Sir Thomas Allin , 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Allin , 1st Baronet ( 1612 – 1685 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service in the English Civil War , and the Second and Third Anglo - Dutch War s . A Royalist during the Civil War , he returned to service after the Restoration and eventually rose to the rank of Admiral after serving under some of the most distinguished military figures of the era , including Prince Rupert of the Rhine . Family and early life . Thomas Allin was born in 1612 , the son of Robert Allin . He lived in Lowestoft for the first part of his life , where he was a merchant and shipowner . On the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642 , Allin sided with the Royalists , in common with most of the town . He played a significant part in the subsequent privateer ing operations against Lowestoft ' s Parliamentarian rivals at Great Yarmouth , and eventually transferred his operations to the Netherlands for greater security . He remained in the service of Prince Rupert of the Rhine in the exiled royalist fleet after the Civil War , as evidenced by the issuing of " Prince Rupert ' s Further Instructions for Captain Thomas Allen " . He commanded the Royalists ' " Charles " in 1648 until her capture in 1649 , and subsequently commanded the " Convertine " in 1650 . Allin was rewarded for his loyalty to the monarchy after the English Restoration by being given command of on 24 June 1660 . He went on to command and during 1661 , during 1662 and during 1663 . During 1663 he was made commander in chief in the Downs with the rank of commodore , flying his pennant aboard from 15 April 1664 . Command . In 1664 Allin was nominated to succeed Sir John Lawson as commander in the Mediterranean , and sailed to take up his command aboard the " Plymouth " from 26 June , and in company with . He operated out of Tangiers initially , and while operating in the Straits of Gibraltar he and his fleet intercepted and engaged the Dutch Smyrna fleet on 9 December , capturing and sinking several of the Dutch ships . Allin returned to England in the spring of 1665 , and took part in the Battle of Lowestoft on 13 June 1665 . For his achievements he was awarded a knighthood on 24 June and was appointed an Admiral of the Blue squadron under the Earl of Sandwich . He flew his flag in from 19 July 1665 and became an Admiral of the White on 16 March 1666 . Prince Rupert then came aboard , with orders to take the squadron into the English Channel to intercept a French fleet believed to sailing up the Channel to join with the Dutch . Rupert retained Allin as his first captain for this assignment , but the intelligence was proved to be false , and no French fleet was found . By now though the rest of the English fleet under the Duke of Albemarle had sailed out to engage a Dutch fleet under Michiel de Ruyter , and the Four Days Battle had broken out . Rupert and Allin hurried back and met up with the harried and outnumbered English fleet on the third day , managing to hold the Dutch off long enough to allow a successful disengagement and then covering the retreat . The next engagement with the Dutch fleet took place on 4 August 1666 , at the St . James ' s Day Battle . Allin was in command of the van squadron , and led the attack , engaging the Dutch van throughout the day , and chasing them from the battle scene the following day , greatly contributing to the English victory . Allin was then placed in command of a squadron off Dungeness , and on 17 September he captured the French ship " Rubis " , which was taken into service as . Allin ' s next command was to take over the Mediterranean forces in 1668 , after the end of the Second Anglo - Dutch War , and to operate against the Barbary corsairs . A treaty was duly signed with the Algerians , but by 1669 Allin was employed again in chastising the pirates for breaches of the treaty , during which time he captured and destroyed a large number of pirate vessels . He returned to England after this and on 15 April 1671 he became Comptroller of the Navy , a post he held throughout the Third Anglo - Dutch War and continued to hold until 28 January 1680 . On 7 February 1673 Allin was created a baronet for his services . He briefly returned to active service in 1678 when the threat of war with France emerged , and Allin became commander in chief of the fleet in the Narrow Seas , with as his flagship . He resigned the command once the threat of war had passed . Later life . Allin retired from active service in 1678 , settling at his country seat at Somerleyton Hall , Somerleyton . He also served as Captain of Sandgate Castle , and a Master of Trinity House . He died in 1685 , and was buried in the parish church at Somerleyton on 5 October 1685 . He had been twice married , his first marriage producing his son and heir Thomas Allin , and two daughters , and his second marriage produced another daughter .