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William Locker (Royal Navy)
Encyclopedia
William Locker was an officer in the Royal Navy
, who served with distinction during the eighteenth century. He rose to the rank of captain
and held the posts of flag captain
and commodore
.
, in London
. He was the second son of John Locker, the clerk to the company, and his wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of the physician Edward Stillingfleet
. Like his father, he attended Merchant Taylors' School
and entered the Navy on 9 June 1746, at the age of 15. He initially served as a captain's servant under a family relation, Captain Charles Windham (or Wyndham) aboard HMS Kent
.
After Windham's death, Locker moved aboard the Vainqueur (under a Captain James Kirk), which was bound for the West Indies. He then joined HMS Vulture, followed by HMS Cornwall
. The Cornwall was the flagship
of Charles Knowles, and both she and Locker were present at the capture of Port Louis
. Locker then rejoined Captain Kirk, by now aboard HMS Elizabeth
, and returned to England. After the end of the War of the Austrian Succession
, he made two or more voyages to India
and China
, serving with the East India Company.
aboard HMS St George, the flagship of Admiral
Sir Edward Hawke
. He was made lieutenant
on 7 January 1756 and joined Hawke aboard HMS Antelope
when he sailed to Gibraltar
to relieve John Byng
. Locker was promoted to the position of lieutenant aboard HMS Experiment, under Sir John Strachan
on 4 July. Hawke seems to have had difficulty in having the appointment confirmed, but persisted, thus earning Locker's lifelong gratitude. Locker would name his youngest, and best-known son Edward Hawke Locker
after the Admiral.
Captain Strachan was taken ill for part of his captaincy of the Experiment, and he was temporarily replaced in January 1757 by John Jervis
, then a lieutenant of HMS Culloden
. Locker spent two important months as Jervis' shipmate. The Experiment fought an indecisive engagement with a large French privateer
on 16 March, after which Jervis returned to the Culloden and Strachan resumed command. On 8 July, whilst off Alicante
, the Experiment engaged the French privateer Télémaque. Carrying a similar number of guns, but with 460 men, a far larger crew, the Télémaque attempted to use this massive numerical superiority to come alongside the Experiment and board her. After two failed attempts, the Télémaque managed to briefly come alongside, but only a few Frenchmen made it aboard and were promptly killed. Strachan then brought the Experiment alongside again and ordered Locker to lead a boarding party onto her. Locker capably did so, storming the Télémaque and carrying her. At the end of the engagement, 235 Frenchmen had been killed or wounded, for the loss of only 48 from the Experiment. Locker was one of the casualties, having been wounded in the leg. Despite only being minor, he would never fully recover from its effects.
Both Locker and Strachan were moved in December 1758 to the 32-gun frigate
HMS Sapphire. She was attached to the fleet off Brest
through summer and autumn 1759. Whilst aboard her Locker was present at the defeat of the French at the Battle of Quiberon Bay
on 20 November. After this success, Locker went aboard Hawke's flagship HMS Royal George
in March 1760, and became the ship's first lieutenant in July 1761. He was promoted to his first command, that of the fire ship
HMS Roman Emperor on 7 April 1762. According to his son, Edward Hawke Locker, William Locker considered this the start of his happiest period of naval service.
An appointment to command the sloop
HMS Nautilus came in 1763, and he was dispatched to withdraw the British garrison from Gorée
in West Africa
, after the Treaty of Paris
restored it to the French. Locker returned the garrison to England and then departed to take up station at Jamaica
. Here he visited a number of ports in the Gulf of Mexico
, and even ventured up the Mississippi River
. The Nautilus was paid off at Deptford
on 8 March 1768 and in a gesture of approval of Locker's services, the Admiralty
promoted him to captain on 26 May 1768.
