Provo Wallis
Sir Provo Wallis | |
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Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath | |
Signature |
As commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS Madagascar, Wallis earned the thanks of the people of Veracruz in Mexico when he protected them from French bombardment during the Pastry War. He went on to be Senior Naval Officer, Gibraltar, and then Commander-in-Chief on the South East Coast of America Station. Wallis was promoted to senior flag officer positions and was still carried on the active list at 100 years old when he died.
Early career
He was the son of Provo Featherstone Wallis, a clerk at the
In May 1798, young Provo became a volunteer in the 40-gun frigate HMS Prevoyante where he remained (on paper at least) until September 1799 when he joined the 64-gun third-rate HMS Asia. He served on HMS Asia until September 1800, when he was promoted to midshipman in the 32-gun fifth-rate HMS Cleopatra.[3] HMS Cleopatra was the first ship he physically served aboard – he physically joined the ship in October 1804 – but by now he had amassed nearly a decade of seniority.[2] In an action on 16 February 1805, HMS Cleopatra was captured by the French frigate Ville de Milan and the ship's company taken prisoner of war. Wallis was freed a week later when Ville de Milan was itself captured by the Royal Navy: he transferred to Ville de Milan which now became a British ship.[3]
Wallis transferred to the third-rate
Wallis transferred to the 38-gun frigate HMS Shannon in January 1812.[5] HMS Shannon captured USS Chesapeake near Boston on 1 June 1813, during the War of 1812: HMS Shannon's Captain, Philip Broke, was badly wounded during the action and her first lieutenant was killed.[5]
Wallis served as the temporary captain of the British frigate for a period of exactly six days as she made her way back to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with Chesapeake flying the Blue Ensign above the Stars and Stripes, for which action he was promoted to commander on 9 July 1813.[5][4]
Wallis was given command of the sloop HMS Snipe at Sheerness in January 1814.[5] Promoted to captain on 12 August 1819,[4] he became commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS Niemen at Halifax in June 1824 and commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS Madagascar on the North America and West Indies Station in April 1838.[5] He earned the thanks of the people of Veracruz in Mexico when he protected them from French bombardment in Winter 1838 during the Pastry War.[5]
Appointed as commodore (but remaining a post captain in substantive rank) he went on to be Senior Naval Officer, Gibraltar, with his broad pennant of the third-rate HMS Warspite, in October 1843.[5]
Senior command
Promoted to
In order to prevent admirals from dying as paupers, a special clause in the retirement scheme of 1870 provided that those officers who had commanded a ship before the end of the
Wallis died at his country home in Funtington in West Sussex on 13 February 1892 and was buried in St Mary's churchyard at Funtington.[5] He was only a few months short of his 101st birthday with a combined service of 96 years from the time his name first appeared on the books of a Royal Navy ship.[2] He was the last survivor of the action between HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake, and on his death, four admirals below him on the active list were able to gain immediate promotion.[14]
Family
On 17 October 1817 Wallis married Juliana Massey; they had two daughters.[5] Following the death of his first wife, he married Jemima Wilson, daughter of Sir Robert Wilson, on 21 July 1849.[5]
Legacy
Wallis House in Ottawa is named after Wallis;[15] the City of Ottawa has erected brass plaques, which were unveiled in 1990 and 1997 documenting the history of the building.[16] The former Canadian Coast Guard Ship CCGS Provo Wallis was also named after him.[17] The main street in the Naval dockyard of Halifax, Nova Scotia, is also named "Provo Wallis Street" in his honour.[18]
Effective dates of promotion
Rank | Date |
---|---|
Admiral of the Fleet | 11 December 1877[19][4] |
Admiral | 2 March 1863[4][19] |
Vice-Admiral | 10 September 1857[4][7] |
Rear-Admiral | 27 August 1851[4][19] |
Captain | 19 August 1819[4][19] |
Commander | 9 July 1813[4][19] |
Lieutenant |
11 November 1808[4][19] |
Able seaman | 1 May 1795[20] |
See also
- O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). John Murray – via Wikisource. . .
References
- ^ Christie, Carl (1990). "Wallis, Sir Provo William Parry". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII (1891–1900) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Ellis, p. 127-8
- ^ a b c Heathcote, p. 248
- ^ )
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Heathcote, p. 249
- ^ "No. 21240". The London Gazette. 29 August 1851. p. 2206.
- ^ a b "No. 22041". The London Gazette. 18 September 1857. p. 3141.
- ^ "No. 22387". The London Gazette. 18 May 1860. p. 1915.
- ^ "No. 22722". The London Gazette. 31 March 1863. p. 1824.
- ^ "No. 23518". The London Gazette. 20 July 1869. p. 4063.
- ^ "No. 23587". The London Gazette. 15 February 1870. p. 851.
- ^ "No. 23979". The London Gazette. 24 May 1873. p. 2583.
- ^ "No. 24278". The London Gazette. 24 December 1875. p. 6577.
- ^ "Salt Indeed: The Amazing Career of Lieutenant Provo Wallis of HMS Shannon". War of 1812. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- ^ "Wallis House; Building housed seminary, barracks, public housing and hospital." Joanne Laucius. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario: 7 May 1990. p. B.3.
- ^ "Wallis House". National Inventory of Military Memorials. National Defence Canada. 17 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014.
- ^ "Changes to Coast Guard's fleet". Canadian Coast Guard. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ "Provo Wallis Street". Halifax Street Map. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Biography – WALLIS, Sir PROVO WILLIAM PARRY – Volume XII (1891–1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- OCLC 778340012.
Sources
- Ellis, James H. (2009). A Ruinous and Unhappy War: New England and the War of 1812. United States: Algora Publishing. ISBN 9780875866901.
- Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
- Clowes, William Laird, Sir (1996–1997). The Royal Navy: a history from the earliest times to the present. Chatham Pub.
Further reading
- Brighton, J.G. (1892). Admiral of the Fleet Sir Provo Wallis, G.C.B., 2 volumes. London.