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BALL—BALLANTYNE—BAMBER—BAMBER.

his wounds by the Patriotic Society. He married, first, in 1806, his cousin, Mary Balfour, only child of Wm. Manson, Esq., of Kirkwall; and, secondly, in 1823, Mary Margaret, daughter of Andrew Baikie, Esq. He has left issue five sons and six daughters. His eldest son, the late Thos. Balfour, Esq., was M.P. for Orkney. Another son, William, was recently a Lieutenant in the 79th Highlanders. Agent – J. Hinxman.



BALL. (Commander, 1828. f-p., 26; h-p., 24.)

Thomas Ball entered the Navy, 15 Nov. 1797, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Terrible 74, Capts. Sir Rich. Bickerton and Wm. Wolseley, forming part of the fleet in the Channel, where he became successively attached to the Cambridge 80, flagship of Sir Rich. King, and Immortality 36, Capt. Hon. Henry Hotham. After an additional servitude of nearly eight years in the East Indies on board the Eurydice 24, Terpsichore 32, and Pitt alias Salsette 36, all commanded by Capt. Walter Bathurst, Culloden 74, flag-ship of Sir Edw. Pellew, and San Fiorenzo 40, Capt. John Bastard (during which period he was on one occasion taken prisoner), Mr. Ball obtained a commission, dated 2 Jan. 1809. His subsequent appointments were – 9 March, 1809, to the Clio 18, Capts. Thos. Folliott Baugh and Wm. Ffarington, on the Home station – 27 Sept. 1815, to the Satellite 18, Capt. Jas. Murray, in the Mediterranean – 10 Feb. 1821, after upwards of two years of half-pay, to the Valourous 28, commanded by the same officer, off Newfoundland – 13 Feb. 1822, to the Owen Glendower 42, bearing the broad pendant of Sir Robt. Mends, on the coast of Africa – and, 14 June, 1824, to the Blonde 42, Capt. Lord Byron, under whom he escorted from this country the remains of the late King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands. He was paid off from the Blonde in Dec. 1826, and on 28 Aug. 1828, was advanced to his present rank. Since that period he has not been afloat.



BALL. (Lieutenant, 1815. f-p., 1; h-p., 30.)

William Ball was born 29 Nov. 1794.

This officer entered the Navy, 4 Nov. 1807, as Second-cl. Vol., on board the Prevoyante storeship, Master-Commanders Dan. M‘Coy and Alex. Black; removed as Midshipman, in May, 1810, to the Cretan 18, Capt. Chas. Fred. Payne; and, in the course of 1814, successively joined the Liverpool 40, Capt. Arthur Farquhar, Namur 74, flag-ship of Sir Thos. Williams, Leyden 60, Capt. John Davie, and Berwick 74, Capt. Edw. Brace. In Jan. 1813, while in charge, with only four of his own men to assist him, of a captured vessel, a body of 12 prisoners who were on board contrived to gain possession of her; but nine of them being killed, and the rest wounded and secured by the British in a desperate attempt made by the latter to recover their ascendancy, the prize was brought triumphantly into port. On rejoining the Cretan, Mr. Ball was employed on the West Scheldt in the arduous duty of obstructing the supplies intended for the enemy’s fleet; and when in the Berwick he witnessed the siege and surrender of Gaeta. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 6 March, 1815, but did not take up his commission until his return to England in June, 1816; since which period, with the exception of a twelve-month in the Coast Guard, which he was obliged to leave in consequence of having broken a leg, he has been on half-pay. Agent – J. Chippendale.



BALLANTYNE. (Retired Commander, 1843. f-p., 19; h-p., 34.)

John Ballantyne was born 20 Aug. 1775.