Locker then moved to command the frigate HMS Thames
, on the home station. He was her captain from 1770 until 1773. In 1777 he took command of HMS Lowestoffe
, sailing her to the West Indies. During this period, one of his lieutenants was the newly promoted Horatio Nelson
. Nelson, then barely nineteen, served with Locker for fifteen months. His experiences with Locker, and Locker's teachings had a lasting effect on Nelson. Twenty years later, on 9 February 1799, Nelson wrote to his old captain:
service at Exeter
. In the Spanish armament of 1790, he was appointed to command HMS Cambridge
as flag-captain to Vice-Admiral Thomas Graves
. He spent a brief period as commodore and commander-in-chief at the Nore
in 1792, and on 15 February 1793 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Greenwich Hospital.
Kent
, and a farm at Gillingham
. William Locker died at Greenwich Hospital on 26 December 1800. The following day Nelson wrote a letter of condolence to his eldest son, John: "The greatest consolation to us, his friends that remain, is that he has left a character for honour and honesty which none of us can surpass and very few attain." He was buried in the family vault at Addington where he had previously erected a memorial to his wife.
, Locker began compiling material for a naval history. The material gathered was passed to John Charnock, who incorporated it into his six-volume Biographia Navalis (1794–8). Locker also suggested he write, and helped him with, his 'Life of Nelson'.
came down to make the oil study on which all his Nelson portraits were based. These eventually numbered over forty. Locker was a noted patron of the arts, having a number of portraits painted, and supporting the careers of the likes of Abbott and Robert Cleveley
. He was also the driving force behind the creation of a national gallery of maritime art, suggesting the Greenwich hospital
.
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...
, who served with distinction during the eighteenth century. He rose to the rank of captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
and held the posts of flag captain
Flag captain
In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...
and commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
.
Family and early years
Locker was born in February 1731 in the official residence attached to the Leathersellers' HallWorshipful Company of Leathersellers
The Worshipful Company of Leathersellers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation originated in the latter part of the fourteenth century and received a Royal Charter in 1444...
, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He was the second son of John Locker, the clerk to the company, and his wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of the physician Edward Stillingfleet
Edward Stillingfleet (physician)
-Life:He was the eldest son of Edward Stillingfleet, bishop of Worcester, educated at St Paul's School. He was a Lady Margaret scholar of St. John's College, Cambridge, matriculating 1678, graduating B.A. in 1682, M.A. in 1685, and M.D. in 1692....
. Like his father, he attended Merchant Taylors' School
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
and entered the Navy on 9 June 1746, at the age of 15. He initially served as a captain's servant under a family relation, Captain Charles Windham (or Wyndham) aboard HMS Kent
HMS Kent (1746)
HMS Kent was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was ordered from Deptford Dockyard on 10 May 1743 to be built to the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and was launched on 10 May 1746...
.
After Windham's death, Locker moved aboard the Vainqueur (under a Captain James Kirk), which was bound for the West Indies. He then joined HMS Vulture, followed by HMS Cornwall
HMS Cornwall (1692)
HMS Cornwall was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Southampton on 28 April 1692.She served in the War of the Grand Alliance, and in her first year took part in the Battle of Barfleur and the action at La Hougue....
. The Cornwall was the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Charles Knowles, and both she and Locker were present at the capture of Port Louis
Port Louis
-Economy:The economy is dominated by its port, which handles Mauritius' international trade. The port was founded by the French who preferred Port Louis as the City is shielded by the Port Louis/Moka mountain range. It is the largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean and can...
. Locker then rejoined Captain Kirk, by now aboard HMS Elizabeth
HMS Elizabeth (1706)
HMS Elizabeth was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched on 1 August 1706.On 4 September 1733 orders were issued directing Elizabeth to be taken to pieces and rebuilt according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Chatham, from...
, and returned to England. After the end of the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
, he made two or more voyages to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, serving with the East India Company.
Seven Years War
He rejoined the Navy in 1755, becoming master's mateMaster's mate
Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master...
aboard HMS St George, the flagship of 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"...
Sir Edward Hawke
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke
Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke KB, PC was an officer of the Royal Navy. He is best remembered for his service during the Seven Years' War, particularly his victory over a French fleet at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, preventing a French invasion of Britain...
