Robert Duff ( Royal Navy officer ) Robert Duff ( c . 1721 – 6 June 1787 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the War of the Austrian Succession , the Seven Years ' War and the American War of Independence . He rose to the rank of Admiral , and served briefly as colonial governor of Newfoundland . Family and early life . Duff was born c . 1721 , among the youngest of more than thirty children of Patrick Duff of Craigston , by Craigston ' s second wife . Little is known about his early life , but a story that does survive attests to his father ' s fecundity and possibly also to Robert ' s own spirited approach . Walking in his garden the father , Patrick Duff , came across a small boy and enquired ' And wha ' s laddie are you ? ' to which his son , the future Admiral Robert Duff , replied ' Dinna ye ken your ain son Robbie , ye auld fool ! ' . Robert joined the navy and was listed a lieutenant by 9 March 1739 . He was advanced to commander on 4 December 1744 , and by 1746 was in command of the bomb vessel , serving off the Scottish coast . Duff received the command of the 44 - gun on 23 October , and remained in her off the Irish and English coasts until the signing of the Treaty of Aix - la - Chapelle in 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession . Seven Years ' War . Duff ' s next ship was the 50 - gun , which he joined in 1755 . He spent several years cruising , either independently or as part of the main fleet , and in 1758 was part of Commodore Richard Howe ' s squadron defending the expeditions against St Malo , Cherbourg and St Cas . He became senior officer of a small squadron stationed off Brittany in 1759 , watching the French fleet in Morbihan , while a fleet under Edward Hawke blockaded Brest , France . While at anchor in Quiberon Bay on 20 November , his scouts reported a large French fleet to the south of Belle Île . Duff hurried his squadron , consisting of four 50 - gun ships and four frigates , out to sea while the French chased them . Before they could be caught , the main fleet under Hawke came up and overran the French , defeating them in the decisive Battle of Quiberon Bay . Duff was then appointed to the 80 - gun and went out with her to the West Indies with Rear - Admiral George Brydges Rodney ' s fleet . Duff saw action at the capture of Martinique during January and February 1762 , but owing to his seniority , he refused to serve as Rodney ' s flag - captain , and was sent home . In 1764 he married Helen Duff , the daughter of his cousin , the first Earl of Fife . Duff was promoted to rear - admiral of the blue on 31 March 1775 , and in April was sent out as commander - in - chief at Newfoundland . His posting was brief , in 1776 he became rear - admiral of the white and in September 1777 he was appointed to the command of the Mediterranean , with the 60 - gun as his flagship . American War of Independence . By now a rear - admiral of the red , he supported the British forces defending Gibraltar from Don Antonio Barcelo ' s fleet when the siege there broke out in 1779 , but had limited forces at his disposal and he was recalled early in 1780 . He had been promoted to vice - admiral of the blue on 29 January 1778 , and was advanced to vice - admiral of the white later that year , but held no further command after his return to England in 1780 . Later years and death . His portrait was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds for Greenwich Hospital . Increasingly ill with gout during his later years , he died at Queensferry on 6 June 1787 , his death being attributed to an attack of gout in the stomach . He had a number of children by his marriage to Helen Duff : Another of Robert Duff ' s relations , his grandnephew George Duff , achieved distinction in the navy . He was part of Horatio Nelson ' s fleet , and was assigned to command the inshore squadron watching the enemy in Cadiz prior to the Battle of Trafalgar . He commanded the 74 - gun during the battle , and was killed during the fighting .