"Royal Navy Officer" Philip Charles Durham Clipped Signature For Sale

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"Royal Navy Officer" Philip Charles Durham Clipped Signature:
$499.99

Up for sale a RARE! "Royal Navy Officer" Philip Charles Durham Clipped Signature. 

ES-3818D

Admiral Sir Philip

Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham, GCB (baptised 29 July 1763 – 2 April 1845) was a Royal Navy officer whose service in the American War of

Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars was lengthy, distinguished and at times

controversial. Destined to be one of the luckiest men in the Georgian Navy,

Philip Charles Durham was born in Largo, Fife in 1763, the fourth child and third son of

James Durham  His maternal grandmother was the diarist Margaret Calderwood. He came from a wealthy landed

family, and entered the navy aged fourteen in 1777 aboard the ship of the line HMS Trident.

His first year at sea was somewhat blighted when that ship came under the

command of a martinet captain, Anthony James Pye Molloy, under whom the ship's

company grew mutinous. In 1778 Durham procured his discharge and afterwards

obtained a position under his original captain, on HMS Edgar. Aboard her he saw his first action

during the Great Siege of Gibraltar,

later gaining the attention of Admiral Richard Kempenfelt, with

whom he served on HMS Victory and HMS Royal George.

Durham was watch officer on 29 August 1782 when, through no fault of his own,

the Royal George, which was heeled for repairs, suddenly and

catastrophically sank at Spithead. Being on deck, Durham was able

to jump overboard and swim to safety, but the Admiral and over 800 persons lost their

lives. Durham then filled a lieutenant's vacancy on HMS Union in which he saw further service at

the siege of Gibraltar before making a cruise to the West Indies and then

another one down the African coast in HMS Raisonnable as

a junior lieutenant. Durham spent the next two years living in France,

becoming fluent in French. Afterwards he served in HMS Salisbury and HMS Barfleur. The

emergency in 1790 brought him promotion to Commander on 2 November 1790 and command of HMS Daphne. From there he moved in 1791 to HMS Cygnet. On 12 February 1793 Durham took

command of the small for 14 guns but only carried ten.

The

next day he captured the French privateer Afrique. The capture

of Afrique was the first capture of the war of a vessel

flying La tricolore. For this

feat Lloyd's of London gave

him a piece of plate worth 100 guineas, or £300, their

first such award of the war.

Durham

received promotion to post captain on 24

June 1793 and command of her, on 22 October, he moved to HMS Hind. In Hind he brought in a

convoy of 157 merchant ships from the Mediterranean in the face of enemy

opposition. This feat provoked accolades and rewards, and he took over the biggest frigate in the Navy, cut down (razeed)

from a ship of the line to oppose large French frigates, and in her fought

numerous actions, especially at the Battle of Donegal in

October 1798. On 28 March 1799 he

married Lady Charlotte Matilda Bruce, daughter of royal governess Lady

Elgin and sister of the Lord Elgin of Elgin Marbles fame, and continued his service in home

waters  until the Peace of Amiens. Following the

resumption of hostilities, Durham was given HMS Defiance, which he took to join

Admiral Sir Robert Calder's fleet in 1804 and participated in the battle of Cape

Finisterre after which he was informally reprimanded by Calder for

being "over zealous" in pursuit of the enemy. Following the battle

Admiral Calder requested a court martial to acquit his own conduct and called

Captain Durham to appear in his defence along with two other captains. Unlike his

two comrades, Durham flatly refused to leave his ship which had been repaired at

Portsmouth

and specially requested by Lord Nelson and so was still in command at the Battle of Trafalgar a

few months later. The other two captains, William Brown and William battle whilst in England. 

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