Thomas Durell

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Thomas Durell
Captain Thomas Durell (1685-1741).png
Born1685 (1685)
St Helier, Jersey
Died1741 (aged 55–56)
AllegianceGreat Britain
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1697-1741
RankCaptain
Commands heldHMS Speedwell(1716)
HMS Seahorse (1712)
HMS Kent (1679)
HMS Exeter (1697)
HMS Scarborough (1711)
HMS Strafford (1735)
HMS Sunderland (1724)
HMS Elizabeth (1706)
Battles/warsWar of the Spanish Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
Relations

Captain Thomas Durell (1685-1741) was a British naval officer most famous for his role in the capture of the Spanish ship Princesa.[1][2]

Early life[]

Thomas Durell was born in 1685 to John Durell, who was the Lieutenant-Ballif of Jersey and Ann Dumaresq, who was the daughter of Elias Dumaresq, 3rd Seigneur of Augrès.[3]

Early career[]

Durell joined the Royal Navy in 1697 and would be promoted to Lieutenant in 1705 after passing the lieutenant's examination.[4] He was promoted Commander in 1716 and was later given command of the 42 gun HMS Speedwell. He was promoted Captain in 1720.[4]

Nova Scotia[]

After the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which ended the Spanish War of Succession, the British gained control of part of the Acadian lands in modern-day Nova Scotia.

Durell who was in command of the Seahorse (1712) under the orders of General Richard Philipps, who was the Governor of Nova Scotia, surveyed the coasts and harbours of the newly acquired colony. This service was vital to the British governors and Durell's survey's were later used to create maps of Nova Scotia and greater area.[5][6]

For his service there is an Island named in his honour near Canso, Nova Scotia named Durell's Island.[5][7]

Capture of the Princesa[]

During the War of Austrian Succession, Durell took part in the Action of 8 April 1740 In which Captain Thomas Durell who commanded the Kent, along with Captain who commanded the Lenox and Captain Lord Augustus Fitzroy who commanded the Orford. Together all three ships fought at close range with the Spanish man of war Princesa, which would be captured and become HMS Princess.[8]

During the battle Thomas Durell injured his hand.

Combate del navío 'Princesa' contra tres británicos (19 de abril de 1740) 4025

References[]

  1. ^ "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  2. ^ Charnock, John (1796). Biographia navalis; or, Impartial memoirs of the lives ... of officers of the navy of Great Britain from ... 1660.
  3. ^ Payne, James Bertrand (1859–1865). Armorial of Jersey : being an account, heraldic and antiquarian, of its chief native families, with pedigrees, biographical notices, and illustrative data; to which are added a brief history of heraldry, and remarks on the mediaeval antiquities of the island. University of California Libraries. [Jersey].
  4. ^ a b "Thomas Durell (d.1741)". threedecks.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b Fergussn, C. Bruce. "Durells in Eighteenth-Century Canadian History" (PDF). The Dalhousie Review. 35: 16–30.
  6. ^ Lockett, Jerry (7 November 2010). Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada: The Adventurer and Map Maker's Formative Years. Formac Publishing Company Limited. ISBN 978-0-88780-944-6.
  7. ^ "Durells Island (Nova Scotia)". roadsidethoughts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Capture of the Princesa, 8th April 1740". threedecks.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
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