Stephen George Comyn (29 December 1764 – 3 March 1839) was an English naval

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

who served with

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...

and Battle of Copenhagen. He was a close friend of Nelson and is said to have been his favourite chaplain.

Early life

Comyn was the eldest son of Stephen Comyn a merchant of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and his wife Mary Wilsonn. He attended

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He took Holy Orders, and became a naval chaplain in 1798 and was posted to .

Naval service

Comyn was thus Nelson's Chaplain at the time of the Battle of the Nile. At the battle the injured Nelson believed he was dying and sent for Comyn. Nelson recovered and following the victory, issued a memorandum to his fleet, "Almighty God having blessed His Majesty's arms with victory, the Admiral intends returning public thanksgiving for the same at 2 o'clock this day and he recommends every ship doing the same as soon as convenient." Reverend Comyn conducted the service from the quarterdeck of the ''Vanguard'', which made a great impression on a group of captured French officers. After the battle the ''Vanguard'' headed for

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

in Italy, where Nelson encountered

Emma Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becom ...

and the crew languished there inactive for several months. On 5 June 1799, Nelson shifted his flag to HMS ''Foudroyant'', with Captain Hardy and five lieutenants, and Comyn accompanied them until 1800. Comyn was on the captured ''Guillaume Tell'' until he transferred to on 24 December 1800. In Spring 1801 the British Fleet was in the Baltic for the attack on the Danes at Copenhagen where Comyn was chaplain on Nelson's ship, HMS ''St George''. Nelson transferred to HMS ''Elephant'' for the battle, but it is not known if Comyn accompanied him.

Land service

As he was reaching the end of his service with the Navy, Comyn approached Nelson with a request for a living ashore and he became Vicar of

Bridgham Bridgham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Bridgham is located north-east of Thetford and south-west of Norwich. History Bridgham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for ''a'' home ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

in 1802 and later of

Brunstead Brumstead (or Brunstead) is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located north-west of Stalham and north-east of Norwich. The village is locally known as Brunstead, as depicting on the village sign. ...

Norfolk . A letter from Nelson to him dated 24 June 1801 congratulated him on his appointment and ended in a postscript in Emma Hamilton's handwriting ''Joy joy to you & Mrs Comyn my dear sir''. Comyn married Charlotte Carter of Rochester, Kent and their second son, born in 1806 was called Horatio Nelson William Comyn. Comyn died at Brunstead and was buried in the north-east corner of the chancel'.Tombstone Brunstead Comyn's brother Henry Comyn was also a clergyman and as curate of

Boldre Boldre is a village and civil parish in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is in the south of the New Forest National Park, above the broadening (estuary) of the Lymington River, two miles (3 km) north of Lymington. In the 2 ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, is noted for conducting a very early census of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. His great nephew

William Leslie Comyn William Leslie Comyn (born 30 October 1877) was a Californian businessman, shipbuilder and builder of one of the first large concrete ships. Life Comyn was the second son of Charles Comyn an English civil servant and was born at Shepherd's Bush, ...

was a pioneer builder of concrete ships in California during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comyn, Stephen George 1764 births 1839 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Royal Navy chaplains 19th-century English Anglican priests Horatio Nelson English military chaplains Napoleonic Wars chaplains