Admiral Sir Henry D'Esterre Darby, (9 April 1749 – 30 March 1823) was an officer in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. He was the third son of Jonathan and Susannah Darby of
Leap Castle, in
King's County, Ireland
County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of ...
. He was the nephew of
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral.
Australia
In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
George Darby
Vice-Admiral George Darby ( 1720 – 1790) was an officer of the British Royal Navy. He commanded HMS ''Norwich'' at the capture of Martinique in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. He went on to command the Western Squadron during the Ameri ...
.
Darby first went to sea when he was thirteen but it was another fourteen years before he made lieutenant, aboard his uncle's ship . In 1781, he was given command of the 8-gun ''Infernal'' but was captured after an inconclusive action at the
Battle of Porto Praya
The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle that took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under Pierre André de Suffren.
Both squadr ...
and remained a prisoner for the rest of the war.
[Hore p. 9]
He was promoted to Captain in 1783 and had command of
HMS ''Bellerophon'' at the
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...
in 1798.
A letter to Darby from
Admiral Nelson, commander of the fleet at the battle, survives:
Darby was promoted to
Rear Admiral of the Blue in 1804;
Rear Admiral of the White in 1805;
Rear Admiral of the Red in 1808;
Vice Admiral of the Blue in 1810;
Vice Admiral of the White in 1811;
Vice Admiral of the Red in 1814;
Admiral of the Blue
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
in 1819. He was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
in 1820.
Citations
References
*Cordingly, David. (2003). ''The Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon''. Bloomsbury USA.
*
Access to Archives: Darby family of London, Warbleton and Leap Castle
1750 births
1823 deaths
Royal Navy admirals
British naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
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