Admiral Richard Darton Thomas (3 June 1777 – 21 August 1857) was an officer of the British

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 ...

, and went on to become Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station in the 1840s.

Biography

Background and early naval service

Thomas was born in Saltash, Cornwall, and entered the Navy on 26 May 1790, just before his 13th birthday, as a captain's servant aboard the 74-gun ship , under the command of Captain John McBride, and late in the year sailed to the West Indies as part of a squadron under Rear-Admiral Samuel Pitchford Cornish. On arrival in the Caribbean he transferred to the 32-gun frigate under the command of Captain Robert Murray, and was rated able. ''Blanche'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

in June 1792, and in December he joined the sloop as a midshipman.

Wartime service

On 1 January 1793 France declared war on Great Britain, and for the next two years Thomas served aboard ''Nautilus'' in the West Indies under the Captains Lord Henry Paulet, James Carpenter,

Henry William Bayntun Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Henry William Bayntun Order of the Bath, GCB (1766 – 16 December 1840) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy, whose distinguished career in the French Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars ...

, and William Gordon Rutherford, while taking part in operations against the French islands of

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

, Saint Lucia, and

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, where he commanded a boat in the attack on

Fort Royal Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Histo ...

, landing and escalading the walls simultaneously with Captain Robert Faulknor of the sloop . Thomas returned to England as

master's mate Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master. Master's mates evolved into the modern rank of Sub-Lieutenant in t ...

of the , the

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 ...

of Sir John Jervis. He was aboard her at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

on 1 May 1795 when a fire broke out aboard and the ship was destroyed. Thomas was forced to jump overboard, and swam to a nearby boat. He served aboard the , then , flagship of the Honourable William Waldegrave, with whom he sailed to the Mediterranean. From there he moved into , flagship of Sir John Jervis. He was subsequently sent on shore with a party of seamen to man the guns at the

Fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of St. Fiorenza, in

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, remaining there until the island was evacuated in October 1796. On 15 January 1797 Thomas was commissioned as a

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 sub ...

aboard the 74-gun , commanded by Captain

Cuthbert Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as ...

, and took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February. In June 1798 he moved into the frigate ''Thalia'', under Captain Lord Henry Paulet, rejoining him in the 74-gun in February 1799 after three months on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the En ...

. From December 1799 until the signing of the

Treaty 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 The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...

in March 1802 brought a temporary peace, Thomas served as flag lieutenant to Collingwood in the and ''Barfleur'' on the Channel Station. From June 1802 he served aboard the and , the flagships of Sir

Andrew Mitchell Andrew John Bower Mitchell (born 23 March 1956) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001. A member of the Conservative Party, Mitchell was previously the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1 ...

, Commander-in-Chief on the

North American Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...

, based at Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. In early June 1803 Thomas finally received notification of his promotion to

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 the fifth-rate , dated 18 January. He sailed from Halifax as a passenger aboard the 179-ton Post Office packet ''Lady Hobart''. Four days out she was intercepted by a French schooner, ''L' Aimable Julie'', who mistook her for an unarmed merchant. After taking the French vessel as prize, ''Lady Hobart'' continued on her voyage, but during the night of 28 July struck a large iceberg, and foundered. All aboard her were crammed into the ship's cutter and

jolly boat The jolly boat was a type of ship's boat in use during the 18th and 19th centuries. Used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship, or for other small-scale activities, it was, by the 18th century, one of several types of ship's boat. The de ...

for a 350-mile voyage back to land, with only small amounts of ship's biscuit, water and rum as provisions. Despite encountering heavy rain, gales and thick fog, they made a landfall at Lower Island Cove on 4 June, all suffering from various degrees of malnutrition and frostbite. The only casualty was the French captain, who threw himself overboard in a fit of depression. Thomas eventually returned to England and in December 1803 was appointed to command of the

bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons ( long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but mortars mounte ...

, to serve in the Mediterranean. On 22 October 1805, following the victory at Trafalgar, he was posted into briefly, before serving aboard the , and as

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

to Lord Collingwood, engaged primarily on the blockade of Toulon. His position was a particularly arduous one, there being no

Captain of the Fleet In the Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command. The equivalent post was called fleet captain in the U.S. Navy of the 18th and 19th ...

, and Collingwood was for much of the time severely ill with the cancer that would eventually kill him in March 1810. After Collingwood's death Thomas served as captain of the ''Ville de Paris'' until December 1810. The following February he was appointed to command of the frigate initially engaged on operations on the coast of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, then on the blockade of Marseilles and Toulon. He was eventually invalided home in February 1813, and saw no further wartime service.

Post-war career

Between April 1822 and April 1825, and again from May 1834, Thomas served as Superintendent of the Ships in Ordinary at Portsmouth and Plymouth, until promoted to rear-admiral on 10 January 1837. From May 1841 until December 1844 he served as commander-in-chief on the

Pacific Station The Pacific Station was created in 1837 as one of the geographical military formations into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. The South America Station was split into the Pacific Station and the South East Coast of ...

, flying his flag on . His duties were more diplomatic than military; settling the long-standing claims of the owners of the British brig ''Anna'' which had been seized in 1822, and of the British merchants who had been plundered at

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

, and obtaining compensation from El Salvador and Costa Rica for injuries and losses sustained by the British residents. He also had to deal with the occupation of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

by the French Rear-Admiral

Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars __NOTOC__ Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars (3 August 1793 – 16 March 1864) was a French naval officer important in France's annexation of French Polynesia. Early life He was born at the castle of La Fessardière, near Saumur. His uncle Aristide Aube ...

, and the unauthorized annexation of the Sandwich Islands by one of his own subordinates. His conduct in office, particularly his handing of the Sandwich Islands crisis received the full approval of the Foreign Office and Admiralty, and King

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K� ...

ordered a portrait of Thomas in full uniform for his palace. He also received the thanks of the government of the United States and was appointed an honorary member of the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

. Thomas was promoted to vice-admiral on 8 January 1848, and to admiral on 11 September 1854. He died in Stonehouse, Devon on 21 August 1857.

Personal life

On 2 October 1827 Thomas married Gratiana, the third daughter of Lieutenant-General Robert Williams, Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Marines at Stonehouse, and had a son and daughter. His brother, Charles Thomas, M.D., was Physician to the Dispensary at Devonport. On 13 November 1850 his daughter Gratiana Mary Thomas (1831–1922) married Sir Mathew Wharton Wilson (1827–1909), son of

Sir Mathew Wilson, 1st Baronet Sir Mathew Wilson, 1st Baronet (29 August 1802 – 18 January 1891) was an English landowner and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1842 and 1886. Wilson was the son of Mathew Wilson, a solicitor of E ...

, one of the

Wilson baronets There have been eight baronetcies created for persons with the surname Wilson, one in the Baronetage of Ireland and six in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Wilson baronets, of Killenure (1629) The Wilson Baronetcy, of Killenure in the Co ...

References