Christopher Hill (Royal Navy Officer)

Rear-Admiral Christopher Hill (1716 – 11 July 1778) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, River Medway and the Nore. Having joined the Royal Navy in 1731, Hill served off Ireland, Portugal, and in the Mediterranean Sea before being promoted to commander in 1746. After several commands he was then promoted to post-captain in 1747. While commanding HMS ''Dover'' he then captured the French East Indiaman ''Pondichéry'' during the Seven Years' War. Hill was on half pay between 1760 and 1769, then being given command of HMS ''Augusta'' and serving as Commander-in-Chief, River Medway and the Nore for the following year. His last command was HMS ''Barfleur'' towards the end of the year. A well thought of officer, Hill was promoted to rear-admiral in January 1778 but was killed in a fall from his horse six months later.

Naval career

Initial service

Christopher Hill was born in around 1716. Nothing else is recorded of his personal life or family. He joined the Royal Navy on 17 October 1731, becoming a volunteer-per-order on the 80-gun ship of the line HMS ''Norfolk'' which was serving as a guard ship. He moved to the 44-gun frigate HMS ''Gosport'' as an able seaman on 3 February the following year, but returned to his position as a volunteer-per-order on ''Norfolk'' on 22 October after ''Gosport'' was paid off in June. Hill became an able seaman on ''Norfolk'' on 17 December the same year, and moved in that position to the 60-gun ship of the line HMS ''Exeter'' on 2 July 1733. ''Exeter'' had recently been laid up at Plymouth Dockyard. Hill advanced to become a midshipman ordinary twenty-five days later, joining the 60-gun ship of the line HMS ''Swallow'' in the Mediterranean Sea.

Hill was promoted to midshipman and sent to join the 8-gun sloop HMS ''Saltash'' on 18 March 1734, serving off Ireland. He then transferred back to ''Norfolk'' on 16 August, joining Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Norris' fleet in the Tagus. ''Norfolk'' was paid off towards the start of 1736. On 5 August Hill joined the 60-gun ship of the line HMS ''Canterbury''. Initially ''Canterbury'' was the guard ship at Plymouth, before in 1738 she sailed to the Mediterranean. Just before the ship sailed home, Hill transferred to instead join the 80-gun ship of the line HMS ''Somerset'' on 6 February 1740. In ''Somerset'' Hill passed his examination for promotion to the rank of lieutenant on 6 March the same year.

Actual promotion to lieutenant came to Hill only eleven days later when on 17 March he was appointed third lieutenant of the 54-gun ship of the line HMS ''Panther'', also in the Mediterranean. He was promoted to become ''Panther''s second lieutenant on 27 September the following year, but on 29 October was transferred to join the 20-gun frigate HMS ''Fox'', becoming ''Fox''s sole lieutenant. Serving off the Canary Islands, ''Fox'' captured the Spanish privateer ''Nuestra Señora del Humildade'' on 2 February 1743, and two days later Hill was appointed first lieutenant of the newly commissioned 44-gun frigate HMS ''Torrington''. In ''Torrington'' Hill served in a convoy escort to Lisbon and off Dunkirk. He left the ship on 10 January 1745, and was promoted to commander just over a year later on 29 January 1746.

Command

Hill was given command of the 24-gun storeship HMS ''Princess Royal'' at the time of his promotion, and commanded her in the Mediterranean until 18 May 1747. Two months later he was appointed to command the 14-gun sloop HMS ''Baltimore'', undergoing a refit, which he continued in until being promoted to captain on 5 December. Hill was then sent to join the 24-gun frigate HMS ''Bridgewater'', serving in Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Warren's fleet. The ship was paid off on 10 February 1749. For some period in 1751 he then took command of the 20-gun frigate HMS ''Lyme''. He did not receive another command until 23 April 1753 when he was given the 14-gun sloop HMS ''Saltash'', for the Irish Sea. He stayed in the ship for two years before joining the 44-gun frigate HMS ''Dover'' on 28 October 1755.

With the Seven Years' War ongoing, in ''Dover'' Hill captured the French East Indiaman ''Pondichéry'' on 23 December 1756 after an engagement of two hours. The French vessel lost her second captain and eleven men killed, with eighteen wounded, while the British sustained no casualties. ''Pondichéry'' had been sailing from Canton when ''Dover'' intercepted her, bringing her initially into Cork before taking the prize to the Nore. Hill left ''Dover'' on 23 April the following year, and was appointed to the 60-gun ship of the line HMS ''St Florentine'' on 11 September 1759. Serving in Admiral Edward Boscawen's fleet and then in 1760 Admiral Sir Edward Hawke's, Hill continued in ''St Florentine'' until 15 December, and then went on an extended period of half pay.

This period of unemployment ended on 26 October 1769 when Hill was given command of the 64-gun ship of the line HMS ''Augusta'', the guard ship at Sheerness. On 9 January the following year Hill was appointed a commodore to serve as Commander-in-Chief, River Medway and The Nore. Initially serving as such in ''Augusta'', on 23 October he moved into the 90-gun ship of the line HMS ''Barfleur''. He continued at the Nore until around 7 December when he relinquished his position and command of ''Barfleur''. Despite having seen little action in his naval career Hill was a well thought of officer, especially because of his personal conduct. He was promoted to rear-admiral on 23 January 1778. Initially a rear-admiral of the blue, he was advanced to rear-admiral of the white on 29 January. Hill died six months later on 4 July when he fell from his horse while riding from London to Croydon.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Christopher
Royal Navy rear admirals
1778 deaths
Year of birth missing
Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War