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, ...

Sir Ralph Delaval (c.1641–c.1707) was an English admiral. He was a member of a junior branch of the Delaval family of

Seaton Delaval Seaton Delaval is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. The largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley, it is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, completed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1727. In 2010 the armed robbery of ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. He was born at

North Dissington North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

Ponteland Ponteland ( ) is a large village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The name means "island in the Pont", after the River Pont which flows from west to east and joins the River Blyth further downstream, be ...

, Northumberland, which estate he ultimately inherited and sold to Edward Collingwood of

Byker Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series ''Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...

in 1673. He joined the navy at a young age and progressed under the patronage of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

, later

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

, to become Captain of the third rater, HMS ''York''. He was knighted and raised to

Vice-Admiral of the Blue The Vice-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the White (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, re ...

on the accession of

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

and led the Blue Squadron in the rear division in the Battle of Beachy Head against the French on 10 July 1690. He was promoted to Vice Admiral of the Red in 1692. At the

Battle of La Hogue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...

on 9 May 1692, he personally commanded HMS ''Royal Sovereign'' and was responsible for the destruction of the French flagship ''Soleil Royal'' and two others at Cherbourg. His ''Royal Sovereign'' log books (1691–1693) are preserved in the archives of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. In 1693, Delaval, along with Henry Killigrew and

Cloudesley Shovell Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. ...

replaced Edward Russell as commander-in-chief. However, in the summer the French isolated and inflicted severe damage on the Smyrna convoy near

Lagos, Portugal Lagos (; literally "lakes"; cel-x-proto, Lacobriga) is a city and municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal. The population of the municipality in 201 ...

, for which Delaval, Killigrew and Shovell were severely criticised. A censure motion was laid 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. ...

alleging 'notorious and treacherous mismanagement'.Roger, ''The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815,'' p. 154 William was forced to dismiss his naval advisor Secretary of State the

Earl of Nottingham :''See also Earl of Winchilsea'' Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard II. As this creation could only pass to ...

, and appoint Russell as the new commander-in-chief. Shortly thereafter, Delaval was involved in intrigue at court where he was regarded as a possible Jacobite sympathiser and he lost his command. He retired to Northumberland. He died in 1707 and was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

Notes

References

* Roger N.A.M. ''The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815,'' Penguin Group, (2006). * ''Greys Debates in the House of Commons'' 1769 Volume 10

External links

Delavals account of the Battle of La Hogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaval, Ralph Royal Navy admirals English admirals Lords of the Admiralty 17th-century Royal Navy personnel People from Ponteland Military personnel from Northumberland Year of birth uncertain