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 Thomas Allin, 1st Baronet (1612–1685) 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 saw service in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, and the
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...
s. A
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
during the Civil War, he returned to service after the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
and eventually rose to the rank of
Admiral of the White after serving under some of the most distinguished military figures of the era, including
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
.
Family and early life
Thomas Allin was born in 1612, the son of Robert Allin.
He lived at what is now 29/30 High Street (this was one property at the time) in
Lowestoft
Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...
for the first part of his life, where he was a merchant and shipowner. On the outbreak of the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
in 1642, Allin sided with the
Royalists
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
, in common with most of the town.
He played a significant part in the subsequent
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
ing operations against Lowestoft's
Parliamentarian rivals at
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...
, and eventually transferred his operations to the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
for greater security.
He remained in the service of
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
in the exiled royalist fleet after the Civil War, as evidenced by the issuing of ''Prince Rupert's Further Instructions for Captain Thomas Allen'' .
He commanded the Royalists' ''Charles'' in 1648 until her capture in 1649, and subsequently commanded the ''Convertine'' in 1650. Allin was rewarded for his loyalty to the monarchy after the
English Restoration
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...
by being given command of on 24 June 1660.
He went on to command and during 1661, during 1662 and during 1663.
During 1663 he was made
Commander-in-Chief, the Downs
T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...
with the rank of commodore, flying his pennant aboard from 15 April 1664.
Command
![Admiral Sir Thomas Allin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Admiral_Sir_Thomas_Allin.jpg)
In 1664 Allin was nominated to succeed
Sir John Lawson as commander in the Mediterranean, and sailed to take up his command aboard the ''Plymouth'' from 26 June, and in company with .
He operated out of
Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
initially, and while operating in the
Straits of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...
he and his fleet intercepted and engaged the Dutch
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
fleet on 9 December, capturing and sinking several of the Dutch ships.
Allin returned to England in the spring of 1665, and took part in the
Battle of Lowestoft
The Battle of Lowestoft took place on during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size comm ...
on 13 June 1665. For his achievements he was awarded a knighthood on 24 June and was appointed an
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 ...
squadron under the
Earl of 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. ...
.
He flew his flag in from 19 July 1665 and became an
Admiral of the White on 16 March 1666. Prince Rupert then came aboard, with orders to take the squadron into 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 ...
to intercept a French fleet believed to sailing up the Channel to join with the Dutch. Rupert retained Allin as his
first captain for this assignment, but the intelligence was proved to be false, and no French fleet was found.
By now though the rest of the English fleet under the
Duke of Albemarle
The Dukedom of Albemarle () has been created twice in the Peerage of England, each time ending in extinction. Additionally, the title was created a third time by James II in exile and a fourth time by his son the Old Pretender, in the Jacobite ...
had sailed out to engage a Dutch fleet under
Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. Widely celebrated and regarded as one of the most skilled admirals in history, De Ruyter is arguably most famous for his achievements with the Dutch N ...
, and the
Four Days Battle
The Four Days' Battle, also known as the Four Days' Fight in some English sources and as Vierdaagse Zeeslag in Dutch, was a naval battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Fought from 1 June to 4 June 1666 in the Julian or Old Style calendar that ...
had broken out. Rupert and Allin hurried back and met up with the harried and outnumbered English fleet on the third day, managing to hold the Dutch off long enough to allow a successful disengagement and then covering the retreat.
The next engagement with the Dutch fleet took place on 4 August 1666, at the
St. James's Day Battle
St James' Day Battle (also known as St James' Day Fight, the Battle of the North Foreland and the Battle of Orfordness) took place on 25 July 1666 — St James' day in the Julian calendar then in use in England (4 August 1666 in the Gregoria ...
. Allin was in command of the van squadron, and led the attack, engaging the Dutch van throughout the day, and chasing them from the battle scene the following day, greatly contributing to the English victory.
Allin was then placed in command of a squadron off
Dungeness
Dungeness () is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet ...
, and on 17 September
after a battle with an allied French and Dutch fleet he captured the French ship ''Rubis'', captain
Gilles de La Roche-Saint-André
The Gilles are the oldest and principal participants in the Carnival of Binche in Belgium. They go out on Shrove Tuesday from 4 am until late hours and dance to traditional songs. Other cities, such as La Louvière and Nivelles, have a traditi ...
, which was taken into service as .
Allin's next command was to take over the Mediterranean forces in 1668, after the end of the
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...
, and to operate against the Barbary corsairs.
A treaty was duly signed with the
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
ns, but by 1669 Allin was employed again in chastising the pirates for breaches of the treaty, during which time he captured and destroyed a large number of pirate vessels.
He returned to England after this and on 15 April 1671 he became
Comptroller of the Navy
The post of Controller of the Navy (abbreviated as CofN) was originally created in 1859 when the Surveyor of the Navy's title changed to Controller of the Navy. In 1869 the controller's office was abolished and its duties were assumed by that of ...
, a post he held throughout the
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...
and continued to hold until 28 January 1680.
On 7 February 1673 Allin was created a baronet for his services.
He briefly returned to active service in 1678 when the threat of war with France emerged, and Allin became commander in chief of the fleet in the
Narrow Seas, with as his flagship.
He resigned the command once the threat of war had passed.
Later life
Allin retired from active service in 1678, settling at his country seat at
Somerleyton Hall
Somerleyton Hall is a country house and estate near Somerleyton and Lowestoft in Suffolk, England owned and lived in by Hugh Crossley, 4th Baron Somerleyton, originally designed by John Thomas. The hall is Grade II* listed on the National Heri ...
,
Somerleyton
Somerleyton is a village and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of Lowestoft and south-west of Great Yarmouth in the East Suffolk district. The village is closely associated with Somerleyto ...
. He also served as Captain of
Sandgate Castle
Sandgate Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII in Sandgate in Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect England against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and ...
, and a Master of
Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, he ...
.
He died in 1685, and was buried in the parish church at Somerleyton on 5 October 1685.
He had been twice married, his first marriage producing his son and heir
Thomas Allin
Thomas Allin (May 14, 1757 – June 26, 1833) was a soldier and surveyor who became an early settler and political leader in Kentucky. He served in the Revolutionary War, first in the North Carolina militia and then as part of general Natha ...
, and two daughters, and his second marriage produced another daughter.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allin, Thomas
1612 births
1685 deaths
17th-century Royal Navy personnel
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Navy personnel of the Second Anglo-Dutch War
Members of Trinity House
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
People in English Tangier