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 Sabine Pasley, 2nd Baronet, (26 December 1804 – 13 February 1884) was an English 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 ...

during the nineteenth century who never saw action but served across the globe in numerous positions. A career officer, Pasley inherited his grandfather

Sir Thomas Pasley, 1st Baronet Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, 1st Baronet (2 March 1734 – 29 November 1808) was a senior and highly experienced British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, who served with distinction at numerous actions of the Seven Years' War, America ...

's title aged only four and spent much of his career in shore appointments as he paid for and cared for his large family.

Biography

Born 26 December 1804, Pasley was the son of Major John Sabine of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

and Maria Pasley, daughter of Admiral

, a long-serving officer who had lost a leg at the Glorious First of June. As Pasley had no male heirs, his baronetcy would have become extinct but for an act of parliament permitting the title to fall to his grandson on his death. When Pasley senior died in 1808, his four-year-old grandson became Sir Thomas and added the Pasley to his surname. Young Pasley was schooled at Dr. Pearson's School in

East Sheen East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its long high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic hub for Mort ...

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils a ...

, and by his aunts at Burnfoot, near

Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands. Location and geography Langholm sits nort ...

.Mina Malcolm to Charles William Pasley, 12 February 1817, British Library Additional Manuscripts, 41963/221-222 In 1817, aged 14, Pasley attended the Royal Naval Academy and the following year joined Sir Thomas Fremantle's ship HMS ''Rochfort'' as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

under the patronage of his relation

Pulteney Malcolm Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm (20 February 1768 – 20 July 1838) was a British naval officer. He was born at Douglan, near Langholm, Scotland, on 20 February 1768, the third son of George Malcolm of Burnfoot, Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, a sheep ...

. The ship was later commanded by Sir Graham Moore. In 1823, Pasley moved to the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

HMS ''Redpole'' and later HMS ''Arachne''. In 1824 he was promoted to lieutenant and joined HMS ''Tweed'' for service off the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian Coast. Returning in 1826, Pasley married Jane Matilda Lily Wynyard and the couple would ultimately have seven sons and two daughters, putting great financial strain on Pasley and once his sons entered the Navy, forcing him to provide patronage for all of them by doing favours for other officers. As a result, his career would stalemate. In 1828, Pasley was promoted to commander and he joined HMS ''Cameleon'' and HMS ''Procris'' in command. As acting captain he also commanded the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s HMS ''Rattlesnake'' and HMS ''Blonde''. Pasley was made full captain in 1831, and spent several years on the Brazilian station in HMS ''Curacoa''. In 1848, after a period of unemployment he took over Pembroke Dockyard and in 1856 he was made rear-admiral and commanded HMS ''Royal Albert'' and HMS ''Agamemnon'' in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

at the end of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. On his return in 1859 Pasley commanded Devonport Dockyard and in 1866 became commander-in-chief at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. His lengthy shore commands were the result of the pressures maintaining his large family placed him under. In 1869, Pasley retired as a full admiral and in 1873 was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

. He died in 1884 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson Thomas Edward Sabine Pasley, his eldest son having died in 1870. He was buried in Shedfield Chuchyard.Pasley, Sir Thomas Sabine
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', J. K. Laughton, Retrieved 24 January 2008

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasley, Thomas Sabine 1804 births 1884 deaths Royal Navy admirals Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Military personnel from London

Biography

See also

References