Admiral Francis Erskine Loch (April 1788–13 February 1868) was a senior commander 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 ...

during the early 19th century. He served as naval aide-de-camp to

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 ...

Life

He was born in April 1788 in Drylaw House north of

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 ...

(now within the city boundary) the son of George Loch (1749–1788) and his wife Mary Adam, daughter of John Adam of the Adam family of architects. He entered the

on 1 September 1799 aged eleven as a

cabin boy A cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy or young man who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain. The modern merchant navy successor to the cabin boy is the steward's assistant. Duties Cabin boys ...

under Captain Andrew Todd on 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 ...

with the fleet of Lord Keith. On 17 March 1800 Loch narrowly escaped death when the ship was destroyed by fire and blew up killing 673 men off the Italian coast near Leghorn. Loch was one of the few survivors. Loch served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

aboard , aad . He was present at the

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

in May 1800 aboard ''Minotaur''. Still with Lord Keith's fleet, he joined under Captain John Stewart. He was placed on the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

overseeing the equipping of

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s bound for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Lake Mareotis Lake Mariout ( ', , also spelled Maryut or Mariut), is a brackish lake in northern Egypt near the city of Alexandria. The lake area covered and had a navigable canal at the beginning of the 20th century, but at the beginning of the 21st century, ...

early in 1801. He took part in the landings at

Aboukir Bay The Abū Qīr Bay (sometimes transliterated Abukir Bay or Aboukir Bay) (; transliterated: Khalīj Abū Qīr) is a spacious bay on the Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria in Egypt, lying between the Rosetta mouth of the Nile and the town of Abu Qir ...

and was among the party that cut out a Greek vessel from under the guns of the castle overlooking the bay. He then joined and then until November 1801 before transferring back to ''Foudroyant''. He returned home in 1802. From May 1803 to 1805 he served under his cousin, Captain Adam on the captured French frigate in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. On ''Chiffonne'' he saw major action on 10 June 1805 when ''Chiffonne'' was among the Royal Navy vessels that drove two French

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

s and 15 gun-vessels ashore at Fecamp. The French warships had been escorting 14 transports. In December 1805, he transferred to with Captain

Charles Adam Admiral Sir Charles Adam (6 October 1780 – 19 September 1853) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He later commanded the royal yacht, ''Royal Sovereign'', and was the Member o ...

. In January 1806 he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on under Rear Admiral

Charles Stirling Charles Stirling (28 April 1760 – 7 November 1833) was a vice-admiral in the British Royal Navy. Early life and career Charles Stirling was born in London on 28 April 1760 and baptised at St. Albans on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walter ...

. His most important action in this period was on (the replacement ship to the earlier one of that name), at the blockade of

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

. He stayed with ''Queen Charlotte'' until his promotion to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. His first command was on in 1812. He moved to in 1815, and in 1821. In the latter he served in 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 ...

and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, acting as the senior officer for this zone. His last active service was from June to September 1839 on in the Mediterranean. He was invalided out of active service in the summer of 1839. From September 1839 to September 1841 he was commander of HMS ''Victory'', while a guard-ship at

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 ...

. In 1847 he was made naval aide-de-camp to

(a prestigious but non-active role). Loch then underwent several promotions, but without command: rear admiral (1850); vice admiral (1857); admiral (1860). He retired to Edinburgh in 1860, living at 22 George Square as neighbour to Reverend

Patrick Clason Patrick Clason (13 October 1789 – 30 July 1867) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the Free Church of Scotland in 1848/49. Life He was born on 13 October 1789 in the manse at Dalziel near the Rive ...

. He died in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

on 13 February 1868.

Family

Loch's had several important family connections: great grandfather- William Adam; great uncle –

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

; uncle –

William Adam of Blair Adam The Right Hon. William Adam of Blair Adam, (2 August 175117 February 1839) was a Scottish advocate, barrister, politician and judge. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland (1802–1805) and as Lord Chief Commissioner of the Jury Court ( ...

; cousin – Admiral Sir Charles Adam; nephew – Captain Granville Gower Loch RN In 1822 he was married to Jesse Robertson in Edinburgh. Jesse was the daughter of Major Robertson, Barrack-Master-General of North Britain. Their known children were: * George Francis Loch (1824–1848) * Francis Adam Ellis Loch (1827–1891) * Jane Garden Loch (1830–1891) * Archibald Robertson Loch (1833–1906) * James Henry Loch (1833–1918) his twin Francis' children included Major General Granville George Loch (1870–1950)

Memorabilia

His diary and sketch-books are held at the National Archive in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loch, Francis Erskine 1788 births 1868 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars