1 Jim Hawkins’s father was landlord of an inn on the coast road to Bristol in the 18th century. It was named after this admiral.
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2 Head of a British secret-service agency, he was known by just one initial. His agents came up against Spectre, an organisation that aimed to destroy democracy.
3 This proud admiral was “an office boy to an Attorney first. I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor, and I polished up the handle of the big front door”. Josephine refused to marry him, so he settled for his cousin Hebe.
4 An Admiral of the White, he had travelled the world with his wife, the only woman aboard his ship. Now they rented Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, from the spendthrift Sir Walter Elliot. Sir Walter’s daughter, Anne, had once broken off her engagement to the admiral’s brother-in-law, Frederick.
5 Unexpectedly inheriting wealth, the Chubb family, with 11 children, moved into Finch Hall. This admiral and his wife were their first callers. “He’s the most decent old beggar I ever saw,” said young Careless Charlie. “He tipped me half a sovereign for being an Eton boy and when I said I wasn’t, he tipped me another for truthfulness.”
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6 Tremendous in gold braid, he came down to the quay at Ardnacraish in 1943 to welcome Saltire, the first frigate to join his Clyde Escort Force battling U-boats in the Atlantic. His memory was prodigious. He recalled by name Ericson, his officers and ships on which they’d served. He told the coxswain, late of the Tangerine, that on his last visit he had no beard.
7 This taciturn strategist’s seafaring adventures took him worldwide. Starting as a midshipman, he raced up the naval ladder to become admiral during the Napoleonic wars. In the Caribbean, he dealt with duels, pirates and untrustworthy colonial sailors.
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8 “Effingham, Grenville, Raleigh, Drake, Here’s to the bold and free! Benbow, Collingwood, Byron, Blake, Hail to the Kings of the Sea! Admirals all, for England’s sake, Honour be yours and fame! And honour, as long as waves shall break...” to this admiral’s peerless name. BookwiseBarbara Hall