page_title: Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer
section_title: Early career
hierarchical_section_title: Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer / Early career
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Peinture représentant le vaisseau britannique HMS Royal Katherine, lancé en 1664.
context_page_description: Admiral of the Fleet Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer, of Covent Garden, Westminster, and Westcliffe, near Dover, was an Anglo-Irish Royal Navy officer and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1720.
  Aylmer was one of the captains who sent a letter to Prince William of Orange, who had just landed at Torbay, assuring the Prince of the captains' support; the Prince's response ultimately led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince and the Glorious Revolution of November 1688.
  Aylmer saw action at the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689, at the Battle of Beachy Head in July 1690 and again at the Battle of Barfleur in May 1692 during the Nine Years' War.
  Aylmer became Commander-in-Chief of the Navy on 12 November 1709. However, when Aylmer met a French squadron and convoy, he was only able to capture one merchantman and the 56-gun Superbe: the new Harley Ministry used this failure as an excuse to remove him as Commander-in-Chief and did so a few months later. Following the accession of George I and the appointment of the Townshend Ministry, Aylmer was reappointed Commander-in-Chief on 5 November 1714.
context_section_description: Aylmer was the second son of Sir Christopher Aylmer of Balrath, county Meath, and Margaret Aylmer (née Plunkett), daughter of Matthew Plunkett, 5th Baron Louth. He served briefly in the Army as Ensign of foot in the Duke of Buckingham’s regiment from 1672 and then joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in the galley HMS Charles in October 1677 before being promoted to lieutenant in April 1678.  Promoted to commander on 19 January 1679, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Chatham and then transferred to the command of the prize ship HMS Date Tree in Summer 1679. He transferred again to the command of the fire ship HMS Castle in the Mediterranean Fleet later in the year, to the command of the fifth-rate HMS Swann on the Coast of Ireland in July 1680 and to the command of the fourth-rate HMS Tiger in the Mediterranean Fleet in January 1682, before becoming commanding officer of the galley HMS Charles in September 1685. Aylmer was a young officer of the “courtier type” who benefited from the patronage of the Duke of Buckingham.
  Promoted to captain on 1 October 1688, Aylmer was given command of the fourth-rate HMS Swallow in the Thames; he was one of the captains who sent a letter to Prince William of Orange, who had just landed at Torbay, assuring the Prince of the captains' support. Indeed, he was perhaps the chief of the cabal. Aylmer followed up the letter with a visit to the Prince's headquarters and arranged that Lieutenant George Byng and Captain Anthony Hastings should accompany him during the visit. The Prince's warm response to the captains ultimately led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince and the Glorious Revolution of November 1688.
  Aylmer transferred to the command of the third-rate HMS Mary in December 1688 and was present at the French victory at the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689 at an early stage of the Nine Years' War. His brother George Aylmer was killed during the battle.
  Aylmer transferred again, this time to the command of the second-rate HMS Royal Katherine in Spring 1690 and was present at the French victory at Battle of Beachy Head in July 1690. He transferred to the command of the third-rate HMS Monck in the North Sea in Summer 1691 and then took command of the first-rate HMS London in Spring 1692. As Second Captain to Admiral Edward Russell, he saw action again at the tactically indecisive Battle of Barfleur in May 1692. As a captain, Aylmer was quite deferential to his Spanish partners during the War. Samuel Pepys believed that Aylmer should have been hanged for his habit of dipping his colours to Spanish Admirals.
caption: The second-rate HMS Royal Katherine, which Aylmer commanded at the Battle of Beachy Head
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