Galfridus Walpole (1683 – 7 August 1726) was a Royal Navy officer, politician and postmaster general of the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

. He lost his right arm after a naval battle against the French in Vado Bay, Italy, in 1711 and commanded ships for another nine years. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1715 to 1721, when he took office as joint

postmaster general A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...

Early life

Walpole was born in 1683, the son of

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

and Mary Burwell of

Houghton, Norfolk Houghton is a small village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 69 in 36 households at the 2001 census. At the 2011 census the population of the parish was again below 100, and was ...

, and was the younger brother of the politician

Sir Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

. In 1709 he married Cornelia Hays, but they had no children.

Naval career

In 1706 Walpole was

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. ...

of , a

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

24-gun frigate, followed by and between 1707–1709 he commanded , a

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

frigate. From 1710–1714 he was in charge of , a 60-gun

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

. His last commission was on from 1716–1720, a ship that later became a

royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

. While commanding ''Lion'', on 22 March 1711, Walpole's ship was in Vado Bay on the Italian coast in the Mediterranean as a lookout cruiser when it sighted four French ships. Amongst those who gave chase and engaged the enemy for about two hours was ''Lion'', with the loss of forty men. Walpole was so badly injured that his right arm was amputated by the ship's surgeon, John Atkins. He sat up for two nights with Walpole, who gave the surgeon no thanks for the attention.

Political career

Walpole was returned unopposed as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, at the 1715 general election. Also in 1715, he was appointed to a sinecure post as Treasurer of

Greenwich Hospital, London Greenwich Hospital was a permanent home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy, which operated from 1692 to 1869. Its buildings, in Greenwich, London, were later used by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the University of Greenwich, and ar ...

. He was appointed joint

, on 8 April 1721 when he was required to vacate his seat in parliament, and also stood down as Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital. He remained in post as Postmaster General for the rest of his life. In 1725, he took out a lease on

Westcombe Park Westcombe Park is a largely residential area in Blackheath in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is bounded by the main London-Dartford railway line to the north, the Blackwall Tunnel southern approach to the east, ...

, a country estate owned by

Sir Gregory Page, 2nd Baronet Sir Gregory Page, 2nd Baronet (c. 1695 – 4 August 1775), was an English art collector and landowner, and a baronet in the Baronetage of Great Britain. He was the eldest son of Sir Gregory Page, 1st Baronet, and his wife Mary, the daughter of Lond ...

Death

Walpole died without issue on 7 August 1726. He is buried at the Church of St Martin on his brother’s

Houghton Hall Houghton Hall ( ) is a country house in the parish of Houghton in Norfolk, England. It is the residence of David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley. It was commissioned by the ''de facto'' first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walp ...

estate.

Lord Nelson's sword

According to legend, Walpole's sword, used on HMS ''Lion'', was given to a young

Horatio 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 abo ...

, who is reported to have been carrying it when he too lost his right arm, in the Battle of Santa Cruz on 15 July 1797. The Walpole sword, which has a silver-hilted hanger, was made by Nixon Cutlers of London, has London silver hallmarks for 1752, and a 60 cm curved blade. Due to its provenance, the sword is known as the Galfridus Walpole — Suckling Sword, having been given to Walpole's godson and great nephew

Maurice Suckling Captain Maurice Suckling (4 May 1726 – 14 July 1778) was a British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for starting the naval career of his nephew Horatio Nelson and for serving as Comptroller of the Navy from 1775 until ...

whose sister

Catherine Suckling Catherine Suckling (9 May 1725 – 26 December 1767) was the mother of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson. Catherine had eleven children of which Nelson was the third surviving son. Family and marriage Catherine was born on 9 May 1725 in Barsh ...

was Nelson's mother. William Suckling, Maurice's brother, gave the sword to Nelson, who wore his uncle's valued gift in his early career. The sword appears to have been returned to the Suckling family. The sword was sold at auction by

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

in late 2003 for £36,000, described as "believed to be that carried by Captain (later Admiral Lord) Horatio Nelson" and with extensive notes relating to the provenance and origins of the story that it was with Nelson at the time of his death. Some, however, have doubted the truth of the legend, and W. J. Andrew in ''

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inne ...

'' in 1922 argued that Nelson would be most unlikely to have used a hundred-year-old sword in battle.

Footnotes

:a.Clewes uses the date as 22 March 1711 but other published accounts, such as

and Lady Nevill, state 26 March as the date of the battle.

References

External links

Short Walpole biography
(p652-3) Collins's Peerage
''Biographia navalis; or, Impartial memoirs of the lives ... of officers of the navy of Great Britain from ... 1660, Volume 3''
Walpole's career

Cracroft's Peerage {{DEFAULTSORT:Walpole, Galfridus 1683 births 1726 deaths Royal Navy officers United Kingdom Postmasters General English amputees British MPs 1715–1722 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Lostwithiel Galfridius People from Houghton, Norfolk