Stephen George Comyn (29 December 1764 – 3 March 1839) was an English naval

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

who served with

Lord Nelson Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British people, British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strate ...

at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

and Battle of Copenhagen. He was a close friend of Nelson and is said to have been his favourite chaplain.

Early life

Comyn was the eldest son of Stephen Comyn a merchant of

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 his wife Mary Wilsonn. He attended

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He took Holy Orders, and became a naval chaplain in 1798 and was posted to .

Naval service

Comyn was thus Nelson's Chaplain at the time of the Battle of the Nile. At the battle the injured Nelson believed he was dying and sent for Comyn. Nelson recovered and following the victory, issued a memorandum to his fleet, "Almighty God having blessed His Majesty's arms with victory, the Admiral intends returning public thanksgiving for the same at 2 o'clock this day and he recommends every ship doing the same as soon as convenient." Reverend Comyn conducted the service from the quarterdeck of the ''Vanguard'', which made a great impression on a group of captured French officers. After the battle the ''Vanguard'' headed for

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

in Italy, where Nelson encountered

Emma 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 men ...

and the crew languished there inactive for several months. On 5 June 1799, Nelson shifted his flag to HMS ''Foudroyant'', with Captain Hardy and five lieutenants, and Comyn accompanied them until 1800. Comyn was on the captured ''Guillaume Tell'' until he transferred to on 24 December 1800. In Spring 1801 the British Fleet was in the Baltic for the attack on the Danes at Copenhagen where Comyn was chaplain on Nelson's ship, HMS ''St George''. Nelson transferred to HMS ''Elephant'' for the battle, but it is not known if Comyn accompanied him.

Land service

As he was reaching the end of his service with the Navy, Comyn approached Nelson with a request for a living ashore and he became Vicar of

Bridgham Bridgham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 328 in 130 households at the 2001 census, increasing to a population of 335 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local gov ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in 1802 and later of

Brunstead Brumstead (or Brunstead) is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is north-east of Norwich, south-south-east of Cromer and north-east of London. The village lies north of the town of Stalham. History B ...

Norfolk . A letter from Nelson to him dated 24 June 1801 congratulated him on his appointment and ended in a postscript in Emma Hamilton's handwriting ''Joy joy to you & Mrs Comyn my dear sir''. Comyn married Charlotte Carter of Rochester, Kent and their second son, born in 1806 was called Horatio Nelson William Comyn. Comyn died at Brunstead and was buried in the north-east corner of the chancel'.Tombstone Brunstead Comyn's brother Henry Comyn was also a clergyman and as curate of

Boldre Boldre is a village and civil parish in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is in the south of the New Forest National Park, above the broadening (estuary) of the Lymington River, two miles (3 km) north of Lymington. In the 20 ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, is noted for conducting a very early census of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. His great nephew

William Leslie Comyn William Leslie Comyn (born 30 October 1877) was a Californian businessman, shipbuilder and builder of one of the first large concrete ships. Life Comyn was the second son of Charles Comyn an English civil servant and was born at Shepherd's Bush, ...

was a pioneer builder of concrete ships in California during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comyn, Stephen George 1764 births 1839 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Royal Navy chaplains 19th-century English Anglican priests Horatio Nelson English military chaplains Napoleonic Wars chaplains