. He was made 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 7 January 1756 and joined Hawke aboard HMS Antelope
HMS Antelope (1741)
HMS Antelope was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Rotherhithe on 13 March 1703. She was rebuilt once during her career, and served in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War....
when he sailed to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
to relieve John Byng
John Byng
Admiral John Byng was a Royal Navy officer. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to Vice-Admiral in 1747...
. Locker was promoted to the position of lieutenant aboard HMS Experiment, under Sir John Strachan
Sir John Strachan, 5th Baronet
Sir John Strachan was a Baronet and chief of Clan Strachan. He served in the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of captain and commanding a number of warships...
on 4 July. Hawke seems to have had difficulty in having the appointment confirmed, but persisted, thus earning Locker's lifelong gratitude. Locker would name his youngest, and best-known son Edward Hawke Locker
Edward Hawke Locker
Edward Hawke Locker was an English watercolourist and administrator of the Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich.-Life:...
after the Admiral.
Captain Strachan was taken ill for part of his captaincy of the Experiment, and he was temporarily replaced in January 1757 by John Jervis
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
, then a lieutenant of HMS Culloden
HMS Culloden (1747)
HMS Culloden was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built according to the dimensions laid out by the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Deptford Dockyard, and launched on 9 September 1747...
. Locker spent two important months as Jervis' shipmate. The Experiment fought an indecisive engagement with a large French privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
on 16 March, after which Jervis returned to the Culloden and Strachan resumed command. On 8 July, whilst off Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, the Experiment engaged the French privateer Télémaque. Carrying a similar number of guns, but with 460 men, a far larger crew, the Télémaque attempted to use this massive numerical superiority to come alongside the Experiment and board her. After two failed attempts, the Télémaque managed to briefly come alongside, but only a few Frenchmen made it aboard and were promptly killed. Strachan then brought the Experiment alongside again and ordered Locker to lead a boarding party onto her. Locker capably did so, storming the Télémaque and carrying her. At the end of the engagement, 235 Frenchmen had been killed or wounded, for the loss of only 48 from the Experiment. Locker was one of the casualties, having been wounded in the leg. Despite only being minor, he would never fully recover from its effects.
Both Locker and Strachan were moved in December 1758 to the 32-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 Sapphire. She was attached to the fleet off Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
through summer and autumn 1759. Whilst aboard her Locker was present at the defeat of the French at the Battle of Quiberon Bay
Battle of Quiberon Bay
The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire...
on 20 November. After this success, Locker went aboard Hawke's flagship HMS Royal George
HMS Royal George (1756)
HMS Royal George was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched on 18 February 1756...
in March 1760, and became the ship's first lieutenant in July 1761. He was promoted to his first command, that of the fire ship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
HMS Roman Emperor on 7 April 1762. According to his son, Edward Hawke Locker, William Locker considered this the start of his happiest period of naval service.
An appointment to command the sloop
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 Nautilus came in 1763, and he was dispatched to withdraw the British garrison from Gorée
Gorée
Île de Gorée Île de Gorée Île de Gorée (i.e. "Gorée Island"; is one of the 19 communes d'arrondissement (i.e. "commune of arrondissement") of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is a island located at sea from the main harbor of Dakar ....
in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, after the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
restored it to the French. Locker returned the garrison to England and then departed to take up station at Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Here he visited a number of ports in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, and even ventured up the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The Nautilus was paid off at Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
on 8 March 1768 and in a gesture of approval of Locker's services, the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
promoted him to captain on 26 May 1768.
Locker then moved to command the frigate HMS Thames
HMS Thames (1758)
HMS Thames was a 32-gun Richmond-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy built by Henry Adams and launched at Bucklers Hard in 1758. She served in several wars, including for some four years in French service after her capture. She was recaptured in 1796 and was broken up in 1803.-British...
, on the home station. He was her captain from 1770 until 1773. In 1777 he took command of HMS Lowestoffe
HMS Lowestoffe (1761)
HMS Lowestoffe was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Built during the latter part of the Seven Years' War, she went on to see action in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary War, and served often in the Caribbean...
