Sydney Smirke

Predecessor
 In Office
 Born
 Died
 Spouse

Admiral **Sydney Smirke**, OBH (December 8, 1707 - May 21, 1807) was a Gothic Admiral of the Imperial Navy and First Commander famous for his aggressiveness, brilliant strategies, and inspiring speeches who led a number of victories for the Gothic Empire in the War of Palepella.

Smirke was born in Roseway into moderate wealth. His father, George was a naval commander in the Imperial Navy who operated mainly in Kapil, which Smirke was greatly interested in. In 1720, after he turned 13, his father took him under his wing as a midshipman on the battleship, HMS Pilchard, and in 1726 when he turned 19, Smirke officially joined the Imperial Navy as a Second Lieutenant and was dispatched to Kapil where he became renowned for his leadership in the battles against the Kudans, becoming Captain of the HMS Caledon in 1729. After his father died in 1734, Smirke returned to Roseway where he would get married, however, his wife and unnamed son both died in childbirth, plunging him into a deep depression until 1741, when he fought in the Second War of Caladea and was promoted to Rear-Admiral.

After the war in 1743, Smirke began his political career in Roseway, where he was given a seat in the Imperial Court, but it wouldn't be long before his country was at war again, this time it was the War of Palpella in 1749. Following the death of First Commander Theodore Robertson in March of 1751, Smirke, who had won numerous victories in the Palpellius Delta thus far, was chosen by Emperor Rackhir II to succeed him. In 1754, Smirke won a decisive victory against the Palpellan Navy at the Battle of Fabe, which arguably ended the war.

In 1756, Smirke was dispatched to Lamaleche to negotiate with soldiers who had taken the HMS Ravilla and 34 people hostage. In a misunderstanding, Smirke ordered the ship to be fired upon, which consequentially led to it exploding, which killed most of the hostages and destroyed the Ravilla. Through the persuasion of his rival, Prince Edward Arthur Jones, Smirke was imprisoned by Rackhir II upon his return to Roseway in 1757. Eight years later, he escaped to an island in Gothic Kapil, the Somerdeen, and using his military status and oratorical skills, he convinced the populace to back him in a rebellion against the Gothic Empire by giving him ships and manpower. Using the HMS Julia, Smirke won multiple victories over the Imperial Navy, but in 1769, he was defeated at the Second Battle of The Somerdeen and sent to starve to death on the Corovern Isle, but he lived off of the nature until he was discovered by Matian ships in 1781, and lived in San Matias until 1795. When Charles III sent him back to Roseway, he was granted clemency by Empress Alice II and lived in a wealthy estate payed for by the Empress until his death in 1807.

## Early Life

Sydney Smirke was born on December 8, 1707. His parents George and Katherine (Kiki) had met in Kapil two years earlier and were returning to Roseway on the HMS Racer because of Kiki's pregnancy, but they couldn't quite make it back to Roseway in time. As such, Sydney was literally born in the waves he would someday command. He was the first child and only son of the couple; they would have two more; both girls. Sydney's education was provided by private tutors who mainly taught him the Ptolemian history, language, and math. When Smirke exhibited great obsession over the careers of admirals like Orson Sinnett, though, his father decided to make him his protégé.

Smirke's wish was to join the Imperial Navy, but his feebleness was a huge problem. Because of his father, though, who had earned a reputation as a great naval officer during the First War of Caladea in the 1710s, he was able to join. In the first three years of his naval career, Smirke was only aboard his father's battleship, the HMS Pilchard as a midshipman. He was a hard worker, but he was largely ignored by the other sailors, who were much older and did not want to befriend him, which made Smirke reclusive and a social outcast, which in turn led to his only friend being his father.

In March of 1723, Smirke was placed, by his father, aboard the merchant ship, Blackwood, which traded in the Canoranes. He would spend two more years in the Canoranes and gain valuable skills as a crewmember, but in 1725, he became deathly ill from malaria and had to return to Roseway. In February of 1727, after recovering from the illness, Smirke applied for Lieutenant in the Imperial Navy but had to lie about not being ill for two years so it would look like he had the six years of experience required to be a lieutenant. It worked and Smirke passed his lieutenant's exam. Just shortly after this, his father directly sent him back aboard the HMS Pilchard which was on an expedition to Kapil to fight in the Sixth Kudan War which began in 1726. Following the news of Governor Sinnett's death in 1717, the Kudans revolted and severely wounded Gothic control in the region, and the problem was only magnified by the Gothic Empire already being preoccupied in the First War of Caladea.

