Henry D'Esterre Darby

Sir Henry d'Esterre Darby, by Sir William Beechey, 1801

Admiral Sir Henry D'Esterre Darby, KCB (9 April 1749 – 30 March 1823) was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the third son of Jonathan and Susannah Darby of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland. He was the nephew of Vice Admiral George Darby. Darby first went to sea when he was thirteen but it was another fourteen years before he made lieutenant, aboard his uncle's ship HMS Britannia. In 1781, he was given command of the 8-gun Infernal but was captured after an inconclusive action at the Battle of Porto Praya and remained a prisoner for the rest of the war.

He was promoted to Captain in 1783 and had command of HMS Bellerophon at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.

A letter to Darby from Admiral Nelson, commander of the fleet at the battle, survives:

My Dear Darby,
I grieve for your heavy loss of Brave fellows, but look at our glorious Victory. We will give you every assistance as soon as you join us, till then God Bless You.
Ever yours faithfully,
Horatio Nelson
We shall both I trust soon get well.

— Admiral Nelson, 3 August 1798

Darby was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue in 1804; Rear Admiral of the White in 1805; Rear Admiral of the Red in 1808; Vice Admiral of the Blue in 1810; Vice Admiral of the White in 1811; Vice Admiral of the Red in 1814; Admiral of the Blue in 1819. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1820.

References

• Cordingly, David. (2003). The Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon. Bloomsbury USA.
• Hore, Peter (2015). Nelson's Band of Brothers. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-779-5.
• Access to Archives: Darby family of London, Warbleton and Leap Castle