Provo Wallis
Encyclopedia
Admiral of the Fleet
Sir Provo William Perry Wallis, GCB
(May 12, 1791 – February 13, 1892) was a Royal Navy
officer and naval war hero. He was born in Halifax
, Nova Scotia
and was 100 years old when he died.
His father, Provo Featherstone Wallis, was a clerk at the Royal Navy's Halifax Naval Yard
. Provo Featherstone Wallis wanted a naval career for his son and, knowing the rules for officers' entry into the navy, managed to get his son officially registered in 1795 as an able seaman
on the 36-gun frigate
HMS Oiseau
at the age of four. In 1796 young Provo became a volunteer in the 40-gun frigate Prevoyante where he remained (on paper at least) for two years before returning in the 64-gun Asia
where he served until 1800, then was promoted as a midshipman
into the 32-gun frigate Cleopatra
.
He was a lieutenant aboard the sloop-of-war
HMS Curieux
when on 22 September 1809, while under the temporary command of Lt. Henry George Moysey, she ran aground and was wrecked on the coast of Guadaloupe. Fortunately all the crew were saved. A court martial board found Lt. John Felton, the Officer of the Watch, guilty of negligence and dismissed him from the service.
Provo Wallis was then commissioned as a lieutenant
on the 38-gun frigate
, Shannon
in 1811. It was here that Provo Wallis gained most of his notability. The Shannon fought with the USS Chesapeake
near Boston
on June 1, 1813, during the War of 1812
. The Captain, Philip Bowes Vere Broke, was badly wounded during the action and the Shannon
, with the Chesapeake flying the Blue Ensign
above the Stars and Stripes
. For this action, he was promoted commander
on 9 July 1813.
In 1819 he was promoted to captain but was without a ship until he commanded Niemen on the Halifax station from 1824–1826, and Madagascar
in the West Indies from 1838–1839. Later, he commanded Warspite
in the Mediterranean from 1843–1846.
He was promoted Rear-admiral on 27 August 1851 and appointed Commander-in-Chief on the southeast coast of South America in 1857, but was promoted to Vice-admiral and recalled after a few months. He was made a KCB
on 18 May 1860 and promoted Admiral
on 2 March 1863. To prevent two admirals from dying as paupers, a special clause in the retirement scheme of 1870 provided that those officers who had commanded a ship during the French war should be retained on the active list. The few days Wallis was in command of the Shannon qualified him to remain on the active list until he died. He was made GCB
on 24 May 1873 and Admiral of the Fleet
on 11 December 1877.
Admiral Wallis died in 1892 at his country home in Funtington
, England, not far from Portsmouth and was buried in the village church yard. He was only a few months shy of his 101st birthday with a combined service from the time his name first appeared on the books of a Royal Navy Ship of 96 years. He was both the last surviving commanding officer from the Napoleonic Wars and the last veteran of the conflict to serve as Admiral of the Fleet.
in Ottawa is named after him.
CCGS Provo Wallis
was named for him, having served in the Canadian Coast Guard
from 1969-2011.
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
Sir Provo William Perry Wallis, GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(May 12, 1791 – February 13, 1892) was a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer and naval war hero. He was born in Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and was 100 years old when he died.
His father, Provo Featherstone Wallis, was a clerk at the Royal Navy's Halifax Naval Yard
Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax
Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax was a British Royal Navy base in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1759 to 1905. The Halifax Yard was the main year round base of the Royal Navy's North American Station when first established in 1759 during the Seven Years' War....
. Provo Featherstone Wallis wanted a naval career for his son and, knowing the rules for officers' entry into the navy, managed to get his son officially registered in 1795 as an able seaman
Able seaman
An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...
on the 36-gun frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Oiseau
HMS Oiseau
Three ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Oiseau, after the French for bird:, a 26 gun sixth rate captured from France on 23 October 1762 by HMS Brune in the Mediterranean., a 32 gun fifth rate captured from France on 31 January 1779 by HMS Apollo and sold on 19 June 1783., a 36 gun...
at the age of four. In 1796 young Provo became a volunteer in the 40-gun frigate Prevoyante where he remained (on paper at least) for two years before returning in the 64-gun Asia
HMS Asia (1764)
HMS Asia was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 March 1764 at Portsmouth Dockyard. She participated in the American Revolutionary War and the capture of Martinique in 1794....
where he served until 1800, then was promoted as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
into the 32-gun frigate Cleopatra
HMS Cleopatra (1779)
HMS Cleopatra was a 32-gun Amazon-class fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had a long career, seeing service during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. During the latter wars she fought two notable engagements with larger French opponents...
