Thomas Smith ( Royal Navy officer ) Thomas Smith ( 1707 ? - 1762 ) was a British admiral and colonial governor , credited with the invention of the divisional system that remains in use on ships of the Royal Navy . Early life . Born in England around 1707 , Smith was the illegitimate son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton and a woman of whom details are unknown . He was raised a member of the Lyttelton family , who provided for Smith ' s education and aided him in the beginnings of his career in the Royal Navy . Early naval career . The precise date as to when Smith entered the Royal Navy is unknown , but his first notable appointment in the Service was to the position of junior lieutenant aboard the " Royal Oak " on 6 February 1728 , at the appointment of his commanding officer Sir Charles Wager . In June of the same year he was moved to the 44 - gun " Gosport " under the command of Captain Duncombe Drake . While a lieutenant aboard the " Gosport " , Smith attracted great controversy in an incident involving a French corvette in late November , 1728 . At the time of the incident the " Gosport " was harboured in Plymouth Sound and Smith was acting - commanding officer due to all of his superiors being ashore . While in command , a French corvette that had entered the Sound for shelter passed the " Gosport " while departing , and Smith signalled for the French captain ‘ to haul in his pennant in respect to the king of Great Britain ' s colours ’ . Having already saluted the Royal Citadel of Plymouth , the French captain took this as an affront and the French authorities , upon receiving his report , presented an official letter of complaint to the British government . Smith was thus court - martialed and summarily dismissed from the Navy by king ' s order on 27 March 1729 . However , due to popular outcry at his dismissal , he was reinstated at the same rank and made second lieutenant of the " Enterprise " on 12 May of the same year , receiving the nickname ' Tom o ' Ten Thousand ' from his fellow seamen . On 5 May 1730 , Smith was promoted to the rank of captain and given the command of the 24 - gun " Success " . Two years after this Smith was given command of the " Dursley Galley " , a 20 - gun fast frigate stationed in the Mediterranean , mainly tasked with patrolling against Barbary Pirates . Remaining mainly in the Mediterranean , Smith remained in this position for a decade . Tenures as Governor of Newfoundland . In 1740 Smith transferred to the 50 - gun " Romney " , on board which he sailed back to Great Britain . Smith then departed aboard the " Romney " with the fishing fleet to Newfoundland , where he was to become governor . He only held this position for one year , resigning in April 1742 , but was appointed again as governor and commander - in - chief in 1743 after a brief return to the Mediterranean . Late naval career and the creation of the divisional system . Smith left the post of governor for good and was placed in command of the 100 - gun " Royal Sovereign " in September 1745 . Around this time Smith spent a lot of time organising anti - invasion defences off the coast of Suffolk and Essex aboard the 40 - gun " Hastings " . In February 1746 he replaced John Byng as commander - in - chief on the Scottish coast , a position he stayed in until January 1747 . Smith was promoted to Vice - Admiral in 1748 , and in August 1755 he was made commander - in - chief of the Downs Squadron . Soon after taking command of the Downs Squadron in 1755 , Smith began to draft a scheme to combat the problems regarding relations between the officers and the men in the Royal Navy . Under this system the lieutenants on board a ship would be placed in charge of a division of the ship ' s company , and would be responsible for the health , welfare and efficiency of the men under their jurisdiction . This system became known as the divisional system . While originally confined to Smith ' s Downs Squadron , it soon spread to other ships in the Service and was widely , though not universally , admired by the end of the Seven Years ' War . By 1765 the system appears to have been the structure of choice for ships in the Royal Navy . A very efficient arrangement , Smith ' s divisional system resulted in increased efficiency and closer control , as well as improved communications between the officers and men on board . In December 1756 he was ordered back from the Downs to preside over the trial of Admiral John Byng , at which Smith apparently did his utmost ( albeit unsuccessfully ) to see that the court ' s recommendation of leniency was followed . Smith then returned to the Downs Squadron on 24 February 1757 after promotion to the rank of Admiral of the Blue , but ill health forced Smith to declare his retirement the following year . Death . Thomas Smith died at his Rockingham Hall residence on 28 August 1762 .