Lloyd's Patriotic Fund

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Lloyd's Patriotic Fund was founded on 28 July 1803 at Lloyd's Coffee House, and continues to the present day. Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund now works closely with armed forces charities to identify the individuals and their families who are in urgent need of support.

Lloyds Coffee House coffee shop in London, England

Lloyd's Coffee House was a significant meeting place in London in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Contents

The contributors created the fund to give grants to those wounded in service to the Crown and to set up annuities to the dependents of those killed in action. The Fund also awarded prizes to those British combatants who went beyond the call of duty. The rewards could be a sum of money, a sword or a piece of plate. [1] [2] The awards were highly publicized to help raise morale during wartime. [3] In 1807 the fund also donated £61,000 to the Royal Naval Asylum, giving Lloyd's Patriotic Fund the enduring right to nominate children to the school. [4]

The Royal Naval Asylum was an educational institution, founded under the name The British National Endeavour in 1798, by a Mr Andrew Thompson who strongly excited the charity of the British population by his ideas for a small "industrial school" for the orphans of military and naval personnel killed in action whilst defending Britain's interests. The school was begun in Clarence House, Paddington Green, but Mr Thompson was rapidly overtaken by scandal insinuating fraud on his part. The school was taken under the leadership of a committee led by the Duke of Sussex, and then the Duke of Cumberland, and Mr Thompson was eventually acquitted of the charges and released, but by then the Duke of York conceived the idea of a "Military Asylum" and made plans, so it was decided to continue the "British National Endeavour" school as a "Naval Asylum" with ambitious and progressive plans, but without Mr Thompson. King George III gave it the title Royal Naval Asylum following the defeat of the combined French and Spanish Fleets by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar.

On 24 August 1809 the Fund held a general meeting of its subscribers. The subscribers decided at that time to discontinue awards for merit. The Peninsular War was putting such demands on the Fund that it was felt that priority would have to go to support for the wounded and the dependents of those killed. Still, when the Fund awarded officers money for wounds received, some officers asked that the Fund give them an inscribed sword instead.

Swords

The Fund issued 15 swords worth £30 each, to midshipmen, masters' mates and Royal Marine lieutenants. Also, 91 swords worth 50 pounds each went to naval lieutenants and Royal Marine captains. It issued 35 swords worth £100 each to commanders and naval captains. In addition, it issued 23 swords, worth £100 each, to naval captains who fought at Trafalgar. Some 60 officers requested a piece of plate of equal value instead of a sword. Lastly, a number of officers opted for cash instead, either for themselves or to distribute to their crew.

Battle of Trafalgar 1805 battle of the Napoleonic Wars

The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars (1796–1815).

One engagement might result in multiple awards. When a cutting-out party from HMS Franchise captured Raposa in 1806, naval lieutenants John Fleming and Peter Douglas, and Lieutenant of Marines Mend, each received a sword worth £50, while Midshipman Lamb received one worth £30.

HMS Raposa was the Spanish brig Raposa, launched in 1804. She was captured A cutting out expedition in 1806 by boats from HMS Franchise in the western Caribbean captured her. The Royal Navy subsequently took her into service under her existing name. Raposa served in the Caribbean, repeatedly recapturing merchant ships that had fallen victim to French privateers. Thirteen months after being captured she ran aground while pursuing enemy ships. Unable to refloat Raposa, her crew set fire to her to avoid her capture and she was destroyed.

Peter John Douglas was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Not all the officers who received swords or other merit awards were naval officers or Royal Marines. Some were captains of privateers or East Indiamen. The Fund awarded Mr. Thomas Musgrave, captain of the private man of war Kitty an honour-sabre worth £30 for the action in which Kitty captured the Spanish ship Felicity (or Felicidad). After the Battle of Pulo Aura, Lloyd's Patriotic Fund gave each captain a sword worth £50, and one to Lieutenant Robert Merrick Fowler (RN), who had distinguished himself in a variety of capacities during the engagement, and one worth £100 to Captain Nathaniel Dance, who had been the commodore of the fleet.

Kitty was a sailing ship that began her career as a West Indiaman. She then served the Royal Navy from 17 May 1804 to 17 January 1805 as a hired armed ship. Next she became a privateer. On her return from privateering she returned to mercantile service, particularly later trading with Russia. She underwent repairs in 1830 and a change in ownership to emerge as a whaler. After four whaling voyages between 1830 and 1846 she returned to mercantile service and was last listed in 1852.

Battle of Pulo Aura

The Battle of Pulo Aura was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought on 14 February 1804, in which a large convoy of Honourable East India Company (HEIC) East Indiamen, well-armed merchant ships, intimidated, drove off and chased a powerful French naval squadron. Although the French force was much stronger than the British convoy, Commodore Nathaniel Dance's aggressive tactics persuaded Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois to retire after only a brief exchange of shot. Dance then chased the French warships until his convoy was out of danger, whereupon he resumed his passage toward British India. Linois later claimed that the unescorted British merchant fleet was defended by eight ships of the line, a claim criticised by contemporary officers and later historians.

Rear admiral Robert Merrick Fowler was an officer of the Royal Navy notable for his service as the second-in-command to Matthew Flinders on HM Sloop Investigator from 1801 to 1803 and for his involvement in Battle of Pulo Aura in 1804.

Citations

  1. ↑ "Lloyd's Patriotic Fund". Lloyd's Patriotic Fund.
  2. ↑ Low p165
  3. ↑ Lincoln p95
  4. ↑ Gawler p55

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References

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