.
He was a lieutenant aboard the sloop-of-war
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
HMS Curieux
HMS Curieux (1804)
HMS Curieux was a French corvette launched 20 September 1800 at Saint Malo to a design by François Pestel, and carrying 16 6-pounder guns. She was commissioned under Capitaine de frégate Joseph-Marie-Emmanuel Cordier. The British captured her in 1804 in a cutting-out action at Martinique...
when on 22 September 1809, while under the temporary command of Lt. Henry George Moysey, she ran aground and was wrecked on the coast of Guadaloupe. Fortunately all the crew were saved. A court martial board found Lt. John Felton, the Officer of the Watch, guilty of negligence and dismissed him from the service.
Provo Wallis was then commissioned as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on the 38-gun frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
, Shannon
HMS Shannon (1806)
HMS Shannon was a 38-gun Leda-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1806 and served in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812...
in 1811. It was here that Provo Wallis gained most of his notability. The Shannon fought with the USS Chesapeake
USS Chesapeake (1799)
USS Chesapeake was a 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships...
near Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
on June 1, 1813, during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. The Captain, Philip Bowes Vere Broke, was badly wounded during the action and the Shannon
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, with the Chesapeake flying the Blue Ensign
Blue Ensign
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain, or defaced with a badge or other emblem....
above the Stars and Stripes
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
. For this action, he was promoted commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
on 9 July 1813.
In 1819 he was promoted to captain but was without a ship until he commanded Niemen on the Halifax station from 1824–1826, and Madagascar
HMS Madagascar (1822)
HMS Madagascar was a 46-gun fifth-rate Seringapatam-class frigate, built at Bombay and launched on 15 November 1822.The Bavarian Prince Otto who had been selected as the King of Greece was delivered to his new capital Nafplion in 1833....
in the West Indies from 1838–1839. Later, he commanded Warspite
HMS Warspite (1807)
HMS Warspite was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1807. She served in the Napoleonic Wars and was decommissioned in 1815. After conversion to a 76-gun ship in 1817 she circumnavigated the world, visiting Australia. She was cut down to a single decker 50-gun...
in the Mediterranean from 1843–1846.
He was promoted Rear-admiral on 27 August 1851 and appointed Commander-in-Chief on the southeast coast of South America in 1857, but was promoted to Vice-admiral and recalled after a few months. He was made a KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
on 18 May 1860 and promoted Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
on 2 March 1863. To prevent two admirals from dying as paupers, a special clause in the retirement scheme of 1870 provided that those officers who had commanded a ship during the French war should be retained on the active list. The few days Wallis was in command of the Shannon qualified him to remain on the active list until he died. He was made GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
on 24 May 1873 and Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
on 11 December 1877.
Admiral Wallis died in 1892 at his country home in Funtington
Funtington
Funtington is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the B2146 Road 4.5 miles west of Chichester. The parish also contains the villages of East and West Ashling, West Stoke and the Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve lies at its northern tip...
, England, not far from Portsmouth and was buried in the village church yard. He was only a few months shy of his 101st birthday with a combined service from the time his name first appeared on the books of a Royal Navy Ship of 96 years. He was both the last surviving commanding officer from the Napoleonic Wars and the last veteran of the conflict to serve as Admiral of the Fleet.
Legacy
Wallis HouseWallis House
Wallis House is a prominent Ottawa, Canada landmark located at the corner of Rideau Street and Charlotte Street. It was built to house the Carleton County Protestant General Hospital. This was the second hospital in the city, after the Catholic hospital run by the Grey Nuns...
in Ottawa is named after him.
CCGS Provo Wallis
CCGS Provo Wallis
CCGS Provo Wallis is a former buoy tender that was operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.CCGS Provo Wallis was built in 1969 at Marine Industries, Sorel...
was named for him, having served in the Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
from 1969-2011.