Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Sir Richard Spry (1715– 25 November 1775) was a

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 ...

officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, North American Station.

Naval career

After an education at Truro Grammar School Spry joined the

as a volunteer in 1733.Richard Spry at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> Following the sinking of his ship by the Spanish Navy he was taken prisoner in 1745 but released two months later. He took part in the siege of

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

in India in 1750. From 17 October 1753 to 5 June 1754 he was captain of the frigate . In 1755 he became senior officer at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, and in 1758 took part in the successful Siege of Louisbourg. He was given command of in 1760. In 1762 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, North American Station. In 1766 he was promoted to the rank of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

and appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station.Hardy 1783, p. 56 Spry returned to England in 1769. In 1770 he was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

and went on to be Port Admiral at Plymouth in 1771. Spry was knighted at Portsmouth on 24 June 1773 and retired to Place House in

St Anthony in Roseland St Anthony in Roseland is a village and a former parish in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is a small settlement on the Roseland Peninsula. At Trewince is a house of five bays and two storeys built in 1750. There is a St Anthony's ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. He died there in 1775. His memorial in St Anthony's Church there is by

Humphrey Hopper Humphrey Hopper (1767–1844) was an English sculptor and stonemason. He was given the government commission for the memorial in St Paul's Cathedral to General Andrew Hay. Life He was born in Wolsingham in County Durham in 1765. He moved ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spry, Richard 1715 births 1775 deaths Royal Navy rear admirals People educated at Truro Cathedral School