John Willett Payne (23 April 1752 – 17 November 1803) 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 ...
who also served as a close friend, advisor and courtier to
Prince George before and during his first regency. Payne was notorious as a
rake and scoundrel, but was also a
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 o ...
and noted for his bravery in several military actions during the
American Revolutionary War
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 the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
. Out of favour in his later years, Payne was reconciled with the Prince in 1799, but died whilst still in the service aged 51, from an illness which developed during blockade operations in the
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...
.
Early career
Payne was born in 1752, son of Ralph Payne, Chief Justice of
St Kitts
Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
and his wife Margaret ''née'' Gallaway. His elder brother
Ralph Payne would later become
Baron Lavington
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
. Payne was educated at Dr. Bracken's Academy in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
and later attended the
Royal Naval Academy
The Royal Naval Academy was a facility established in 1733 in Portsmouth Dockyard to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardised training, educa ...
at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
to train as an officer. During this time he became friends with
Hugh Seymour Conway, with whom he had a lifelong friendship and close naval partnership. In 1769 he left the academy to join
HMS ''Quebec''.
''Quebec'' served in the West Indies but after only a few months Payne moved to the
ship of the line HMS ''Montagu'' before returning to Britain in 1773 aboard the
sloop HMS ''Falcon''. Payne briefly joined
HMS ''Egmont'' but soon was attached to the large
frigate HMS ''Rainbow'' for a cruise to the
Guinea Coast. In 1775 he was back in England, where he passed for
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
aboard ''Egmont''.
American Revolutionary War
With the outbreak of the
American Revolutionary War
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 ...
in 1775, Payne joined
HMS ''Bristol'' and participated in the
Battle of Sullivan's Island
The Battle of Sullivan's Island or the Battle of Fort Sullivan was fought on June 28, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. It took place near Charleston, South Carolina, during the first British attempt to capture the city from American ...
under the command of
Sir Peter Parker. Shortly afterward, Payne joined
HMS ''Eagle'' in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
to serve as
Lord Howe's aide-de-camp. In 1777, Payne joined
HMS ''Brune'' and the following year transferred to
HMS ''Phoenix'' in which he participated in numerous coastal operations on the Eastern Seaboard.
Payne returned to Britain aboard
HMS ''Roebuck'' and in Britain served aboard
HMS ''Romney''. He impressed Commodore
George Johnstone in this duty and in 1779 was made
commander of the sloop
HMS ''Cormorant''. The following year, Payne was promoted to
post captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of 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) addressed as captain ...
and took over the prize frigate
HMS ''Artois'' which he commanded in European waters. He was also embroiled in a scandal when he was accused of
impressing Portuguese citizens out of merchant ships in the
Tagus
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...
.
In 1781, Payne sailed to the
Jamaica station
Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...
in
HMS ''Enterprize'' and the following year took over
HMS ''Leander''. In ''Leander'', Payne fought a duel with a much larger enemy ship in which both vessels were severely damaged. The identity of the other ship was never established, but Payne was given the 80-gun
HMS ''Princess Amelia'' as a reward. At the war's conclusion, Payne returned to Europe and ''Princess Amelia'' was paid off.
Royal service
During the early 1780s, Payne had formed a friendship with the rakish heir to the throne,
George, Prince of Wales. After acting as companion to
Lord Northington on a Grand Tour of Europe in 1785, Payne returned to the service of the Prince as his private secretary and
Keeper of the Privy Seal.
Payne also ran the Prince's household and lent money to
Lord Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu ...
, who was obliged to obtain for Payne the parliamentary seat of
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
, which he held from 1787 to 1796. During this period he was appointed captain of
HMS ''Phoenix'' but never served at sea, drawing the pay whilst pursuing his other duties.
Following the succession crisis of 1788 when
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
was struck down by
porphyria
Porphyria is a group of liver disorders in which substances called porphyrins build up in the body, negatively affecting the skin or nervous system. The types that affect the nervous system are also known as acute porphyria, as symptoms are ...
, Payne was an active supporter of the Prince of Wales's regency. Payne corresponded closely with other supporters but also participated in the Prince's frequent and extravagant masques and entertainments.
He also helped conspire in the Prince's
illegal marriage
Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body.
Illegal may also refer to:
Law
* Violation of law
* Crime, the practice of breaking the c ...
to
Maria Fitzherbert and was once rebuked by the
Duchess of Gordon in the terms "You little, insignificant, good-for-nothing, upstart, pert chattering puppy" after being overheard making insulting comments about the Queen,
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
.
French Revolutionary Wars
The King's recovery, combined with the outbreak of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
, called Payne to sea once more.
Taking command of
HMS ''Russell'' in 1793, Payne joined the
Channel Fleet under Lord Howe and the following year participated in the
Atlantic campaign of May 1794
The Atlantic campaign of May 1794 was a series of operations conducted by the British Royal Navy's Channel Fleet against the French Navy's Atlantic Fleet, with the aim of preventing the passage of a strategically important French grain convoy t ...
. Howe was attempting to chase down a French fleet guarding a grain convoy in the mid-Atlantic and after a month of sparring, caught the French on 28 May. Payne's ship was with the flying squadron under
Thomas Pasley
Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, 1st Baronet (2 March 1734 – 29 November 1808) was a senior and highly experienced British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, who served with distinction at numerous actions of the Seven Years' War, Americ ...
sent to engage the French and ''Russell'' fought well in this action and the following day. In the culminating engagement, the
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
, Payne's ship was heavily engaged and fought a succession of French ships, inflicting severe damage and making a great contribution to the eventual victory.
In the aftermath of the action, Payne was rewarded with a gold medal and in 1795 was tasked with escorting the Prince of Wales's official wife,
Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821, being the estranged wife of King George IV. She was Pri ...
to Britain. Payne became friends with Caroline, and the bitter marriage between her and the Prince angered Payne. In addition, Payne had earned the enmity of
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey (''née'' Twysden; 25 February 1753 – 23 July 1821) was a British Lady of the Bedchamber, one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating ...
and these factors combined to alienate him from the Prince, who dismissed Payne from all his offices in 1796.
The same year, Payne took command of
HMS ''Impetueux'', one of the ships he had captured at the Glorious First of June two years before.
In her Payne led a squadron the blockade of Brest until 1799, seeing no significant action and suffering from increasing ill-health as a result of the arduous service. In January 1799, Payne retired ashore and was reconciled with the Prince, who described their relationship as "an old and steady friendship of upwards of twenty years standing". In February Payne was made
rear-admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
, but it was becoming clear that he was no longer fit for sea service.
Retiring to the prestige post of treasurer of the
Royal Naval Hospital
A Royal Naval Hospital (RNH) was a hospital operated by the British Royal Navy for the care and treatment of sick and injured naval personnel. A network of these establishments were situated across the globe to suit British interests. They were ...
at Greenwich, Payne was actually a patient at the hospital for his last years, and plans for him to move into one of the Prince's residences at
Carlton House
Carlton House was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of King George IV. It faced the south side of Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St James's Park in the St James's district of London. The location of the house, no ...
came to nothing. Payne died in 1803 at the hospital from the strain of his long-service, and was buried at the
Church of St. Margaret, Westminster.
[Payne, John Willett](_blank)
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Randolph Cocks, Retrieved 27 January 2008 He never married and had no children, however had been one of the lovers of Emma Lyons who later became
Lady Hamilton
Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy me ...
.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, John Willett
1752 births
1803 deaths
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War
Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
British MPs 1784–1790
British MPs 1790–1796
Burials at St Margaret's, Westminster