 9 March 1810 the son of David Boyle, at that point both Solicitor General and MP for

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

. His father was later made "Lord Boyle", Lord President of the Court of Session. He was also known as Lord Shewalton due to his Ayrshire estates. His mother was Elizabeth Montgomery. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

on 4 September 1823 aged 13. He became a Lieutenant in October 1830 aged 20. His first noted service (June 1832) was on

HMS Champion Five ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Champion'': * was a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1779. She was reassigned to harbour service in 1810 and sold in 1816. * was an 18-gun sloop launched in 1824. She was reassigned to harb ...

an 18 gun sloop under Arthur Duncombe serving in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. In September 1836 he moved to the 36 gun frigate

HMS Pique Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Pique'': * was formerly the French ship ''Pique'', a 38-gun fifth rate captured by in 1795. HMS ''Pique'' was wrecked in action with the French ship in 1798. * HMS ''Pique'' was formerl ...

as commander. In September 1841 he moved to the 28-gun

HMS North Star Three ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''North Star'', named after the pole star: * was a 20-gun sixth rate launched in 1810. She was sold in 1817 and became the mercantile ''Columbo''. * was a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1824. ...

under

James Everard Home Sir James Everard Home, 2nd Baronet, , (25 October 1798, Well Manor, Hampshire, England – 1 November 1853, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) was an eminent nineteenth century British naval officer. From 1 February 1834 to 5 December 1837, ...

based in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. Boyle left the North Star after only a month, before its action during the

Flagstaff War The Flagstaff War, also known as Heke's War, Hōne Heke's Rebellion and the Northern War, was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of Hō ...

of 1845 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. However, he joined the huge 110-gun HMS Queen which had been renamed in 1839 to acknowledge

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. This served as the

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 fi ...

of Admiral Edward Owen. In February 1842 Boyle was promoted to Commander and was made commander of HMS Queen. In December 1845 he was made Captain and Commander of HMS Thunderbolt, a 6-gun paddle sloop based at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

. The ship was wrecked on rocks off Cape Receife on 3 February 1847. Boyle was officially reprimanded for this but was not dismissed. After a break of some years, he was given charge of

in April 1852, under first Admiral Thomas Briggs then Admiral

Thomas John Cochrane Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas John Cochrane (5 February 1789 – 19 October 1872) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, he captured the HMS Favourit ...

. This had a relatively quiet life, based in

. After two years on Victory he was made Second in Command of the 50 gun HMS Indefatigable in May 1854, patrolling the south-east coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as the flagship of Admiral Johnstone. In August 1855 he was given command of the 8 gun HMS Star which operated as a coastguard vessel and in August 1857 was made full Captain still on the American coast. He retired in April 1875 with the rank of Rear Admiral and was promoted to Vice Admiral in August 1879. He died on 8 June 1884 and is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

Family

In 1844 he married Agnes Walker daughter of James Walker of

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, Bu ...

. They had five daughters and three sons: *Frances Montgomerie Boyle (d. 1889) married Charles Woodbine Parish son of

Woodbine Parish Sir Woodbine Parish KCH (14 September 1796, London – 16 August 1882, St. Leonards, Sussex) was a British diplomat, traveller and scientist. The son of Woodbine Parish, of Bawburgh Old Hall, Norfolk, a major in the Light Horse Volunteers ...

. *Patrick David Boyle (1848-1932) served in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

and is buried with his parents *James Boyle MVO (1850-1931) was a Captain in the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

and later served as British Consul to

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of ...

from 1907 to 1919 *Alexander Boyle (1857-1923) married Fanny Studholme and were parents to Alexander David Boyle RNBurke's Peerage: Alexander Boyle His elder brothers included

David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow, (31 May 1833 – 13 December 1915), was a British naval commander and colonial governor. He served as Governor of New Zealand between 1892 and 1897. Background Boyle was the son of Patrick Boyle (eldest son of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Alexander 1810 births 1884 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh Royal Navy vice admirals Burials at Brompton Cemetery Royal Navy personnel of the New Zealand Wars