John Kempthorne (Royal Navy officer)
Sir John Kempthorne | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1620 |
| Died | 19 October 1679 Knighthood |
Sir John Kempthorne (c. 1620 – 19 October 1679) was an officer in the English
Childhood and early years
Kempthorne was born the second son of John Kempthorne, an attorney of Ugborough, Devon, and his wife Agnes Simon.[1]
Little is known about the younger Kempthorne's early life, but his father was a
Kempthorne was elected a brother of Trinity House on 17 November 1660, and continued to command ships in the Mediterranean. He was captain of the Maidenhead between 1662 and 1663, when she was requisitioned by the Turks to carry troops to Crete. The ambassador at Constantinople, Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea, remarked that 'the captain has always been a man of loyal principles'.[2]
The breakdown of relations between England and the
Kempthorne remained with the Defiance until the end of 1667, commanding one of the flying squadrons. He escorted several merchant convoys to the Mediterranean between February and May 1667, followed by a period based out of
Kempthorne returned to active service again on the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672, with the St Andrew as his flagship. He was present at the Battle of Solebay, which ended in a draw with heavy English losses. After seeing the Royal James, the ship of his commander Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, under heavy attack, he made several attempts to come to his relief but was beaten back on each occasion.'
he … fought till eight with as much conduct and bravery as ever man in the world did, continually engaged on both sides almost the whole day'[3]
Kempthorne later admitted that this had been the hardest action that he had ever fought.[1]
Kempthorne was then promoted to rear-admiral of the red, and later vice-admiral of the blue, at which rank he was part of the 1673 campaign under Sir Edward Spragge.[1] He was present at the Battle of Schooneveld and the Battle of Texel, both of which were indecisive engagements. The latter battle led to recriminations and accusations amongst the commanders of the fleet, Kempthorne criticising the conduct of his rear-admiral, Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory, though he later retracted them.[1]
Kempthorne left the St Andrew in October 1673, drawing a flag officer's pension of £200 per annum. He was master of Trinity House in 1674–5 and was also the first steward of the club for naval captains, established in 1674.[1] He became resident commissioner of the navy at Portsmouth, where he became good friends with the governor, George Legge, who had also fought in the Dutch wars. With the threat of war with France, in 1678 Kempthorne briefly returned to active service, taking up the post of vice-admiral of the narrow seas, with his flag aboard the Royal Charles.[1] He became MP for Portsmouth alongside Legge in February 1679, but died in Portsmouth on 19 October 1679. He was buried in St Thomas's Church, and a memorial was later erected to him. In his will he left land in Bigbury, Devon, and shares in five merchantmen. He had continued to own merchant ships during his merchant career, hiring some of them to the navy.[1]
Family and personal life
Kempthorne married Joanna (d. 1691), who was a servant to Lady Bendish, the wife of
References
Sources
- G. A. Kempthorne, "Sir John Kempthorne and his sons", Mariner's Mirror, 12 (1926), 289–317
- R. C. Anderson, ed., Journals and narratives of the Third Dutch War, Navy RS, 86 (1946)
- J. D. Davies, Gentlemen and tarpaulins: the officers and men of the Restoration navy (1991)
- J. D. Davies, "Devon and the navy in the civil war and the Dutch wars", in The new maritime history of Devon, ed. M. Duffy and others, 1 (1992)
External links
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