Admiral Sir Thomas Hastings, KCB DL (25 Jan 1786 – 3 January 1870) was a British artist, innovator, instructor, and distinguished 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 ...

. He was renowned as an expert gunner, and some believe him to be the first officer to take a truly scientific approach to gunnery.

Biography

Hastings was born on 25 Jan 1786, the third son (and fifth child) of Rev. James Hastings (later Rector of

Martley Martley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the English county of Worcestershire. It is approximately nine miles north-west of Worcester. The population of the village is approximately 1,200 people. The mixed farming of ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

) and Elizabeth (''née'' Paget). He was brother to

Sir Charles Hastings Sir Charles Hastings (11 January 1794 – 30 July 1866) was a medical surgeon and a founder of the British Medical Association, the BMA, (then known as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association) on 19 July 1832. He was also a notable life ...

(founder of the British Medical Association). Another brother, Francis Decimus Hastings (1796–1869), also served in the Royal Navy from the age of twelve, reaching the rank of

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 ...

in 1859 having been obliged to relinquish active service because of his wounds, hardships and length of service. While 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 ...

in 1812, he painted ''Storm at Sea''. On 29 April 1812, Hastings participated in an attack led by Captain

Thomas Ussher Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Ussher KCH CB (1779 – 6 January 1848) was an Anglo-Irish officer of the British Royal Navy who served with distinction during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and who in 1814 conveyed Napoleon Bonapart ...

on French privateers of Málaga, in which he performed admirably, commanding twenty men in the attack. In 1814, as a first lieutenant of the , he escorted

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

into his exile on

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

, and was one of three officers responsible for the arrangements for the arrival of Napoleon. From 14 November 1828 until 22 July 1830, he commanded in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

with the rank of commander. He was then promoted captain. On 13 April 1832, Captain Hastings took command of the sixth-rate training ship . As far back as 1817 General

Sir Howard Douglas General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet, (23 January 1776 – 9 November 1861) was a British Army officer born in Gosport, England, the younger son of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, and a descendant of the Earls of Morton. He was an English ...

had submitted plans to remedy the obvious deficiencies of British naval gunnery. Nothing was done until 1830 when Commander George Smith was appointed to "superintend the practice of Sea Gunnery" on board that ship at Portsmouth. The gunnery school was put on a permanent basis by Captain Thomas Hastings (known at the time as "Old Sting"). He became noted for his training methods, although some in the admiralty disapproved of his emphasis on science, and found his reports on gunnery confusing, as they had little knowledge of science themselves. From a life of

Sir John Barrow Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1764 – 23 November 1848) was an English geographer, linguist, writer and civil servant best known for term as the Second Secretary to the Admiralty from 1804 until 1845. Early life Barrow was born ...

, the Secretary to the Admiralty through most of the first half of the 19th century, an interesting account appears; two years after Hastings' appointment to ''Excellent'', Sir John Briggs, Reader to the Board, happened to show the examination paper to an Admiral on the Board. :"Do you know, it is very strange, but I do not understand all this. Pray, Sir, what is the meaning of 'impact'?" "I rather think that it means the force of the blow", replied Briggs. The Admiral turned to another Naval Lord, Sir John Beresford, and asked him: "What in the name of good fortune is meant by 'initial velocity'?" "I'll be hanged if I know", answered Sir John, "but I suppose it is some of Tom Hastings' scientific bosh; I'll tell you what I think we had better do - we'll go at once to Lord de Grey (First Lord) and get that ''Excellent'' paid off." :However, the First Lord replied: "I am afraid, my dear Beresford, I cannot sanction it, for you have no idea how damned scientific that House of Commons has become." He was knighted in 1839. The first

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

training in the

occurred in 1844 under Hastings' watch. He left command of ''Excellent'' on 28 August 1845, after his appointment as

Storekeeper of the Ordnance The Principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the English (and later British) Board of Ordnance from its constitution in 1597. He was responsible for the care and maintenance of ...

on 25 July 1845. He held that post until it was abolished with the dissolution of the Board of Ordnance in 1855. On 27 September 1855 he was promoted rear admiral, and on 4 October 1862 vice admiral. On 2 April 1866, he retired from the navy with the rank of admiral. He died on 3 January 1870 at his home in London.

External links

*
Thomas Hastings R.N.
(William Loney RN - Background)

(People of

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Thomas 1786 births 1870 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath 19th-century British painters British male painters Artists from Worcester, England Admirals and Generals from Worcestershire Military personnel from Warwickshire 19th-century British male artists

Biography

See also

External links