This officer entered the Navy, 9 July, 1794, as A.B., on board the Glory 98, Capt. Thos. Larcom, bearing the flag in the Channel of Rear-Admiral Bourmaster. Proceeding subsequently to the West Indies in the Prince of Wales 98, flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Harvey, he assisted as Midshipman at the reduction of Trinidad, and the attack upon Porto Rico, in 1797; after which he became attached, as Master’s Mate, to the Weazle and Ambuscade, both commanded by Capt. Wm. D’Urban, in the Mediterranean, and served, from Jan. 1805, to Feb. 1808, as Sub-Lieutenant, in the Steady gun-brig, Lieut.-Commander Arthur Stow, on the Channel and South America stations. Having been awarded a commission, dated 4 June, 1807, he subsequently joined – 5 March, 1808, the Proselyte bomb, Capt. Henry Jas. Lyford, in the North Sea – 1 Sept. 1809, the Chanticleer 10, Capt. Rich. Spear, off Yarmouth – and, 18 Feb. 1814, the Ariel 18, Capt. Dan. Ross, on the coast of Africa. Commander Ballantyne, who has not been employed since Jan. 1815, accepted his present rank 10 Feb. 1843.



BALLARD. (Lieutenant, 1843.)

James Boucher Ballard entered the Navy 1 Aug. 1831; and in Dec. 1836, while Midshipman of the Leveret 10, Lieut.-Commander Chas. Bosanquet, assisted, after a chase of 800 miles, at the boarding and capture, within musket-shot distance of a Portuguese frigate and an 84-gun battery at Mozambique, of the Diogenes a slaver, mounting five 24-pounders, with a complement of 70 men. Passing his examination 5 Oct. 1837, he subsequently served as Mate, in the Mediterranean and East Indies, of the Vanguard 80, Capt. Sir Thos. Fellowes, Confiance steam-vessel, Lieut.-Commander Edw. Stopford, and Cambrian 36, Capt. Henry Ducie Chads; from which latter ship he was promoted to an Additional-Lieutenancy, 20 Oct. 1843, in the Cornwallis 72, flag-ship of Sir Wm. Parker. Since 26 June, 1844, Mr. Ballard has been serving, also in the East Indies, on board the Wolverene 16, Capt. Wm. John Cavendish Clifford.



BAMBER. (Lieut., 1837. f-p., 14; h-p., 7.)

Charles Ross Bamber, born 10 June, 1812, is son of the late Commander Wm. Rich. Bamber, R.N., an officer of very distinguished merit, who died in Nov. 1843, after having faithfully served his country for 55 years, 28 of which had been passed in active employment, chiefly during the hottest part of the late wars.[1]

This officer entered the Navy, in Jan. 1826, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Ganges 84, Capt. Patrick Campbell, with whom, after serving for nearly four years as Midshipman, off Lisbon and in the Mediterranean, of the Spartiate and Windsor Castle 76’s, Capts. Fred. Warren and Hon. Duncombe Pleydell Bouverie, he returned to England in 1830 on board the Ocean 80. He then served for three years, on the Home station, in the Wellesley 72, Capt. Sam. Campbell Rowley, and Excellent gunnery-ship, Capt. Thos. Hastings; and in Nov. 1833, shortly after passing his examination, was appointed Mate of the Edinburgh 74, Capt. Jas. Rich. Dacres, in the Mediterranean. In March, 1837, Mr. Bamber had the misfortune to have his right ankle so crushed between two lower-deck guns, while superintending the removal of one of them, as to render amputation of the leg unavoidable. He obtained his commission 1 Sept. following, and was afterwards appointed, 11 May, 1839, again to the Excellent, and, 11 May, 1841, to the Indus 78, Capt. Sir Jas. Stirling, also stationed in the Mediterranean, whence, owing to a fall from a ladder, he was obliged to invalid, on 3 of the ensuing Nov. He has since been on half-pay.

Lieut. Bamber is in receipt of a pension of 45l. 12s. He married, 27 May, 1839, a daughter of U. Godfrey, Esq., of Woodlands, co. Surrey, by whom he has issue three children.


  1. Commander Bamber served on shore at the siege of Leogane, St. Domingo, and at the reduction of Trinidad; received the public thanks of Sir Andrew Mitchell for his exertions during the expedition to Holland in 1799; fought under Lord Nelson at Copenhagen; and for the ability, zeal, and energy he subsequently displayed as Principal Transport Officer on the occasion of the return of Lord Cathcart’s army from Hanover to England, was again publicly thanked both by that nobleman and the Transport Board.