Gilbert Heathcote (1779 – 22 April 1831) was an officer of 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 ...

who served during the

French Revolutionary The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

and

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. Heathcote was born into a

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

family in 1779, the youngest son of a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. He and a brother entered the navy, with Gilbert reaching officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was promoted to his first command early in the Napoleonic Wars, but his ship was wrecked in a gale. His career survived largely unscathed however, and he commanded several more ships, reaching the rank of

post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

during a period of service in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

, before his health obliged him to return to Britain. He undertook a final spell of active service in the closing years of the Napoleonic Wars in command of a frigate, before retiring ashore, and dying in 1831.

Family and early life

Heathcote was born in 1779, the youngest son of

Sir William Heathcote, 3rd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist i ...

and his wife, Frances. William Heathcote was

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

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

between 1790 and 1806, and had his seat,

Hursley House Hursley House is an 18th-century Queen Anne style mansion in Hursley, near Winchester in the English county of Hampshire. The building is Grade II* listed. History The Hursley estate was bought by William Heathcote, MP from the daughters of R ...

, in that county. Gilbert's elder brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, Sir William's fourth son, was also a naval officer, and would rise to the rank of

admiral of the blue The Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Admiral of the White (see order of precedence below). From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence third; after 1805 ...

. Gilbert Heathcote joined the navy, and after some years of service, was promoted to lieutenant on 10 December 1799. A further promotion to

master and commander ''Master and Commander'' is a 1969 nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in t ...

came on 29 April 1802, and in 1803 he was appointed to command the 14-gun

brig-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

HMS ''Suffisante'', taking over from Commander

Christopher Nesham Christopher (John Williams) Nesham (1771 –4 November 1853), admiral, born in 1771, was son of Christopher Nesham, a captain in the 63rd regiment, by his wife Mary Williams, sister of William Peere Williams-Freeman, admiral of the fleet. Nesham ...

. ''Suffisante'' outfitted at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

between July and September 1803, after which Heathcote took her to sea. His first command was short-lived; ''Suffisante'' was caught in a heavy gale, and wrecked on Spike Island, off Queenstown on 25 December 1803. Heathcote underwent a customary court-martial for the loss, at which he was reprimanded but not punished.

Further commands

Heathcote's career does not appear to have been unduly affected by the loss of ''Suffisante'', and by September 1804 he was in command of , the

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

. He left her in January 1805 and appears to have been without a ship until he undertook a period of service in the

. He was promoted to

on 25 September 1806 and succeeded to the command of the 38-gun HMS ''Sir Edward Hughes'', replacing Commander

Hood Hanway Christian Rear-Admiral Hood Hanway Christian (23 July 1784 – 31 August 1849) was a British naval officer who reached the rank of Rear-Admiral. He fought in several naval engagements during the Napoleonic Wars between 1800 and 1814. Later he was Commodor ...

, who had commissioned her in 1805. Heathcote's health seems to have broken down while on this situation, as he left ''Sir Edward Hughes'' later that September to return to Britain, and was reported by ''The Asiatic Annual Register'' to be "returning to Europe for the benefit of his health." Commander Edward Ratsey, formerly of the 18-gun brig-sloop , was appointed to replace Heathcote. Heathcote's health had improved by 1813 to allow him to return to active service with the command of the newly built 36-gun , which he took over in October that year. Heathcote was assigned to service in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, and was in command until mid-1815, when command passed to Captain John Lewis. Heathcote does not appear to have had any further active service. He married Ann Lyell at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on 23 March 1809, and at some point had his portrait painted by William Owen. He died, still at the rank of post-captain, on 22 April 1831.

Notes

a. The promotion and appointment of Ratsey to command ''Sir Edward Hughes'' created a vacancy for the command of the ''Harrier''. The commander in chief of that part of the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

, Rear-Admiral

Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet (22 June 17571 February 1807) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Sadras in February 1782 during the American Revolutionary War and the Battle of Trincoma ...

, filled it by promoting his son

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

, formerly a lieutenant on his father's

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 ...

, to the rank of commander, and giving him the ''Harrier''. This proved to be a fortunate appointment for Edward, as the ''Blenheim'' disappeared in a gale the following year with the loss of Sir Thomas and her entire crew. b. ''The Scots Magazine'' names her as Ann, John Marshall's ''Royal Naval Biography'' instead has Anne. Both describe her as the daughter of the late Charles Lyell, of Kinnordy,

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

. She was therefore the sister of Charles Lyell the elder, the botanist. Owen's portrait of Heathcote is now held in the collections of

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcote, Gilbert 1779 births 1831 deaths Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Younger sons of baronets