John Tyrrell (1646–1692) of

Oakley, Buckinghamshire Oakley is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It has an area of and includes about 400 households. The 2021 Census recorded the population as 1,128. At one time it was thought Oakley held a rare (and possibly unique) dou ...

, son of

Sir Timothy Tyrrell Sir Timothy Tyrrell (1617–1701), initially of Oakley, Buckinghamshire and later of Shotover Park, Shotover, was of the Privy Chamber to King Charles I of England, King Charles I. Life He faithfully and valiantly asserted the cause of his mast ...

and Dame Elizabeth, his wife, was made by

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

the Second Admiral 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 ...

John Tyrrell served in the Restoration navy, including a long period as a lieutenant. On 24 October 1665, he was appointed the lieutenant of the

third rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

''Resolution''. In 1672, he was appointed lieutenant of the

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...

''Leopard'', becoming her temporary commander on 28 May 1673 following the death of her captain, Peter Bowen. In September 1674, the King appointed him lieutenant of the fourth rate ''Dragon''. Finally, on 16 January 1678,Under the style of the time, this was known as 1677, with 1678 starting on Lady Day (25 March) – see

Old Style and New Style dates Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various Europe, European countrie ...

the King appointed him as captain of the

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

''Drake''. On 3 April 1680, he was given command of the prize ''Orange Tree''. On 13 April 1682, he was reappointed to command the ''Orange Tree''. On 18 April, he was switched to the ''Mermaid''. On 23 February 1684,1683 in Old Style dates he was appointed to command the ''Oxford''. On 1 June 1684, the King appointed John Tyrrell to command the ''Phoenix'' of 42 guns. On 19 September 1685, he caught and sank a "Zanganian"

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

ship in an action notable for the boarding and survival of the then Lieutenant

John Byng Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participate ...

. Then on 4 September 1688, he was appointed to command the ''Mordaunt'' (46 guns). He took part in the action on 4 October 1689, when a group of English cruisers fell in with 12 French warships, and the sixth rate ''Lively prize'' was lost. He commanded the third rate ''Anne'' (70 guns) when she was beached and burnt after the Battle of Beachy Head on 30 June 1690, "where he withstood the violence of the whole French navy". He had been assigned to the rear (blue) squadron. He fought at the

Battle of Barfleur The action at Barfleur was part of the battle of Barfleur-La Hougue during the War of the Grand Alliance. A French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville was seeking to cover an invasion of England by a French army to restore James II to the ...

, where he commanded the

second rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

''Ossory'' of 90 guns. He died 6 December 1692, aged 46, and according to his memorial in Oakley he was "a true lover of his country, a valiant and skilful Commander".

Notes

References

*William Laird Clowes, ''The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present'', Vol.II, 1898. *J.R. Tanner, ''A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts'' in the Pepysian Library at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, Vol.I, 1903. *Memorial tablets within Oakley Church. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrrell, John Royal Navy captains 1646 births 1692 deaths