Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Sir William Ramsay KCB (born Burnett; 27 May 1796 – 3 December 1871) was a Scottish admiral 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 ...

Early life and family

Ramsay was born at Balmain House in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, the sixth son of Alexander Burnett (later known as Sir Alexander Ramsay, 1st Baronet of Balmain), and his wife, Elizabeth Bannerman, daughter of Sir Alexander Bannerman, 4th Baronet. Alexander Burnett was the second son of Catherine Ramsay, the granddaughter of Sir Charles Ramsay, 3rd Baronet of Balmain of an earlier creation (1625) in the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

, which was inherited by Catherine's brother Alexander. Catherine Ramsay married Sir Thomas Burnett of Leys, 6th Baronet and their elder son, Robert, inherited the Burnett baronetcy. Catherine's brother Alexander, the 6th Baronet, died without sons in 1806 (though two relatives styled themselves as the next baronet, without proving parentage), at which point the Nova Scotia baronetcy either became extinct or dormant. In 1806, Sir Alexander Ramsay, 6th Baronet bequeathed his estates to his nephew Alexander Burnett. The baronetcy was revived in favour of Burnett a few months after Sir Alexander's death, who changed the family surname to Ramsay. His elder brothers included Sir Alexander Ramsay, 2nd Baronet of Balmain and Dean

Edward Ramsay Edward Bannerman Ramsay, (17 January 1793– 27 December 1872), usually referred to as Dean Ramsay, was a clergyman of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and Dean of Edinburgh in that communion from 1841, has a place in literature through his ''R ...

, leader of the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

Career

He entered the

in 1809. He became a Lieutenant in 1821. From 1829 to 1831 he commanded HMS Black Joke. During his command Black Joke chased, boarded, and captured the larger Spanish slave ship Marinerito, freeing over 400 slaves. He became a Commander in 1831 and a captain in 1838.. His main command was HMS ''Terrible'', a uniquely profiled paddle steamer with two pairs of funnels. He joined the ship from its initial launch at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

in 1845. He then joined the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

. In 1847 he was put to special duties on a new ship, HMS ''Dragon'', conveying food to Ireland during the Great Famine, before returning to HMS ''Terrible'' for duties in the Mediterranean. In 1852 he joined HMS ''Hogue'', first in its duties as a guard ship at Devonport then on duties in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. He was made Rear Admiral in 1857 and retired with the rank of Vice Admiral in 1866.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

created him a 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 ...

(KCB) in June 1869. He retired to live with his brother Dean Ramsay at 23 Ainslie Place on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate, also known as the Moray Feu, is an early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of the New Town, Edinburgh. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban plannin ...

in west

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1870 He died unmarried on 3 December 1871, aged 75. He is buried with his brother in the eastern enclosure of

St John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh The Church of St John the Evangelist is a Scottish Episcopal church in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is sited at the west end of Princes Street at its junction with Lothian Road, and is protected as a category A listed building. Backg ...

(on

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

). Some references place him in the immediately adjacent churchyard: St Cuthberts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay William 1796 births 1871 deaths Scottish admirals Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath