Charles Lydiard Charles Lydiard ( fl . 13 May 1780 – 29 December 1807 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Lydiard ' s origins are obscure , but he joined the navy in 1780 and rose through the ranks after distinguished service in the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars , particularly during the Siege of Toulon . He saw action in several engagements in the Mediterranean , and had a part in the defeat of a French frigate in 1795 . The chance for promotion passed him by however when the French ship escaped . He again demonstrated his qualities on a cutting - out expedition under the guns of a French shore battery , and this time was successful in escaping with his prize . He was promoted and appointed to the command of his prize , and went on to be captain of several small vessels before a period of unemployment caused by his promotion to post - captain . He returned to active service in 1805 with command of the razee , in which ship he distinguished himself in a number of incidents in the West Indies , capturing a Spanish frigate , attacking a French ship of the line , and helping to capture the island of Curaçao . He returned to Britain after these exploits , but his ship was caught in a gale , and despite his best efforts , was driven ashore and wrecked . Lydiard did his utmost to save as many of his men as he could , before being swept away and drowned . Early life . Lydiard ' s origins are largely unknown , but his entry to the navy is recorded as being on 13 May 1780 , when he joined the 100 - gun as a captain ' s servant . The " Britannia " was at this time the flagship of Vice - Admiral George Darby , commander of the Channel Fleet . Lydiard was appointed an able seaman on 25 July 1781 , and on 27 May 1782 was transferred to the 44 - gun , at first as an able seaman , but receiving a promotion to midshipman on 12 October that year . He went on to serve aboard the 74 - gun and , and passed his lieutenant ' s examination on 27 May 1791 . He was serving with Lord Hood ' s fleet during the occupation of Toulon in the early months of the French Revolutionary Wars . Lydiard distinguished himself with his actions during the hard - fought defence of Fort Mulgrave , and received his commission on 25 November 1793 . Lieutenancy . He then became first lieutenant of , one of the prizes from Toulon , under the command of Commander William Shield . Shield and Lydiard served along the French Mediterranean coast until October 1794 , and were engaged in cutting - out enemy ships from French harbours . " Sincere " was then paid off and Lydiard transferred to the 74 - gun , where he saw action at the Battle of Genoa on 14 March and the Battle of Hyères Islands on 13 July 1795 . His former commander , William Shield , had received command of the 32 - gun by July 1795 , and Lydiard transferred that month to serve as his first lieutenant . Lydiard remained with " Southampton " after Shield ' s replacement by Captain James Macnamara and in September 1795 they spent 15 days blockading a French grain convoy in the port of Genoa . " Southampton " and the French . The convoy was protected by two frigates , the " Vestale " and the " Brun " . The French finally came out on the evening of the fifteenth day , and were engaged by " Southampton " , despite the French possessing considerably more firepower . After a sustained engagement " Southampton " forced " Vestale " to strike her colours while the " Brun " escaped with the convoy , leaving " Vestale " to her fate . But as " Southampton " prepared to lower her boats to take possession of the French ship , her fore - mast , which had been damaged during the engagement , went by the board . Taking advantage of this , " Vestale " raised her colours and escaped from the scene . Victory over the " Vestale " should have brought promotions for " Southampton " s officers , including Lydiard , but her escape deprived them of this . Lydiard now had to secure another triumph to ensure his promotion . Capture of " Utile " . Lydiard ' s next opportunity to distinguish himself came in June 1796 . On 9 June a French corvette was sighted entering Hyères bay , and Vice - Admiral Sir John Jervis , commander of the Mediterranean Fleet , summoned Macnamara to his flagship , . He asked Macnamara to bring out the French ship if he could . Recognising the difficulty and risk that would be involved , he did not make it a formal written order , instead instructing Macnamara ' bring out the enemy ' s ship if you can ; I ' ll give you no written order ; but I direct you to take care of the king ' s ship under your command . ' Macnamara promptly took his ship in under the guns of the batteries , and apparently having been mistaken for a French or neutral frigate , closed to within pistol shot of the French ship , and demanded her captain surrender . The captain replied with a broadside , and Macnamara brought " Southampton " alongside and sent Lydiard over in command of the boarders . After subduing fierce resistance Lydiard took possession of the French ship and together he and Macnamara escaped out to sea under heavy fire from the French shore batteries . Macnamara wrote in a letter to Jervis The prize , a 24 - gun corvette named " Utile " , was taken into service with the Royal Navy as HMS " Utile " and Lydiard was promoted and given command of her , a commission confirmed on 22 July 1796 . Command . Lydiard spent some time in the Adriatic before returning to Britain in 1797 as a convoy escort , after which " Utile " was paid off . He was appointed to command the bomb vessel in May 1798 , followed by the sloop in November that year . He served aboard " Kite " in the North Sea until his promotion to post - captain