## Return to Roseway

When his father died in the Battle of Mangaldhar, Smirke returned to Roseway where he would have to console his mother and sisters. He received a pension of from the Imperial Navy for fallen family member of 50 quills ($3,733 in 2022), but he also inherited his father's wealth, about 4,150 quills ($310,000 in 2022) which he used to purchased a house in Coventry the same year. As he was on furlough, Smirke, in 1736, fell in love with Henriette Wilson, who was the daughter of William Wilson, a judge. The two married in 1737, but when Henriette gave birth to their first child on October 21, 1737, she died in labor and the baby was stillborn.

This put Smirke into a depression that he would never recover from, in which he lost his sailor-type physique and fell back into a weak physique. So, when the Second War of Caladea broke out in 1738, Smirke was not called into action, rather, on December 15, 1738, he was discharged from the Imperial Navy because of his weak figure, and he spent the next years of his life in isolation from the rest of society. Sometime in 1740, after reading *The Purple Struggle* by Cleophilus, a book about his war against Marius Seneca, Smirke began to build his body up again, and with the help of Admiral Caldwell, 33 year old Smirke was reinstated to Captain and began sailing the Caledon to the Argeos Sea on January 14, 1741, under Rear-Admiral John Emmitt.

## Second War of Caladea 1741-1743

### Battle of Actoria and Promotion to Rear-Admiral

On September 12, 1741, Smirke would board the HMS Tempest

## War of Palpella 1749-1754

### First Commandership

After a long period of illness, the first commander, Theodore Robertson, died on March 2nd, 1751. Ten days later, Emperor Rackhir II chose Smirke as Robertson's successor, probably because of his victory at Hete three months earlier, but he could've been on the waiting list for a long time already. The promotion didn't come as a delight to everyone, mainly William Turner and Admiral Jones, but Smirke's rebellion against authority seemingly amused Rackhir. Smirke wasn't made aware of his promotion until April of 1751, and when he found out, he sent a letter to the Emperor saying he would reject the position, because he never wanted to set foot in the Imperial Court ever again. The Emperor refused his rejection though, and instead offered a higher yearly salary of 5500 quills ($243,818 in 2022), 500 quills higher than the usual salary, which Smirke then rejected again until the Emperor offered him a yearly salary of 6000 quills ($266,000 in 2022), which Smirke then agreed to, making himself first commander.

## Return to Roseway

When he returned to Roseway in 1754, Smirke was a national celebrity

## Imprisonment and Escape 1757-1765

His rival, Edward Arthur Jones, took the opportunity to try and persuade the emperor, Rackhir II, who greatly admired Smirke, to imprison him non judicim opus for the explosion, knowing that a trial in front of a jury would certainly result in an exoneration due to Smirke's fame. It is not known what offer Jones made to the emperor, but it resulted in Smirke being arrested and sent to Bronzefield Prison, but Smirke received excellent treatment from the guards and wasn't even really treated like a prisoner. It also resulted in Jones being promoted to First Commander, taking the position away from Smirke. He also lost all of his naval titles and awards.

Smirke became skinny again, but this time he would never be able to build his body back up, leaving him frail for the rest of his life. He spent most of his days in prison either gambling or learning new skills such as carving wood and pottery. In 1759, Bronzefield got so overcrowded that Smirke was transported to Vauxcola where the native guards wouldn't treat him so nicely. Sometime while imprisoned there, he acquired a job in the kitchen of the prison. At the end of every week, he smuggled a pot of boiling water into his cell and poured it on the wooden wall, which softened it considerably. This allowed him to slowly carve out a hole in the wall which he could fit through. In November of 1765, he escaped into the night and disguised himself as an old trader. Probably on the same night, he went to a nearby port and convinced a local ship's crew leaving for the Somerdeen to deadhead him.