Joseph Sydney Yorke Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke KCB ( 6 June 1768 – 5 May 1831 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy . He served during the American Revolutionary , the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars , eventually rising to the rank of Admiral . Family and early life . Yorke was born in Great Berkhampstead , Hertfordshire , on 6 June 1768 , the second son , by his second marriage , of the politician Charles Yorke . He joined the navy at the age of 11 , becoming a midshipman aboard , then under the command of Sir Charles Douglas , on 15 February 1780 . He followed Douglas to his next command , , which flew the flag of Admiral George Rodney . Yorke was then present at Rodney ' s victory over François Joseph Paul de Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes from 9 April to 12 April 1782 . The end of the American Revolutionary War led to the " Formidable " returning to Britain to be paid off . Yorke remained in employment however , transferring with Douglas to , and then moving to , under the command of Sir Erasmus Gower , filling the post of master ' s mate . Yorke spent three years in total serving on the Newfoundland Station . Promotions . Yorke was promoted to lieutenant on 16 June 1789 , and moved aboard the 50 - gun to serve under Admiral Sir Richard Hughes . He later served as lieutenant aboard and and in February 1791 he was appointed master and commander of the sloop . He remained aboard her , carrying out cruises into the English Channel until the outbreak of war with France in 1793 . He was promoted to Post - Captain on 4 February 1793 and given command of the frigate , then part of a squadron under Admiral Richard Howe . He patrolled off the French port of Brest , and captured the corvette " L ' Espiegle " . Yorke moved to in August 1794 , and continued to serve in the Channel , occasionally ranging into the North Sea . On 22 August the " Stag " and a small British squadron chased two large ships and a cutter , eventually bringing the sternmost one to battle . An hour long fight ensued , after which the enemy , subsequently found to be the Batavian frigate " Alliance " , was forced to surrender . Yorke moved to command the newly built in March 1800 , and by 1801 was in command of the 74 - gun third rate . He commanded her until the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 brought a period of temporary peace . On the resumption of the war in 1803 Yorke was appointed to the 98 - gun , followed by and then , an 80 - gun former Danish ship captured at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807 . Knighthood and flag rank . Yorke was knighted during this period of service , on 21 April 1805 , by King George III . On 23 April , Yorke was present at the installation of the Knights of the Garter , standing in for his brother , Philip Yorke , Earl of Hardwicke . Philip was at this time Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , and so was unable to be present in person . In 1810 Joseph Yorke ' s brother , Charles Philip Yorke became First Lord of the Admiralty and Joseph was transferred from command of the " Christian VII " to take up a seat on the Admiralty board . Joseph Yorke was promoted to Rear - Admiral of the Blue on 31 July 1810 and hoisted his flag in the 74 - gun in January 1811 . He sailed to the Tagus carrying reinforcements for Arthur Wellesley ' s army , fighting in the Peninsular War . After carrying this out he escorted a fleet returning to Britain from the East Indies . Yorke was promoted to Rear - Admiral of the White on 12 August 1812 , Rear - Admiral of the Red on 4 December 1813 , Vice - Admiral of the Blue on 14 June 1814 , and served on the Admiralty board until resigning in April 1818 . He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( KCB ) in the restructuring of that order in January 1815 , promoted Vice - Admiral of the White on 12 August 1819 , and promoted to Admiral of the Blue on 22 July 1830 . Parliamentary career . Yorke stood as a candidate for the constituency of Reigate in 1790 , and was returned as its member . He represented the borough until 1806 , when he was elected as member for St Germans . He stood aside , " taking the Chiltern Hundreds " in 1810 so that his brother , Charles Philip Yorke , could be elected . In the 1812 general election Joseph Yorke stood as a candidate for Sandwich and was returned as its member . He represented the borough until 1818 when he was re - elected to the Reigate constituency , which he represented until his death . Yorke ' s business interests include the chairmanship of the Waterloo Bridge Company . Family and personal life . On 29 March 1798 , Yorke married Elizabeth Weake Rattray , the daughter of James Rattray , in Ireland . The couple had a number of children before Elizabeth ' s death on 20 January 1812 . His eldest son , Charles Yorke also served in the navy , rising to the rank of Admiral , and on the death without heir of Joseph Yorke ' s brother Philip , the 3rd Earl of Hardwicke in 1834 , Charles became the 4th Earl . On 22 May 1813 , Joseph married a second time , to Urania Anne , the Dowager Marchioness of Clanricarde , and daughter of George Paulet , 12th Marquess of Winchester , at St . Martin in the Fields , Westminster , London . The marriage did not produce any children . Death . On 5 May 1831 Yorke was returning from visiting Henry Hotham ' s flagship , , then moored at Spithead . He was making his way back to shore aboard the yacht " Catherine " , in company with Captains Matthew Barton Bradby and Thomas Young , and a seaman named John Chandler , when the boat was struck by lightning in Stokes Bay , causing it to capsize . All aboard were drowned . The bodies were later recovered and an inquest returned a verdict of accidental death . Yorke was buried at the family tomb in the parish church at Wimpole , close to Wimpole Hall , the seat of the Earls of Hardwicke .