Previously to his appointment to the latter ship he appears to have taken part, 20 July, 1810, in a very gallant skirmish, in which the British, with a slender force, beat back a powerful division of the French Toulon fleet. On 27 June, 1812, as stated in our memoir of Sir Eaton Travers, he was wounded in the boats of the Impérieuse, as were 10 others, besides 4 who were killed, at the destruction of 18 merchant-vessels under the batteries of Languelia and Alassio, in the Gulf of Genoa. The total loss sustained by the boats of the squadron engaged in that affair amounted to 9 killed and 31 wounded.[1] While at the blockade of Naples, Mr. Walpole was, we believe, present, in a spirited action fought, between the Impérieuse and Cephalus 18, on one side, and a Neapolitan force, consisting, on the other, of the Joachim 74, a frigate, a corvette, and 22 gun-vessels. He was a participator also in the operations against Leghorn and Genoa, in Dec. 1813 and April, 1814. From 12 May, 1815, until Aug. 1816, Capt. Walpole commanded the Thames frigate, armée en flûte, on the coast of North America and in the West Indies : he was next, 10 Feb. 1818, appointed to the Curlew 18, fitting for the East Indies. In Dec. 1819, having accompanied an expedition sent under the command of Capt. Fras. Augustus Collier (who had with him; in addition to the Curlew, the Liverpool 50,, Eden 26, several of the Hon.E.I.Co.’s cruizers, and a number of gun and mortar boats) and Major-General Sir Wm. Grant Keir (under whom were 3000 troops) to attack the settlements of the pirates in the Persian Gulf, he distinguished himself in an eminent degree,[2] During the siege of Ras-al-Khyma, the principal stronghold of the freebooters, he had charge of the flotilla employed, and, assisted by Lieut. John Norman Campbell, directed the astonishing efforts made by the seamen in dragging 2 24-pounder guns through mud to a breaching battery, and in landing and carrying forward the requisite stores. These exertions the Major-General declared he had never seen surpassed; while the precision with which the battery was served, would have reflected credit upon the most esperienced corps of artillery. After the enemy had been driven from Ras-al-Khyma an attack was made by a detachment under Major Warren on the fort of Zaire, situated upon a neighbouring hill, and deemed by the natives Impregnable. “You are able,” says the Major in his official report to Sir W. G. Keir, “to appreciate the zeal by which Capt. Walpole,” who had accompanied him, “must have been actuated, and the ability with which that zeal must have been applied, to have enabled him to overcome the difficulties attending the landing of the supplies and stores, particularly the guns, which, being brought up a narrow, intricate, and shallow creek, a distance of upwards of three miles, had to be dragged through a muddy swamp, and afterwards over a considerable space of rocky and intersected ground, before they could be placed in the batteries.” In the summer of 1820 Capt. Walpole, whose Post-commission bears date 7 Dec. 1819, brought home the Seringapatam, a new 46-gun frigate, laden with the frame of another ship of the same class. His last appointments were – 2 Oct. 1828 and 20 Jan. 1832, to the Ranger 28 and Pallas 42, both on the West India station, whence he returned in 1834 – and, 30 Oct. 1840, to the Vernon 50, fitting for the Mediterranean, where he remained until the spring of 1844. Agent – J. Hinxman.
WALSH. (Lieut., 1815. f-p., 10; h-p., 30.)
Stephen Russel Walsh died 24 April, 1845.
This officer entered the Navy, 6 Oct. 1805, as Third-cl. Vol., on board the Wolverene sloop, Capt. Thos. Smyth, stationed in the West Indies; whence, after having served with the same officer and with Capt. Hugh Pigot, as Fst.-cl. Vol. in the Alligator 28, and as A.B. in the Circe 32, he returned in the early part of 1808 to England as a Supernumerary in the Alexandria frigate. He was next, until Jan. 1815, employed, chiefly on the Irish, Brazilian, St. Helena, East India, and Home stations, and principally in the capacity of Midshipman, in the Brisk sloop, Capt. John Coode, Brilliant 28, Capt. T. Smyth, Inconstant 36, Capt. Edw. Stirling Dickson, Royal William, Capt. Hall, Nymphe frigate, Capts. Hon. Josceline Percy and Edw. Sneyd Clay, Menelaus 38, Capt. Peter Parker, Africaine 38, Capt. Hon. Edw. Rodney, Cornelia 32, Capt. Wm. Fitzwilliam Owen, Cornwall 74, Capt. Edw. W. C. R. Owen, Namur 74, Capt. Chas. John Austen, and Comus 22, Capt. John Tailour. He then made a voyage to Bermuda and back as Acting-Lieutenant in the Fervent sloop, Capt. Wm. Hotham; and on being paid off in June, 1815, he was presented with a commission bearing date 6 Feb. in the same year. He remained thenceforward on half-pay. Agents – Hallett and Robinson.
WALTERS. (Lieutenant, 1846.)
William Henry Walters died about the close of 1846, while serving as a Lieutenant in the Wanderer sloop on the coast of Africa.
This officer passed his examination 7 Sept. 1831; was employed in the Coast Guard from 19 Dec. 1840 until promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 5 Jan. 1846; and was appointed, 26 Feb. following, to the Wanderer 12, Capt. Philip Hodge Somerville, fitting for the African station.
WALTON. (Lieutenant, 1840.)
Charles John Walton entered the Navy 31 May, 1828; and passed his examination in 1834. As a reward for his services at St. Jean d’Acre, where he officiated as Aide-de-Camp to the Turkish Admiral, the present Sir Baldwin Wake Walker, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 4 Nov. 1840. His succeeding appointments were – 18 June, 1841, and 10 Jan. 1842, to the Ganges 84 and Stromboli steamer, Capts. Barrington Reynolds and Wm. Louis, both in the Mediterranean – 7 Feb. 1843, to the command of the Victoria revenue-cruizer – 9 Aug. following, to the Hydra steam-sloop, Capt. Horatio Beauman Young, whom he accompanied to the coast of Africa – in Dec. 1844, for a few months, to the Excellent gunnery-ship at Portsmouth, Capt. Sir Thos. Hastings – 29 Sept. 1846, as Additional, to the Hibernia 104, flag-ship of Sir Wm. Parker in the Mediterranean – and, 8 Jan. 1847, to the charge, which he retained until the close of the year, of a station in the Coast Guard. Agents – Messrs. Chard.
WARD. (Lieutenant, 1815. f-p., 24; h-p., 18.)
Edward Willis Ward entered the Navy, 1 Dec. 1805, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Calypso 18, Capts. Matthew Barton Bradby and Henry Weir. In that vessel, of which he was rated Midshipman in Feb. 1807, he was employed until Sept. 1810, in the Channel, North Sea, and Baltic. He then joined in succession the Monmouth, Roebuck, Podargus, and Kangaroo; in the two latter of which, commanded by Capt. John Lloyd, he served for a year and 10 months in the Channel and on the coast of Africa, part of the time as Master’s Mate. He was next, in Dec. 1812 and March, 1813, received on board the Andromeda 24, Capt. Rich. Arthur, and Doris 36, Capt. Robt. O’Brien. In the former ship he escorted convoy to Gibraltar. After visiting China in the Doris, he assumed command, 1 April 1814, of a government brig, in which we find him conveying intelligence of the peace from Ceylon to Sumatra and Java. He returned to England in the following Dec.; and on 18 March, 1815, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. He was employed subsequently – from 5 March. 1825, until we beheve, the early part of 1827, in the Coast Blockade, as a Supernumerary-Lieutenant of the Hyperion 42, Capt. Wm. Jas. Mingaye – from 4 Jan 1828 until 1834, in the Coast Guard-and (with a brief interval in 1845), from 5 Nov. 1840 until 1848 in the Transport service, as an agent afloat. Agents Hallett and Robinson.
