James Eaton (1783–1856/1857) 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 ...
. He served aboard at the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
; as signal
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 ...
, he was the first person to pass on
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
's famous signal to the fleet; "
England expects that every man will do his duty
"England expects that every man will do his duty" was a signal sent by Vice-Admiral of the Royal Navy Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, from his flagship as the Battle of Trafalgar was about to commence on 21 October 1805.
During the battl ...
".
Career
Born in London in 1783, Eaton entered the navy in 1799 during the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
. He was serving aboard the 74-gun during the
Battle of Algeciras Bay on 6 July 1801.
''Hannibal'' was captured during the battle. Eaton was repatriated at some stage and by 1803 was a midshipman aboard when she cut out several vessels in
Quiberon Bay
Quiberon Bay (, ; ) is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of Brittany. The bay is in the Morbihan département.
Geography
The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the Gulf of Morbihan to the north-east and the ...
.
He was appointed signal midshipman aboard HMS ''Temeraire'' by 1805, and served as such at Trafalgar, being promoted to lieutenant the following year.
He was later wounded while serving aboard when taking a convoy out to China. He served at the
capture of Java in 1811, and in 1813 distinguished himself while aboard when he helped in the rescue of the crew of a Swedish vessel.
He finally retired from the navy with the rank of
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
in 1842. He was subsequently awarded the
Naval General Service Medal with two clasps for the actions he had served in during his naval career.
He settled in
West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...
in 1837,
and by 1839 he was living at Hill House where he died in either 1856 or 1857.
He is buried at All Saints Church in
Charlemont, West Bromwich. In 2005 as part of the
Trafalgar bicentenary celebrations, his memorial in All Saints Churchyard was rededicated.
See also
*
References
Sources
*
1783 births
1850s deaths
Royal Navy officers
Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Military personnel from London
{{England-mil-bio-stub