Richard Harliston Vice Admiral Richard Harliston , born circa 1425 in Humberston e , Lincolnshire , and brought up in the household of Richard , Duke of York . On the accession of Edward IV , Richard Harliston became a yeoman of the king ' s chamber and was made Vice - Admiral , in which latter capacity he came to Guernsey . The recapture of Jersey . Three years previously the castle of Mont Orgueil in Jersey had been captured by a French noble , Pierre de Brézé , Compte de Maulevrier , who had since held the eastern - half of that island against Philip de Carteret , Seigneur of St Ouen . In 1468 Edward IV sent ( Sir ) Richard Harliston and his fleet to Guernsey , as part of a plan to invade France and recover Normandy . In Guernsey , Sir Richard learnt that this was a propitious moment to retake Jersey . He accordingly went quietly over to Jersey , secretly interviewed Philippe de Carteret , and immediate action was decided on before the French could get wind of what was to take place . A body of Yorkist troops came ashore at Plémont , Jersey . A joint English and Jersey force then marched through the night to Mont Orgueil and began a siege of the castle . This lasted 19 weeks , but finally the garrison , which could not be supplied from the sea because of the presence of Sir Richard ’ s ships , surrendered and returned the fortress and the Island to English hands . Upon liberation , the people of Jersey chose ( Sir ) Richard to be their Captain General , but he shortly went back to England . Captain in Chief of Jersey . A patent dated the 13 January 1473 , made him captain of the islands of Jersey , Guernsey , Sark and Alderney , he was first to bear this title of ' Captain in Chief ' . Harliston held this office until 1486 and became very popular . In this time he added a tower to the Castle of Mont Orgueil which became the ' Harliston Tower ' . It was said that at the time of the fall of Richard III , Harliston had thought to make himself " Lord of the Islands " under the protection of the French and the Duchess , Margaret de Burgundy , but had been prevented by the diligence of the inhabitants , not those who had wanted him for their Captain General , mostly the supporters of Henry Tudor . By the irony of fate , Harliston was himself besieged in the Castle because , faithful to the House of York , he refused to hand over the keys to the emissary of Henry VII . He was forced to capitulate after a siege of six months and retired to Flanders . Later career . He was one of those attainted for joining John de la Pole , 1st Earl of Lincoln in Simnel ' s rebellion , ( Roll of Parliament vi 397 - 8 ) . On the 4 September 1486 a General Pardon was granted him . [ " In the pardon he was described as late of Jersey , esquire , ( Materials illustrative of the Reign of Henry V11 , ii . 30 , rolls ser ) " ] . Richard took refuge with Margaret of Burgundy and in 1495 was one of Perkin Warbeck ' s supporters who were attainted for landing at Deal in Kent , ( " Rolls of Parl vi , 504 . " late of London Knight " . This is the ONLY contemporary mention giving him the Title of " Knight " " ) . He remained in Margaret ' s service till his death , whereupon she paid for his honourable burial . A probable place of burial was Mechelen in Flanders where Margaret had her court . During the reign of Edward IV , Harliston is mentioned as being excepted from several acts of resumption , and is spoken of as the Yeoman of Our Chamber or Yeoman of Our Corone ( " ib , v 537 . vi84 , 87 " ) . Descendants . His daughter Margaret , married Phillip de Carteret ( d . 1500 ) grandson of his old ally , and by him had some 21 children . Knighthood . There is no record of Richard Harliston being knighted , by either Edward IV . Richard III , ( late - Duke of York ) , by the Duchess Margaret , while in exile in Flanders , or by any other European Sovereign . Wm . Shaw ' s " Knights of England " is an irrefutable reference source ; - and Richard Harliston is not listed therein . Since Shaw ' s listings even mention foreign knighthoods bestowed upon English citizens with the Sovereign ' s consent [ i . e . Davy Phillipe is mentioned as being dubbed a Knight of the Sicilian " Order of The Sword " by Henry VII in 1504 ] ; - one could not - unreasonably assume that Shaw ' s listing is complete . Furthermore , " Materials for a History of the Reign of Henry VII from Original Documents preserved in the Public Record Office " . , several times shows transcripts of Crown documents mentioning Harliston , but never once according to him the dignity of Knighthood . It is therefore not unreasonable to conclude from these 2 sources - deriving as they do from irrefutable contemporary manuscripts in the National Archives , - that Richard Harliston was never raised to any Order of Knighthood by any Sovereign Ruler . One can only speculate where the Victorian historian Tupper went astray in his assumptions on this matter , later copied by Balleine in his " History of Jersey " , and continued by the modern Jersey Heritage Trust in their current information . "