, sailing her to the West Indies. During this period, one of his lieutenants was the newly promoted Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
. Nelson, then barely nineteen, served with Locker for fifteen months. His experiences with Locker, and Locker's teachings had a lasting effect on Nelson. Twenty years later, on 9 February 1799, Nelson wrote to his old captain:
"I have been your scholar; it is you who taught me to board a Frenchman by your conduct when in the Experiment; it is you who always told me ‘Lay a Frenchman close and you will beat him;’ and my only merit in my profession is being a good scholar. Our friendship will never end but with my life, but you have always been too partial to me."
Later life
By 1779, Locker's health was declining and was invalided out of the service. By 1787, with the prospect of war with France looming, Locker was appointed to regulate the impressImpressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
service at Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. In the Spanish armament of 1790, he was appointed to command HMS Cambridge
HMS Cambridge (1755)
HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 21 October 1755.-Early career:...
as flag-captain to Vice-Admiral Thomas Graves
Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves
|-|-...
. He spent a brief period as commodore and commander-in-chief at the Nore
Nore
The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary, England. It marks the point where the River Thames meets the North Sea, roughly halfway between Havengore Creek in Essex and Warden Point in Kent....
in 1792, and on 15 February 1793 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Greenwich Hospital.
Personal life and death
In 1770 William married Lucy, the daughter of Admiral William Parry and the granddaughter of Commodore Charles Brown. Before her death in 1780, the two would have two daughters, Lucy and Elizabeth, and three sons, William, John, and Edward Hawke. The family had interests in AddingtonAddington, Kent
Addington is a village in the English county of Kent close to the M20 motorway between Wrotham Heath and West Malling. It was known as Eddintune in the Domesday Book. The meaning of Addington is Æddi's estate...
Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and a farm at Gillingham
Gillingham, Kent
Gillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. The town includes the settlements of Brompton, Hempstead, Rainham, Rainham Mark and Twydall....
. William Locker died at Greenwich Hospital on 26 December 1800. The following day Nelson wrote a letter of condolence to his eldest son, John: "The greatest consolation to us, his friends that remain, is that he has left a character for honour and honesty which none of us can surpass and very few attain." He was buried in the family vault at Addington where he had previously erected a memorial to his wife.
Naval history
Locker's role at a teacher, friend and correspondent of Nelson continues to make him a source of scholarly interest. During his later years and with the assistance of his friend Admiral John ForbesJohn Forbes (admiral)
Admiral of the Fleet John Forbes , styled The Honourable from 1734, was a British naval commander during the War of the Austrian Succession.-Family and early years:...
, Locker began compiling material for a naval history. The material gathered was passed to John Charnock, who incorporated it into his six-volume Biographia Navalis (1794–8). Locker also suggested he write, and helped him with, his 'Life of Nelson'.
Art and portraits
Nelson was also staying with Locker at Greenwich in 1797 when, at Locker's behest, Lemuel Francis AbbottLemuel Francis Abbott
Lemuel "Francis" Abbot was an English portrait painter, famous for his likeness of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson and for those of other naval officers and literary figures of the 18th century.-Life and work:He was born Lemuel Abbott in Leicestershire in 1760 or 1761,...
came down to make the oil study on which all his Nelson portraits were based. These eventually numbered over forty. Locker was a noted patron of the arts, having a number of portraits painted, and supporting the careers of the likes of Abbott and Robert Cleveley
Robert Cleveley
Robert Cleveley was an English maritime painter.His father and twin brother were also artists, with John the Younger gaining some training in watercolours from Paul Sandby, previously a teacher at the Royal...
. He was also the driving force behind the creation of a national gallery of maritime art, suggesting the Greenwich hospital
'...should be appropriated to the service of a National Gallery of Marine Paintings, to commemorate the eminent services of the Royal Navy of England'.He died before his vision could be realised, but it was subsequently effected by his son, Edward Hawke Locker
Edward Hawke Locker
Edward Hawke Locker was an English watercolourist and administrator of the Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich.-Life:...
.