Alexander Boyle (1810–1884) was a Royal Navy officer whose most famous command was

HMS Victory HMS ''Victory'' is a 104-gun first-rate wooden sailing ship of the line. With years of service as of , she is the world's List of oldest surviving ships, oldest naval vessel still in Ship commissioning, commission. She was ordered for the Roy ...

, Nelson's flagship.

Life

He was born in

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 ...

at 41 George Street on 9 March 1810 the son of David Boyle, at that point both

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

and MP for

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

. His father was later made "Lord Boyle", Lord President of the Court of Session. He was also known as Lord Shewalton due to his Ayrshire estates. His mother was Elizabeth Montgomery. He joined 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 ...

on 4 September 1823 aged 13. He became a Lieutenant in October 1830 aged 20. His first noted service (June 1832) was on HMS Champion an 18 gun sloop under Arthur Duncombe serving in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. In September 1836 he moved to the 36 gun frigate

HMS Pique Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Pique'': * was formerly the French ship ''Pique'', a 38-gun fifth rate captured by in 1795. HMS ''Pique'' was wrecked in action with the French ship in 1798. * HMS ''Pique'' was former ...

as commander. In September 1841 he moved to the 28-gun HMS North Star under

James Everard Home Captain Sir James Everard Home, 2nd Baronet, (25 October 1798 – 1 November 1853), was an eminent nineteenth century Royal Navy officer. Early life James Everard Home, born 25 October 1793, in London, was a son of Everard Home, a surgeon, and ...

based in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. Boyle left the North Star after only a month, before its action during the

Flagstaff War The Flagstaff War, also known as Heke's War, Hōne Heke's Rebellion and the Northern War, was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of H� ...

of 1845 in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. However, he joined the huge 110-gun HMS Queen which had been renamed in 1839 to acknowledge

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 ...

. This served as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of Admiral Edward Owen. In February 1842 Boyle was promoted to Commander and was made commander of HMS Queen. In December 1845 he was made Captain and Commander of HMS Thunderbolt, a 6-gun paddle sloop based at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

. The ship was wrecked on rocks off Cape Receife on 3 February 1847. Boyle was officially reprimanded for this but was not dismissed. After a break of some years, he was given charge of

in April 1852, under first Admiral Thomas Briggs then Admiral

Thomas John Cochrane Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas John Cochrane, (5 February 1789 – 19 October 1872) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, he captured the French ship ''Favourite'' off the coast of D ...

. This had a relatively quiet life, based in

. After two years on Victory he was made Second in Command of the 50 gun

HMS Indefatigable __NOTOC__ Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Indefatigable'': * was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1784, razeed to a 44-gun frigate in 1795 and broken up in 1816. This was the ship popularised by C. S. Forester i ...

in May 1854, patrolling the south-east coast of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as the flagship of Admiral Johnstone. In August 1855 he was given command of the 8 gun HMS Star which operated as a coastguard vessel and in August 1857 was made full Captain still on the American coast. He retired in April 1875 with the rank of Rear Admiral and was promoted to Vice Admiral in August 1879. He died on 8 June 1884 and is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown Estate, Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington a ...

Family

In 1844 he married Agnes Walker daughter of James Walker of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. They had five daughters and three sons: *Frances Montgomerie Boyle (d. 1889) married Charles Woodbine Parish son of

Woodbine Parish Sir Woodbine Parish KCH (14 September 1796, London – 16 August 1882, St. Leonards, Sussex) was a British diplomat, traveller and scientist. Life The son of Woodbine Parish, of Bawburgh Old Hall, Norfolk, a major in the Light Horse Volun ...

. *Patrick David Boyle (1848-1932) served in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

and is buried with his parents *James Boyle MVO (1850-1931) was a Captain in the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess ...

and later served as British Consul to

Funchal Funchal () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

from 1907 to 1919 *Alexander Boyle (1857-1923) married Fanny Studholme and were parents to Alexander David Boyle RNBurke's Peerage: Alexander Boyle His elder brothers included

David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow (31 May 1833 – 13 December 1915), was a British naval commander and colonial governor. He served as Governor of New Zealand between 1892 and 1897. Background Boyle was the son of Patrick Boyle (eldest son of D ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Alexander 1810 births 1884 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh Royal Navy vice admirals Burials at Brompton Cemetery Royal Navy personnel of the New Zealand Wars