Sir Richard Bickerton, 2nd Baronet
Sir Richard Bickerton | |
---|---|
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
When Britain entered the
Forced ashore by illness in 1805, Bickerton first served as a Lord of the Admiralty and
Personal life
Richard Bickerton was born in Southampton on 11 October 1759, the only surviving son of Vice-admiral Sir Richard Bickerton and Mary Anne Hussey.[1][2]
On 25 September 1788, he married Anne, daughter of Dr James Athill of Antigua. Bickerton succeeded as 2nd Baronet in 1792 when his father died.[1] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1810.[3] On 2 January 1815, Bickerton was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath then later, in May 1823, he inherited the estate of Wood Walton and on doing so began using his mother's maiden name before his own surname.[4]
Bickerton joined the
Master and Commander
Bickerton was promoted to lieutenant on 16 December 1777 and served under Charles Middleton first on board the 90-gun HMS Prince George, then the seventy-four, Royal Oak in March 1778.[6] In May, Bickerton joined HMS Jupiter in the Bay of Biscay, and when Charles Middleton was appointed comptroller of the navy, he recommended that Bickerton be appointed first lieutenant under the command of Francis Reynolds.[5]
On 20 October Jupiter attacked the much larger French ship-of-the-line Triton, forcing her to retire; as a reward for his conduct, Bickerton, on Middleton's recommendation, was in March 1779, promoted
Post Captain
Rodney promoted Bickerton to the rank of
French Revolutionary War
When France declared
Service in the Mediterranean
Bickerton hoisted his flag in Seahorse on 13 May 1800 and was ordered to transport generals Abercromby, Moore and Hutchinson to the Mediterranean; after which he spent the rest of the war under Lord Keith, on blockade duty.[5] On 10 June, Bickerton transferred his flag to the 74-gun Swiftsure and began a five-month command of a squadron off Cádiz. During 1801, he worked on HMS Kent, maintaining a blockade on the port of Alexandria until its capitulation on 27 August.[3][5] He provided support during this time for Lieutenant-General Hutchinson.[2]
Left to oversee the French withdrawal, Bickerton conducted this duty with such efficiency that he earned the respect of the French general, Jacques-François Menou, who also acknowledged that, " ...the vigilance of Sir Richard's squadron had accelerated the reduction of that place, as it cut them off from all supply". For his part in the British victory, the grateful Turks awarded Bickerton with the Order of the Crescent on 8 October 1801. Following the Treaty of Amiens, Bickerton was left behind in command of the Mediterranean Fleet.[5]
Napoleonic Wars
By 1804, still in the Mediterranean and having transferred to
Later career
In spring 1805, a liver complaint forced Bickerton to return to England. He was promoted to
Political career
Bickerton was elected a Conservative Member of Parliament for Poole in February 1808, but he did not run for re-election in 1812.[2][19] He did not often speak in Parliamentary debates, except on naval issues.[20]
Death
Bickerton died at his home, No. 15
A memorial to Bickerton, by Francis Leggatt Chantrey, was erected in Bath Abbey in 1834.[21][22][23] Bickerton Island off the east coast of Australia's Northern Territory was named for him by the British navigator and cartographer, Matthew Flinders, who was the first to circumnavigate the continent.[24]
Notes
- ^ Bickerton's entries in The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, have him in command of HMS Terrible at some point between Russell and Amazon. The latter was reviewed by Nicholas Tracy but Tracy's own book, Who's Who in Nelson's Navy, however, does not mention this brief command.
- Post Captainsfor good service. It carried an increase in salary with no extra duties or responsibilities. Not to be confused with a colonel in the marines.
- ^ The ranks Lieutenant-general of the Marines and General of the Marines, like Colonel of the Marines, were ceremonial.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-86176-244-5.
- ^ required.)
- ^ ISBN 1-86176-244-5.
- ISBN 1-86176-244-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r The Gentleman's Magazine. E. Cave. 1832.
- ISBN 1-86176-244-5.
- ^ a b c d e J. K. Laughton, 'Bickerton, Sir Richard Hussey, second baronet (1759–1832)’, rev. Nicholas Tracy, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 25 Oct 2015
- ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
- ^ Willyams, Rev. Cooper (1796). An Account of the Campaign in the West Indies in the year 1794. London: G. Nicol, Bookseller to His Majesty, Pall Mall; B. and J. White, Fleet Street; and J. Robson, New Bond Street. p. 145.
- ^ "No. 15107". The London Gazette. 12 February 1799. p. 148.
- ^ Lord Nelson's letter detailing naval strategy against French to be sold Daily Telegraph, 24 November 2008
- ^ "No. 15859". The London Gazette. 5 November 1805. p. 1374.
- ^ a b "Sainty, JC, Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660-1870, Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870 (1975), pp. 18–31". Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ Rodger, p. 69
- ^ "No. 16391". The London Gazette. 28 July 1810. p. 1118.
- ^ ISBN 1-86176-244-5.
- OCLC 426390753.
- ^ "No. 16972". The London Gazette. 4 January 1815. p. 19.
- ^ Leigh Rayment Members of Parliament[usurped]
- ^ Thorne, R.G. "BICKERTON, Sir Richard, 2nd Bt. (1759-1832), of Upwood, Hunts". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Neoclassical Church Monuments in Britain". Church Monuments Society. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ISBN 978-0300101775.
- ISBN 9780091912512.
- ISBN 978-1-108-04061-7.
Sources
- Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Offices of State. Lavenham: T. Dalton Ltd. ISBN 0900963948.