Captain John Stockham (24 July 1765 – 6 February 1814) was an 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 ...

during the

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 ...

, whose career is now obscured to the point that very little of his life is known up until 1805, when he was suddenly and unexpectedly called upon to command the

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 ...

at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

Early career

Stockham was born in July 1765 to a middle class Devon family, and was baptised in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

on 24 July. The date he joined the navy is not known and neither is the ship he joined, but it is likely that he was at sea before the end of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and may have seen action there, although this can not be proven. He was promoted to lieutenant on 29 April 1797 when he was 32, a full fourteen years after the normal age for this promotion.Hore p. 169 This was likely the result of a failure to gain interest or sponsorship from an admiral, politician or other person of influence. Early in 1801, while serving as lieutenant aboard , Stockham came to the attention of

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 took Stockham with him when he transferred to , prior to the Battle of Copenhagen.

Napoleonic Wars

The next time Stockham appears in the historical record is after the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...

, where he was first lieutenant of HMS ''Thunderer''. ''Thunderer'' had participated in the Battle of Cape Finisterre in July 1805 under her captain,

William Lechmere William Lechmere (1752 – 12 December 1815) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Lechmere joined the navy and saw service during the Ameri ...

, and Lechmere had then become embroiled in the controversy surrounding Sir

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career ...

's conduct in the action. When Calder insisted on a court martial, he requested Lechmere, along with William Brown of and

Philip Durham Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham, GCB (baptised 29 July 1763 – 2 April 1845) was a Royal Navy officer whose service in the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars was lengthy, distin ...

of to come back to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and testify in his defence. Durham refused but Brown and Lechmere did not, leaving their first lieutenants in charge of their ships.

Battle of Trafalgar

At the battle, on 21 October 1805, ''Thunderer''s position was towards the rear of Collingwood's division, and so she did not reach the action until well on into the day. Nonetheless, Stockham and ''Thunderer'' performed admirably, engaging the Spanish flagship ''Principe de Asturias'' and the French ''Neptune''. ''Thunderer'' suffered 16 casualties but remained largely intact, which enabled her to aid more battered ships during the storm which followed.

Later life

Following the action, Stockham was granted a gold medal and sword from the

Lloyd's Patriotic Fund Lloyd's Patriotic Fund was founded on 28 July 1803 at Lloyd's Coffee House, and continues to the present day. Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund now works closely with armed forces charities to identify the individuals and their families who are in urgent ne ...

, and was promoted to

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) ...

on Christmas Day of that year. Stockham, like many other officers who served in the battle, was unable to find a ship for future service. He retired to

a few years later, where he lived peacefully until his death in 1814. He was buried in a family plot in St Sidwell's Church, but German bombing during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

destroyed his grave. Exactly the same raid that destroyed Stockham's tombstone also destroyed the grave, in a different Exeter churchyard, of

Robert Benjamin Young Commander Robert Benjamin Young, RN (15 September 1773 – 26 November 1846) was an officer in the Royal Navy. His service in small ships led to his presence observing the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 from the deck of the tiny 10-gun cutter . Fol ...

, the captain of , one of the small ships that accompanied the fleet at Trafalgar,.

Citations

References

External links

John Stockham bioAnimation of the Battle of Trafalgar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockham, John 1765 births 1814 deaths Military personnel from Exeter Royal Navy captains at the Battle of Trafalgar Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars