Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor, 3rd Baronet
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Admiral 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 ...
Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor, 3rd Baronet (14 October 1781 – 14 March 1861) was an officer in the British
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 ...
, who served during the French Revolutionary and
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
.


Biography

Beauchamp-Proctor was born at Langley Hall,
Loddon, Norfolk Loddon is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England, about south-east of Norwich. The town lies on the River Chet, a tributary of the River Yare within The Broads. The name "Loddon" is thought to mean ''muddy river'' in Celtic in reference t ...
, the eldest son of Sir Thomas Beauchamp-Proctor, 2nd Baronet, and Mary, the second daughter of Robert Palmer, of
Sonning Sonning (traditional: ; modern: ) is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fair ...
, Berkshire. His younger brothers were Colonel Richard Beauchamp-Proctor of the
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(d. 11 August 1850) and Captain Robert Beauchamp-Proctor of the Madras Artillery (d. 23 May 1813). His nephew, Edward Halhead Beauchamp-Proctor, also served as a naval officer. Beauchamp-Proctor entered the Royal Navy on 4 September 1794, with the rank of
able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...
, aboard the 32-gun frigate under Captain
Joseph Sydney Yorke Admiral Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke KCB (6 June 1768 – 5 May 1831) was an officer of the Royal Navy. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. He commanded at the defeat ...
. There was a family connection: Beauchamp-Proctor's grandfather Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor, 1st Baronet was, through his second wife Laetitia Johnson's sister Agneta, a brother-in-law of Charles Yorke, Joseph Sydney Yorke's father. On 22 August 1795, now a midshipman, he took part in the engagement off Norway between four Royal Navy frigates and two frigates and a cutter from the Navy of the
Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...
. ''Stag'' captured the 36-gun frigate ''Alliante'' with 240 men aboard, after an action of about an hour, in which the enemy lost between 40 and 50 men killed and wounded, and the British only 4 killed, and 13, including Beauchamp-Proctor, wounded. He continued to serve in the ''Stag'' on the home station until January 1798, when he joined the 98-gun ship , under Captain John Child Purvis, off Lisbon. The following July he moved to the frigate , under Captain Robert Gambier Middleton, in the Mediterranean, where he was lent for short periods to the frigates under Captain Henry Digby, and under Captain
George Cockburn Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a captain, he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary ...
. Beauchamp-Proctor was commissioned as acting-lieutenant aboard the ship , flagship of Admiral Lord Keith, in August 1800, and on 22 October was transferred to the frigate under Captain Thomas Stephenson. He received confirmation of his commission from the Admiralty on 25 February 1801, and then served in the Egyptian campaign, receiving the Turkish gold medal. He was promoted to commander on 29 April 1802, and in April 1803, was appointed to command of the
bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (Naval long gun, long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but ...
. In July and August 1804 he served under Captain
Robert Dudley Oliver Admiral Robert Dudley Oliver (31 October 1766 – 1 September 1850) was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy during the early nineteenth century, who served in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleon ...
in the bombardment of Le Havre, before being given command of the
brig-sloop During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all ...
in August 1804. Beauchamp-Proctor spent the next six months in ''Saracen'', cruising in the Channel, before sailing for the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...
in March 1805 aboard . On his arrival in July he was given acting-command of the 36-gun frigate , but was not confirmed in his post-rank until 5 September 1806. On 21 November 1808, at sunset, ''Dédaigneuse'' was stationed off the Isle de France when she encountered the French 36-gun frigate returning from a cruise in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. ''Dédaigneuse'' gave chase and by midnight the two ships were no more than half a mile apart. ''Dédaigneuse'' fired two or three shots from her bow-chasers, and then a full broadside, as ''Sémillante'' tacked. ''Dédaigneuse'' followed suit, but because of the lightness of the wind, the ship would not come round. A boat was lowered down to tow her round, and she was finally able to pursue the Frenchman, now some distance ahead. ''Dédaigneuse'' had lost a great deal of
copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
, being very foul, and at best a bad working ship, so gradually dropped further astern. Beauchamp-Proctor eventually abandoned the chase at about 5 p.m, and soon afterwards ''Sémillante'' anchored in
Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...
. ''Dédaigneuse'' continued to patrol the waters off the Isle de France until her water and provisions were almost expended, before sailing to
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
to reprovision, and then sailed to
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
. When the commander-in-chief expressed himself dissatisfied with his conduct, Captain Beauchamp-Proctor requested a
court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...
, which was held aboard in Bombay harbour on 27 March 1809. Every officer of his ship gave strong evidence in the captain's favour, and the court acquitted him of all blame, laying responsibility squarely on the poor sailing qualities of ''Dédaigneuse''. Beauchamp-Proctor returned to Britain on sick-leave in November 1809, and despite never serving at sea again, received regular promotions; to rear-admiral in November 1846, to vice-admiral in September 1850, and in June 1857 to admiral, on the retired list. On 20 May 1812 he married Anne Gregory (1792-1859), the daughter of Thomas Gregory and Julia Elizabeth Brograve, and the niece and heir of Thomas Brograve, of Springfield Place, Essex, and granddaughter of Sir Berney Brograve, 1st Baronet. They had three sons and four daughters. Beauchamp-Proctor was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Norfolk in August 1820, and succeeded his father as third Baronet on 29 June 1827. He was nominated as High Sheriff for Norfolk in November 1831. Beauchamp-Proctor died on 14 March 1861, and he, alongside many other members of his family, was buried at the church of St Michael and All Saints, close to his family home.


See also

* Proctor-Beauchamp baronets *


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beauchamp-Proctor, William, 3rd Baronet 1781 births 1861 deaths People from Loddon Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars High sheriffs of Norfolk Deputy lieutenants of Norfolk Royal Navy admirals