Henry Avery Captain Henry Avery was a naval officer in the 1690s who became a pirate . He left his wife and son , Toby , behind in England . His wife died in his absence . Captain Avery had much of the rest of his treasure hidden in the crypt of a church outside a small Cornish village , under the care of Joseph Longfoot . ( TV : " The Smugglers " ) In 1699 , Captain Avery was returning home with Mughal treasure . Midjourney , the " Fancy " encountered a Siren who began taking the crew away after marking them with a black spot . ( WC : " Prequel ( The Curse of the Black Spot ) " ) Unknown to him , his son had stowed away on the ship . His son had fallen ill with typhoid fever ( incurable in the 1690s ) and had been marked by the siren but not yet taken due to his hiding place onboard . The Eleventh Doctor came aboard the " Fancy " during this crisis and investigated the Siren . He identified Avery ' s treasure as allowing the Siren to attack and told Avery it must be thrown overboard . Avery did so , but kept one crown . It allowed the Siren to take his son . He realised how possessed he was by greed and was forced to reassess what he valued . When the Doctor realised that the Siren was in fact the automated doctor of an alien spacecraft , Avery let himself be taken to her hospital in order to care for his son and crew . The Doctor saw it was important to send the ship back into space , and Toby would soon die of his fever if he left the ship . Avery decided to stay with Toby . He , with his crew from " Fancy " and his son , flew the spaceship away from Earth towards the Dog Star . ( TV : " The Curse of the Black Spot " ) Some time later , the Doctor recruited Avery to help him with an attack on Demon ' s Run to rescue Amy Pond . Avery , Toby , and his crew boarded the ship of Madame Kovarian during the attack and subdued its crew , preventing her escape . ( TV : " A Good Man Goes to War " ) Captain Samuel Pike , who used to work for Avery , led a band of ex - " Fancy " crew in a search for Avery ' s treasure . They ran across the First Doctor . ( TV : " The Smugglers " ) Personality . Initially an honourable man , Henry Avery was corrupted by his greed for wealth and power . He became a pirate , abandoning his wife and son . His wife died while Henry was at sea and his son stowed away on his ship . Henry was furious with Toby for stowing away , saying that his mother would be worried . When Toby revealed that she was dead , Henry felt remorse and told his son that he was sorry . Despite his anger with Toby , Henry clearly cared for his son and decided to stay with him on board the Siren ' s host ship when he discovered that without the Siren , Toby would die . Henry was a superstitious man , initially believing that the Siren was a demon . He was suspicious of the Doctor and his companions when they first met and didn ' t like the Doctor acting as though he was in charge . He aimed his pistol at the Doctor and reminded him who was Captain several times , but in the end , he grew to trust and respect him . ( TV : " The Curse of the Black Spot " ) Henry was a loyal ally to the Time Lord and helped him rescue Amy Pond from Demon ' s Run . ( TV : " A Good Man Goes to War " ) He was also quite intelligent and a fast learner . When confronted with the technological devices on the Doctor ' s console , he easily figured out their functions by comparing them to objects he used himself on the " Fancy " . ( TV : " The Curse of the Black Spot " )