Henry Medley (1687 – 5 August 1747) was an officer of 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 ...

, rising to the rank of

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Life

Medley entered the

in 1703, and in 1706 was

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 ...

of the 80-gun with Captain Price at the relief of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. He passed his examination as lieutenant on 8 February 1710, and on 5 September 1710 was promoted by Sir John Norris to be lieutenant of ; a few months later he was moved into the 70-gun . In 1717 he was a lieutenant of the 90-gun , flagship of Sir George Byng 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 ...

. Early in 1720 Medley was promoted to the command of , a fire-ship, and on 17 February 1721 was posted into the 60-gun . In 1722, while commanding the 50-gun in the Mediterranean, he seized a ship named the ''Revolution'', lying within the mole of

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 ...

, on information of her being in the service of the

Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until ...

. He later commanded the ''Leopard'' on the coast of Portugal and in 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 ...

until the end of 1728. From 1731 to 1735 Medley was employed on the home station. In 1739 and 1740 he was on fishery protection with the

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

fleet, in . At this period he was

Governor of Newfoundland The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador () is the representative in Newfoundland and Labrador of the monarch, who Monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Cana ...

. In 1741 Medley commanded the 70-gun in the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

under Sir John Norris, and in 1742–4 was with Norris as

captain of the fleet Fleet captain (US) is a historic military title that was bestowed upon a naval officer who served as chief of staff to a flag officer. In the UK, a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more shi ...

. On 19 June 1744 he was promoted to be

rear-admiral of the white Rear-Admiral of the White was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-admiral of the red (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear ...

, and in the following winter commanded a squadron cruising in the Channel Soundings for the protection of trade. On 23 April 1745 Medley was promoted to be vice-admiral, and sent out as commander-in-chief of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

. The service was one of blockade and co-operation with the allied armies in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

, who in the winter of 1746–7 invaded

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

; but, after an unsuccessful attack on

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

, they were obliged to retreat. On 15 July 1747 Medley was advanced to be

Vice-Admiral of the Red Vice-Admiral of the Red was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank admiral of the Blue (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral ...

. He died, probably not knowing of the promotion, on board the 80-gun , at

Vado Ligure Vado Ligure (), in antiquity Vada Sabatia, is a port town and ''comune'' in the province of Savona, Liguria, in northern Italy. The town despite its size has become one of the largest ports in Northwest Italy. Economy Vado has a large indus ...

, on 5 August 1747.

George Rodney Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, Order of the Bath, KB (baptism, bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his commands ...

served with him on two ships at the beginning of his career with Medley acting as a

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

to the younger man. A monument in Medley's memory, sculpted by

Henry Cheere Sir Henry Cheere, 1st Baronet (1703 – 15 January 1781) was an English sculptor and monumental mason.George Edward Cokayne, ed., ''The Complete Baronetage'', 5 volumes (no date, c.1900); reprint, (Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), Vol. ...

, was placed in

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

three months after his death.Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis

Notes

a. Some sources indicate that the governor in 1740 was Lord George Graham. There is no evidence to support this appointment.

Citations

External links

Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Medley, Henry 1687 births 1773 deaths Governors of Newfoundland Colony Royal Navy admirals British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession