John Phillimore

Phillimore initially remained in command of the Belette, returning to the Baltic in late 1807. He brought the British ambassador, Lord Hutchinson back to Britain in February 1808.[3] At some point while sailing to Gothenburg he had the misfortune to encounter the only two decker in the Danish Navy, which he escaped by sailing into shallower waters.[1] Promotion eventually left him without a ship however, though he temporarily took over command of the 74-gun HMS Marlborough in June 1809 with the temporary absence of her captain, Graham Moore. He took part in the Walcheren Campaign until Moore's return to command in late 1809.[3][6] Phillimore's next command was the nominally 64-gun HMS Diadem, though she had been converted into a troopship some years earlier and by the time Phillimore became her captain in June 1810, she only mounted 32 guns.[2][3][6]

This was to lead to a celebrated exchange of letters between Phillimore and the Navy Board on the subject of paint. With the Diadem now only mounting 32 guns, the board directed that she should receive stores equivalent to a ship of this rating, despite her much larger size and complement, and despite Phillimore's protests.[3] Consequently, he only received money for enough paint to paint half his ship. Phillimore sent a pointed letter to the board enquiring which half they wished him to paint, the starboard side or the larboard side. He then signed the letter "your affectionate friend".[1] The board admonished him for this, pointing out that the custom of signing "your affectionate friend" was one practised by its own members and was the address used from a superior officer to an inferior one.[1] Phillimore acknowledged his mistake, signing himself "no longer your affectionate friend".[1][3] The correspondence appears to have had its effect; the allowance was duly doubled.[1] Phillimore spent his time in command of the Diadem carrying troops to and from the Iberian peninsula, supporting Arthur Wellesley's operations there.[3]

HMS Eurotas fights the Clorinde, shown in a print by Thomas Whitcombe

On 4 May 1813 Phillimore received command of the new 38-gun frigate HMS Eurotas, which had been armed with an experimental mix of guns to a design by Sir William Congreve.[3][6] The Eurotas was initially attached to the fleet blockading Brest, and on 23 October Phillimore was present at the capture of the Franco-Dutch frigate Trave.[2] In January 1814 Eurotas was despatched to Lorient, where three French frigates had been reported as preparing to put to sea.[3] They escaped to sea under cover of night and heavy weather, and despite pursuing them for three days, Phillimore was eventually forced to return to Britain to re-provision.[3] She returned to sea again, and on 25 February came across the French frigate Clorinde.[3] A long and sustained battle was fought, which eventually left Eurotas totally dismasted, and with 20 of her men killed and 40 wounded, with Phillimore among the latter.[2][7] Eurotas's first lieutenant took over while Phillimore was carried below to be seen by the surgeon. A jury-rig was erected and the chase resumed during the night. The Clorinde had also been badly damaged during the engagement, losing 40 killed and 80 wounded, and was steadily being overtaken by the Eurotas, when two British ships came upon the scene, HMS Dryad and HMS Achates.[7] Dryad brought Clorinde to with a single shot and the Frenchman surrendered.[7] In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "EUROTAS 25 FEBY. 1814" to all still surviving members of Eurota's crew that had participated in the action.

While on leave in Britain that year his attention was drawn to a passage recently published in William James's Naval History of Great Britain, which described the battle between Eurotas and Clorinde. In it James had noted that the 24-pounders had not done as much as had 18-pounders in other actions, and that Eurotas had been in commission long enough for her crew 'to have been taught a few practical rules of gunnery'.[7] A furious Phillimore considered this a slur on his character and took 48 hours' leave to go up to London.[7] He and a friend went to James's house and upon meeting him, Phillimore declared that the account of the battle was false. James defended his book, and harsh words were exchanged, which led to Phillimore thrashing James with his stick.[7][8] The case was examined by a magistrate and Phillimore was forced to pay James £100 in damages.[6][7]

Phillimore continued to serve in the navy, carrying troops of the Royal African Corps to Cape Coast Castle during the First Anglo-Ashanti War in 1824.[6] On the return voyage he stopped to re-provision at St Michael's in August.[7] The English residents of the settlement asked Phillimore to have the burial ground there consecrated, a task he delegated to his ship's chaplain, to be carried out the next day at noon.[7] The chaplain pointed out that consecrations could only be carried out by a bishop. Phillimore responded by appointing the chaplain 'acting-bishop of St Michael's', and the consecration was duly carried out.[7]

The Thetis was in the Mediterranean the following year, transporting the English ambassador to Naples to his post. On the return voyage she put into Gibraltar, shortly after a gale had driven 17 British merchants ashore at the head of the bay.[7] The Spanish governor of the area claimed jurisdiction and the right of salvage over them, but Phillimore took his boats out and drove off the Spanish forces that had attempted to take possession over them.[7] This precedent helped to define the rights and jurisdictions of the British forces in Gibraltar and Phillimore received letters of thanks from the merchants at Gibraltar, and from Lloyd's of London for saving the cargoes.[7]

Phillimore also embarked on a significant piece of naval reform, when after consulting with his men, he reduced their rum ration by half, with the money saved being paid into their wages.[6][7] The positive effects of this were so noticeable that this reform was soon adopted throughout the Navy.[6][7] Another improvement Phillmore introduced was the paying of a monthly advance in wages.[7]

The Thetis was paid off in November 1826, and Phillmore never again served at sea.[7] He was however appointed a naval aide-de-camp to King William IV in September 1831, a position he retained under Queen Victoria.[9]