Robert Otway Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway , 1st Baronet , GCB was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who served extensively as a sea captain during the Napoleonic War and later supported the Brazilian cause during the Brazilian War of Independence . During his long service , Otway saw action across Europe and in North America and was rewarded in his retirement with a knighthood , baronetcy and position as a courtier within the Royal Household . Early career . Otway was born in the family home of Castle Otway ( now ruined ) in Tipperary , Ireland , one of the very large family of Cooke and Elizabeth Otway . One of his younger brothers was Loftus Otway , later a significant army officer of the Peninsular War . Otway however , chose a navy career over his father ' s objections and became a midshipman in 1784 on the guardship HMS " Elizabeth " . Between 1785 and 1793 , Otway experienced many transfers between ships , mainly operating on frigates in the Mediterranean , West Indies and along the West African Coast . During this time he served on board HMS " Phaeton " , HMS " Trusty " and HMS " Blonde " , making lieutenant in the sloop HMS " Falcon " . French Revolutionary Wars . The eruption of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 brought Otway back to Europe as lieutenant on the second - rate ship of the line HMS " Impregnable " with the Channel Fleet . " Impregnable " was flagship of Rear - Admiral Benjamin Caldwell , who was later to prove an important influence on Otway ' s career . Within a year of joining the large ship , Otway saw his first action in the massive fleet engagement of the Glorious First of June . Otway distinguished himself in the action by going aloft despite the heavy fire of the French fleet to repair the damaged fore topsail yard and thus allow " Impregnable " to engage the enemy closer . In the aftermath of the action , Caldwell publicly thanked Otway for his services and appointed him first lieutenant on Caldwell ' s new flagship , HMS " Majestic " . With " Majestic " in the West Indies as personal favourite of the commander - in - chief , Otway was soon promoted again , becoming commander in early 1795 in command of the brig HMS " Thorn " . Between 1795 and 1800 as commander of " Thorn " and subsequently the frigates , and , Otway became one of the most proficient and prolific commerce raiders in the Royal Navy , reputedly capturing or destroying over 200 French and Spanish vessels , making a fortune in prize money in the process . His exploits during this period included destroying , on two separate occasions , the sloops " La Belle Créole " and " Courier National " which were on passage to Guadeloupe with orders to massacre the French Royalist population there . He later supported insurgencies in French held Grenada and St . Vincent and also raided La Guayra in Venezuela in an unsuccessful effort to capture the , whose crew had mutinied , murdered their captain , Hugh Pigot , and turned her over to the Spanish . Admiral Thomas Ussher , who served under Otway during this period , later reported " that no captain was more attentive to the comfort of his officers and men and that there was so much method in his manner of carrying on the service that , though in a constant state of activity , they had as much leisure as any other ship ' s company . " He also commented that Otway insisted on inspecting every gun aboard after every action and led every coastal raid despite never mentioning this in his dispatches . In 1800 , Otway returned to Europe and was made flag captain to Sir Hyde Parker in HMS " Royal George " and then HMS " London " . Otway was still at this post when Parker lead a fleet to the Baltic Sea to engage the League of Armed Neutrality which threatened Britain ' s trade routes in the region and he was an important contributor to the tactical planning of the Battle of Copenhagen . At Copenhagen , Otway ' s suggestion that Nelson lead the inshore squadron through the Sound yielded immediate results but when Admiral Parker lost his nerve and ordered Nelson to withdraw , the battle seemed in vain . Otway successfully mediated , mitigating the terms of Parker ' s signal and then taking a boat to Nelson on the HMS " Elephant " and supporting Nelson ' s famous " failure " to see the signal . Napoleonic Wars . In the aftermath of the victory and the ensuing Peace of Amiens , Otway spent a period ashore in ill - health . During this time he married Clementina Holloway , daughter of Admiral John Holloway , with whom he would have twelve children . By 1804 he was sufficiently recovered to take command of HMS " Montagu " off Brest under Admiral William Cornwallis and whilst on this duty he participated in a brief artillery duel with the French ship " Alexandre " during the French attempt to break the blockade in August 1805 . The following year he participated in Sir Richard Strachan ' s operations in the Atlantic to intercept a French squadron eventually apprehended by another British squadron in the West Indies . In 1807 , Otway sailed to Calabria to provide material and military aid to partisans and did the same in 1808 in Catalonia at the outbreak of the Peninsular War . Taking over HMS " Malta " in 1809 , Otway sailed for England before returning to the Mediterranean in the new HMS " Ajax " . He later commanded HMS " Cumberland " in the blockade off Toulon but suffered a recurring bout of ill - health in 1811 which necessitated a period in England recovering . He returned to service in 1813 and commanded at Leith , before returning to " Ajax " , which he sailed to the Bay of Biscay . The same year he used " Ajax ' s " guns to bombard the breaches of the Spanish fortress town of San Sebastian during the British siege . In 1814 , Otway convoyed merchant ships to Quebec and whilst in Canada was dispatched as a rear - admiral on a special commission to prepare the small ships squadron on Lake Champlain . The commission failed and the squadron was totally defeated at the Battle of Lake Champlain in September although Otway was not present . Brazil and retirement . In 1818 , three years after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars , Otway was made commander - in - chief of naval forces at Leith , a commission he performed so well in that in 1826 he was knighted into the Order of the Bath and sent as commander - in - chief to the South American station . There Otway sympathised with the Brazilian cause during the Brazilian War of Independence and supported the Brazilian forces diplomatically , being presented with the Order of the Southern Cross after Brazil had achieved independence . In 1829 he returned to Britain and enjoyed a quiet retirement as courtier , holding the office of Groom of the Bedchamber to King William IV and Queen Victoria . He was also promoted to full admiral and in 1831 made Baronet of Brighton for his services . His last appointment was as Commander - in - Chief , The Nore in 1837 . He died suddenly in 1846 , survived by his wife and eight of their twelve children . His two eldest sons had died in service with the Navy and so the baronetcy passed to his third son George Otway and then fourth son Arthur Otway in turn .