on 1 January 1801 , at which point he was superseded in the command of the " Kite " . No further commands could be found for him , and the Peace of Amiens further lengthened his enforced retirement from active service . He went ashore during this time , and took the opportunity to marry . The couple had three sons together . " Anson " and " Pomona " . Lydiard finally returned to active service in December 1805 , with an appointment to command the 38 - gun . " Anson " had originally been a 64 - gun third rate , but had been razeed in 1794 . He sailed " Anson " to the West Indies in early 1806 and in August was sailing in company with Captain Charles Brisbane ' s when on 23 August they came across the 38 - gun Spanish frigate " Pomona " off Havana , guarded by a shore battery and twelve gunboat s . The " Pomona " was trying to enter the harbour , whereupon Lydiard and Brisbane bore up and engaged her . The gunboats came out to defend her , whereupon the two British frigates anchored between the shore battery and gunboats on one side , and the " Pomona " on the other . A hard fought action began , which lasted for 35 minutes until the " Pomona " struck her colours . Three of the gunboats were blown up , six were sunk , and the remaining three were badly damaged . The shore battery was obliged to stop firing after an explosion in one part of it . There were no casualties aboard " Anson " , but " Arethusa " lost two killed and 32 wounded , with Brisbane among the latter . The captured " Pomona " was subsequently taken into the Navy as . " Anson " and " Foudroyant " . Lydiard remained cruising off Havana , and on 15 September sighted the French 84 - gun " Foudroyant " . The " Foudroyant " , carrying the flag of Vice - Admiral Jean - Baptiste Willaumez , had been dismasted in a storm and was carrying a jury - rig . Despite the superiority of his opponent and the nearness of the shore Lydiard attempted to close on the French vessel and opened fire . " Anson " came under fire from the fortifications at Morro Castle , while several Spanish ships , including the 74 - gun " San Lorenzo " , came out of Havana to assist the French . After being unable to manoeuvre into a favourable position and coming under heavy fire , Lydiard hauled away and made his escape . " Anson " had two killed and 13 wounded during the engagement , while the rigging was badly cut . " Foudroyant " meanwhile had 27 killed or wounded . Capture of Curaçao . " Anson " was then assigned to Charles Brisbane ' s squadron and joined Brisbane ' s " Arethusa " and James Athol Wood ' s . The ships were despatched in November 1806 by Vice - Admiral James Richard Dacres to reconnoitre Curaçao . They were joined in December by and Brisbane decided to launch an attack on 1 January 1807 . The British ships approached early in the morning of 1 January and anchored in the harbour . They were attacked by the Dutch , at which Brisbane boarded and captured the 36 - gun frigate " Halstaar " , while Lydiard attacked and secured the 20 - gun corvette " Suriname " . Both Lydiard and Brisbane then led their forces on shore , and stormed Fort Amsterdam , which was defended by 270 Dutch troops . The fort was carried after ten minutes of fighting , after which two smaller forts , a citadel and the entire town were also taken . More troops were landed while the ships sailed round the harbour to attack Fort République . By 10 am the fort had surrendered , and by noon the entire island had capitulated . Lydiard was sent back to Britain carrying the despatches and captured colours . The dramatic success of the small British force carrying the heavily defended island was rewarded handsomely . Brisbane was knighted , and the captains received swords , medals and vases . Wreck of " Anson " . " Anson " was sent back to Britain shortly afterwards , and Lydiard rejoined his ship at Plymouth . After a period refitting " Anson " was assigned to the Channel Fleet and ordered to support the blockade of Brest by patrolling off Black Rocks . She sailed from Falmouth on 24 December , and reached Ile de Bas on 28 December . With a gale blowing up from the south west , Lydiard decided to return to port . He made for the Lizard , but in the poor weather , came up on the wrong side and became trapped on a lee shore , with breakers ahead . " Anson " rolled heavily in rough seas , having retained the spars from her days as a 64 - gun ship after she had been razeed . Lydiard ' s only option was to anchor , but early on the morning of 29 December the rising storm caused the anchor cables to part and she was driven onto the shore . Lydiard ordered the ship to be run onto a beach in the hope of saving as many lives as possible , and resolved to remain aboard to oversee the evacuation . The pounding surf prevented boats from being launched from the ship or the shore , and a number of the crew were swept away . Some managed to clamber along the fallen main - mast to the shore , while Lydiard clung to the wheel to encourage them on . Eyewitnesses recorded that Lydiard had exhausted himself with the effort of organising the evacuation and clinging to the wreck in the violence of the storm . He attempted to leave the ship , but became distracted by trying to help a boy . In doing so Lydiard was washed away and drowned . The " Naval Chronicle " s account of the wreck recorded that A total of sixty of " Anson " s crew were lost , including her captain and her first - lieutenant . Lydiard ' s body was recovered and a funeral service was held at Falmouth , attended by Admiral Sir Charles Cotton and large numbers of army and navy officers , as well as the local dignitaries . The body was later interred in the family vault at Haslemere , Surrey .