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Robert Gambier Middleton (November 1774-21 August 1837)[1] was an officer in the Royal Navy who distinguished himself in the Napoleonic Wars.
Early Life
[edit]His father was Collector of the Customs in Leith [2]. In 1786 he was adopted by his uncle Charles Middleton who at the time was Comptroller of the Navy and went on to be First Naval Lord and then First Lord of the Admiralty.
Naval Career
[edit]He served as a lieutenant on HMS Britannia (1762) in Lord Hood's fleet at the occupation and evacuation of Toulon in 1793[3]. He served as a second lieutenant on HMS Aquilon(1786) in 1793[4] and commander and commanding officer on HMS Eclair in 1794[5]. On the 11th of August 1794 he obtained the rank of Post-Captain, commanding HMS Ariadne.
In June 1795 he took command of HMS Lowestoffe (1761)[6] and took part in the Action of 24 June 1795.
In October of the same year, he took command of HMS Flora(1780) and on the 10th of July 1796 the ship was involved in the occupation of Portoferraio[7] by British troops. During his command, HMS Flora was involved in capturing many enemy privateers and merrchantmen[8]. In the case of the French brig Le Mondovi, which had sought shelter in the harbour of Cerigo this involved sending boats into the harbour to cut her out, an operation which succeeded despite heavy fire from two batteries at the harbour entrance[9].
On the 8th of March 1801 HMS Flora took part in the landing of British troops led by Sir Ralph Abercromby in Aboukir Bay, in the course of which several members of her crew were killed and wounded. In the subsequent Battle of Alexandria Abercromby suffered a wound which proved to be fatal. His body was carried to Malta on board HMS Flora, where it was buried on St John's Bastion within Fort Saint Elmo. The Flora returned to England in the course of the following month, and in May he relinquished command of the ship [10].
In 1803, on the resumption of hostilities and there was a threat of invasion, He was put in command of the Sea Fencibles on the North Foreland district, and in 1805 he acted as Commissioner to Malta Dockyard. In 1808 he obtained a seat on the Navy Board, where he remained until it was consolidated with the Admiralty in 1832, at which time he held the office of Storekeeper General. He then went on the list of retired Rear Admirals.[11].
Family
[edit]On the 11th of December 1802 he married Susan Maria, daughter of John Martin Leake of Thorpe Hall in Essex at Marleybone Church[12]. They had three children - one son and two daughters. He died in Moorhouse, Limpsfield on the 21st of August 1837.
- ^ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2N66-X3H : 31 December 2014), Robert Gambier Middleton, 1837; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Godstone, Surrey, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
- ^ https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Royal_Naval_Biography/Middleton,_Robert_Gambier
- ^ https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001681/18370826/045/0014 Naval and Military Gazette: Obituary,28th August 1837. In the Royal Naval Biography entry, Footnote 1, the accuracy of this is open to question as records did not include first names.
- ^ https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_crewman&id=9376: ADM 6/24/270 Commission and Warrant Book 1789 Sep.-1793
- ^ Three Decks op.cit.: ADM 6/25/94 Commission and Warrant Book 1794-1796 Apr.
- ^ Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-295-5.
- ^ Royal Naval Biography op.cit.
- ^ https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=7652
- ^ Royal Naval Biography op.cit.
- ^ Royal Naval Biography op.cit.
- ^ Naval and Military Gazette, op.cit.
- ^ https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002194/18021215/017/0004