Admiral David Robertson-Macdonald, 11th of Kinlochmoidart (6 August 1817 – 16 May 1910), also known as David Robertson, was a Scottish officer in 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 ...

. He joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer, and saw service off the Portuguese and Spanish coast, in the West Indies and in the Mediterranean. Promoted to Lieutenant in August 1841, he served in HMS ''Hazard'' in the 1842 war with China, before the ship was posted to New Zealand. In August 1844, Lieutenant Robertson assumed the role of Acting Commander of HMS ''Hazard'', following the death of Commander Charles Bell, RN, at Kororāreka, New Zealand. At Kororāreka in the early morning of 11 March 1845, Commander Robertson, with a party of 45 sailors and marines, repulsed the first attack of the

Battle of Kororāreka The Battle of Kororāreka, or the Burning of Kororāreka, on 11 March 1845, was an engagement of the Flagstaff War in New Zealand. Following the establishment of United Kingdom, British control of the islands, war broke out with a small group of ...

from Kawiti, Pumuka and their party of some 200 warriors, at Christ Church and along Matavia Pass. Missing presumed dead following the naval party's withdrawal to the stockade, he was later found concealed in scrub, alive but dangerously wounded in the legs, and carried off to the safety of the stockade. He was later commended for his bravery, and was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

. In 1849 he was appointed to the command of stationed on the West Coast of Africa, where he spent a year involved in the suppression of the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

, capturing a number of slave ships. In 1851 he became an Inspecting Commander in Her Majesty's Coastguard, until 1858 when he was promoted to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. From 1862 to 1879 he served as an Assistant Inspector of Lifeboats to the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

. Retiring in the rank of Captain, he later received further promotions in retirement, finally becoming an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in July 1885. He died in Edinburgh on 16 May 1910 aged 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson-Macdonald, David 1817 births 1910 deaths Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the New Zealand Wars British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars 19th-century New Zealand military personnel Flagstaff War Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard

See also

References