Sir William Robert Mends, (27 February 1812 – 26 June 1897), was a British admiral 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 ...

, eldest son of Admiral William Bowen Mends and nephew of Captain Robert Mends. William Mends was born at Plymouth into a naval family. He married Melita, third daughter of Dr Joseph Stilon M.D. R.N. on 6 January 1839. The doctor was born Giueseppe Maria Joseph Stilon, a native of Calabria and a Royal Naval surgeon in Malta.

Naval career

He entered the Royal Naval College on 7 May 1825. On 11 August 1835 he became a lieutenant and from 30 December served on-board in the Mediterranean (commanded by Edward Russell). He moved to , the flagship of

Josias Rowley Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet, (1765 – 10 January 1842), known as "The Sweeper of the Seas", was an Anglo-Irish naval officer who commanded the campaign that captured the French Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius in ...

and commanded by John M'Kerlie on 29 November 1836. From 13 January 1837 he served as lieutenant in commanded by Hyde Parker, still in the Mediterranean. Mends moved to take command of , a

receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...

based at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

on 28 July 1838. Mends was posted to , then as flag lieutenant to Sir John Louis, Admiral-Superintendent at Malta.

From 3 November 1843 to 1846 he served as lieutenant in commanded by Commodore Sir Henry Martin Blackwood stationed off Ireland and then the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

. On 8 November 1846 he was promoted to commander, serving in from 1 January 1848 to March 1849 once more in the Mediterranean, under Captain George Frederick Rich, and then from 11 July 1850 on commanded by Henry Martin Blackwood at Portsmouth. Mends was promoted to captain on 10 December 1852. He served from 22 October 1853 to 1 January 1854 as captain of , flagship to Rear-Admiral Edmund Lyons of the Mediterranean fleet, 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 ...

. From January 1854 he was captain of serving 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, Rom ...

. Between 14 February 1855 and April 1857 he was captain of , flagship to Edmund Lyons in the Black Sea and then the Mediterranean. From 3 April 1857 to 1 February 1860 he was captain of on Coast Guard service. He moved to take command of on 1 February 1860 when she replaced ''Hastings'' on coast guard service and was then appointed deputy controller general of the coast-guard in 1861. He spent May 1862 to February 1883 as Director of Transport at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. Mends retired at the rank of rear-admiral on 1 January 1869, was promoted to vice-admiral on 1 January 1874 and then a full admiral on 15 June 1879.

References

Online biography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mends, William Robert 1812 births 1897 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War

Naval career

References

Further reading

External links