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 regarded ...

Valentine Collard (''c.'' 1770 – 18 March 1846) was a Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who is best known for his service in 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 ...

. Born into a naval family, Collard served at numerous engagements of the wars, including the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-Spa ...

, operations against

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 ...

, the Battle of Cape St Vincent, the Siege of Genoa, the Battle of Copenhagen and numerous smaller actions off 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 ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. His last active service came in 1810, after which he retired to

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. In his later years he suffered severe ill-health and the loss of his first and second wives, leading him to

commit suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...

Life

Valentine Collard was born in approximately 1770 into a naval family: two of his uncles were Admiral

Sampson Edwards Admiral Sampson Edwards (c. 1744 – 14 September 1840) was a British naval officer. Career Edwards commanded the Canada schooner at Newfoundland station, where she was wrecked in a gale of wind. Edwards was promoted to Post-Captain on 16 Oc ...

and Captain Valentine Edwards who was killed in a shipwreck in 1794. Pursuing a naval career, Collard first appears in the records 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 ...

at the end of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

in 1783. For four years he was under his uncle Captain Valentine Edwards in HMS ''Shark'' off Scotland before taking a position on HMS ''Champion'' with Sampson Edwards.''Naval Biographical Dictionary'', p. 214 He later served in HMS ''Iphigenia'', and at the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

in 1793 was transferred to HMS ''St George'' 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 and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. There he took part in the

engaging French Republican artillery along the siege lines, and in October 1793 was with the force that captured a French ship lying in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

harbour at the

action of 5 October 1793 The Raid on Genoa was a minor naval engagement fought in the harbour of the Italian city of Genoa during the first year of the French Revolutionary Wars. French Republican forces in the Mediterranean, under pressure from Austrian and Spanish a ...

.''Royal Naval Biography'', p. 221–225 In November 1793, while stationed in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, Collard was promoted to lieutenant and briefly joined HMS ''Tartar'' before receiving his own small command, the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Petite Boston'', which participated in the

Siege of Bastia The siege of Bastia was a combined British and Corsican military operation during the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. The Corsican people had risen up against the French garrison of the island in 1793, and sought support from the B ...

and

Siege of Calvi The siege of Calvi was a combined British and Corsican military operation during the Invasion of Corsica in the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. The Corsican people had risen up against the French garrison of the island in 1793, a ...

. He then spent two years on HMS ''Eclair'' before joining HMS ''Britannia'' as senior lieutenant. ''Britannia'' was subsequently engaged at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 and Collard was promoted to commander as a reward. He was briefly in command of HMS ''Fortune'', which was wrecked off

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

before joining the small frigate HMS ''Vestal'' and participating in the Siege of Genoa and the blockade of

, capturing a storeship in 1801. The frigate was paid off in 1802 at the

Peace 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. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...

and Collard entered the reserve. In 1804 Collard was returned to service and joined the fleet under

Lord Keith Baron Keith was a title that was created three times in British history, with all three creations in favour of the same person, Admiral the Honourable Sir George Keith Elphinstone. He was the fifth son of Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinsto ...

as captain of the brig HMS ''Railleur'' and then the explosion vessel HMS ''St Vincent''. He served off the Dutch coast and captured a number of small vessels and military equipment in April 1805. He then commanded a squadron of armed vessels on the

Weser River The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

as part of the defence of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. In 1806 and 1807 he was placed in command of squadrons of small warships that escorted merchant shipping through the

, joining with the fleet under

James Gambier Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, (13 October 1756 – 19 April 1833) was a Royal Navy officer. After seeing action at the capture of Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, he saw action again, as captain of the ...

that fought in the Battle of Copenhagen. He then served in a number of temporary captaincies, including postings to HMS ''Majestic'', HMS ''Gibraltar'' and HMS ''Dreadnought'' before he retired from the sea in 1810. Collard retired to

with his first wife, who died in 1821. He remarried in 1823 to May Ann Kempster, who died in 1844. The loss of his second wife drove him into depression, during which he suffered from

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

and eventually

committed suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including major depressive disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic f ...

in March 1846 aged 76.''The Gentleman's Magazine'', January to June 1846, p. 555 Collard had remained in the Navy after and continued gaining seniority, eventually becoming a rear-admiral in 1841. Throughout his career, Collard was a popular officer, who gained the nickname "the animated life-boat" after rescuing men who fell overboard from his ship on two separate occasions.

Notes

References

* Retrieved 8 September 2010 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collard, Valentine 1770s births 1846 deaths Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars