Vice-Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett, (12 August 1834 – 13 May 1888) was a

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 ...

officer and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. The

Hewett Treaty The Hewett Treaty, also called the Treaty of Adwa, was an agreement between Britain, Egypt and Ethiopia signed at Adwa on 3 June 1884. The treaty ended a long-simmering conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia, but indirectly started a new conflict bet ...

is named after him.

Early life and Crimean War

Hewett was born at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

on 12 August 1834 to William Hewett, physician to

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

. He entered the

in 1847, and served as a midshipman in the

Second Anglo-Burmese War The Second Anglo-Burmese War or the Second Burma War ( my, ဒုတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် မြန်မာ စစ် ; 5 April 185220 January 1853) was the second of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, three wars fought between the Konbaung dy ...

. In 1854, while acting mate of , he was attached to the Naval Brigade during the Siege of Sevastopol during 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 ...

. Hewett was in charge of the Right Lancaster Battery at Sevastopol on 26 October 1854. The battery was being threatened by the enemy and, through a misunderstanding, he was ordered to spike his gun and retreat. Disregarding the order, Hewett pulled down the parapet of the battery and with the assistance of some soldiers slewed his gun round and poured on the advancing enemy a most destructive and effectual fire. On 5 November, at the Battle of Inkerman, he again acted with great bravery. For these two actions, he was granted a field promotion to lieutenant and awarded the

, one of the first ever awarded. Hewett's promotion was made official after passing his examinations at Portsmouth; He was subsequently appointed to the royal yacht, from which he was promoted to commander on 13 September 1858.

Senior commands

Hewett's other commands included , and, following his promotion to captain on 24 November 1862, as flag-captain to Henry Kellett, Sir Henry Kellett. He was then captain of from 1872 to 1873. He was Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station, Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa, in charge of naval operations during the Anglo-Ashanti wars, Third Anglo-Ashanti War, from 1873. For his services during this conflict, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 31 March 1874. He commanded from 1877 until he was drawn into service in the Mahdist War. In 1882 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.William Loney RN
/ref> Following the British defeat at Battle of El Teb, El Teb, Hewett commanded the naval brigade that landed at Suakin on 6 February 1884, and was appointed governor of Sudan on 10 February by Valentine Baker, Baker Pasha. In April 1884, Hewett led a delegation to Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia, Yohannes IV which negotiated, in exchange for free transit of guns and ammunition through Massawa, access through Ethiopian territory for the successful evacuation of the Egyptian garrisons that had been isolated in southern Sudan by the revolt of Muhammad Ahmad (also known as the Mahdi) against the Egyptian rulers. From May 1885 to July 1885 he was . Grave of Vice Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett VC

Grave of Vice Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett VC

After his return from Ethiopia, Hewett was appointed Fourth Sea Lord, Junior Naval Lord and, on 8 July 1884, was promoted to Vice admiral (Royal Navy), vice admiral. From March 1886 to April 1888 he was in command of the Channel Fleet; however, his delicate health worsened and he died shortly after his retirement. Hewett's Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.Victoria Cross (MED1948)
/ref>

Notes

External links

''(Hampshire)'' * http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/vc/hewett.htm , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewett, William 1834 births 1888 deaths People from Brighton Royal Navy vice admirals British recipients of the Victoria Cross Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Burmese War Royal Navy personnel of the Mahdist War Recipients of the Legion of Honour Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel of the Abyssinian War Lords of the Admiralty