Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often regar ...

Richard Tyrell (1691–26 June 1766) was an Irish officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

Life

The Capture of the Foudroyant by HMS Monmouth

He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in 1691 the son of James and Mary Tyrell. Tyrell was a nephew of Sir Peter Warren, and entered the

rather late in life, spending most of his active service in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

. His first post was as Lieutenant on the 44-gun HMS Launceston in January 1741 under Captain Peter Warren. In March 1742 he was given command of the 8-gun HMS Comet. He was promoted to Captain in December 1743 replacing Warren on HMS Launceston. In September 1744 he transferred to be Captain of the 20 gun HMS Deal Castle. Stationed in the

he captured three French pivateers: La Bien Aime, La Fidele and La Providence. In June 1745 he transferred to HMS Lyme. In April 1746 he captured the corvette La Saxonne off the Leeward Islands. In April 1747 he transferred to HMS Centaur remaining in the West Indies. From September 1749 to February 1755 he took an extended leave, probably to attend his family. He then took command of the 64 gun HMS Ipswich until March 1757. After another break in May 1757 he took command of the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

HMS ''Buckingham'' and its crew of 472 men. On 3 November 1758 the Buckingham captured three French ships including the Florisant. In this action Tyrell was wounded several times and lost three fingers on his right hand. In January 1759 he played an important role in the attack on

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island and an Overseas department and region, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of ...

as part of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

and a few days later captured Guadelope to much acclaim. In June 1759 he was given command of the huge HMS Foudroyant which had been captured from the Freench at the Battle of Cartagena. He was promoted to Rear Admiral of the White in October 1762. He earned the title of commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands Station in 1765. Having resigned command of the Leeward Islands Station in 1766, he died of fever on 26 June 1766 on board HMS Princess Louisa, and was buried at sea. He has a large memorial in the south nave aisle of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. The extraordinary monument originaaly featured a figure floating heavenward, detached from its background amid a group of very flat clouds (earning it the nickname "The Pancake Monument". Meanwhile HMS Buckingham lies trapped in the coral at the bottom of the sea. It was sculpted by Nicholas Read.

Family

He was married to Russell Tankard (sic) and had a daughter, Ann Barnes and son Richard.

References

External links

Royal Navy rear admirals 1716 births 1766 deaths Irish sailors People from Dublin (city) {{UK-navy-bio-stub