Captain Maurice Suckling was a Royal Navy officer and politician, remembered for beginning his nephew Horatio Nelson’s naval career and for serving as Comptroller of the Navy until his death in 1778. He joined the navy in 1739, served in the English Channel and Mediterranean during the War of the Austrian Succession, and gained promotions and early command with support from influential relatives. During the Seven Years’ War he was promoted to captain and commanded on the Jamaica Station, taking part in major action including the Battle of Cap-Français, and then returned to Britain in 1760. After further naval duties and a period on half pay, he took Nelson with him during the Falklands Crisis and helped guide Nelson into more active ships for training, even as he had doubts about Nelson’s fit. In 1775 he became Comptroller of the Navy, helping mobilise the navy when the American Revolutionary War began, and he also became an MP for Portsmouth in 1776. He supported Nelson’s promotion plans in 1777 but, because of a long illness, his health worsened before he died suddenly on 14 July 1778. Maurice Suckling was born on 4 May 1726 in the rectory at Barsham, Suffolk, the son of Reverend Maurice Suckling and Anne Turner. After his father died when he was four, his mother moved the family to Beccles, where he continued to live, though little else is known about his childhood. Because his family was not wealthy and he did not attend university, he could not become an army officer or enter the clergy like his father. With strong support and patronage from the powerful Walpole family, Suckling joined the Royal Navy at 13, being appointed an ordinary seaman on the HMS Newcastle in 1739, under Captain Thomas Fox. Suckling began his naval career serving in the Western Approaches, the English Channel, and near Gibraltar and Lisbon. He was promoted from able seaman to midshipman, then sailed in the Mediterranean with the support of Captain Fox, where he met Sir Peter Parker and formed a lasting friendship. He gained his lieutenant promotion in 1745 and served on several major ships in important roles, before returning to England after the war and taking senior appointments that helped protect him from unemployment as ships were decommissioned. He later served in Jamaica, returned to England, and became first lieutenant of HMS Somerset before being promoted to commander in January 1754. Around the time of his promotion, Maurice Suckling was given command of the 14-gun sloop HMS Baltimore and sailed to take up the post at Charleston on 20 May. He spent much of his time patrolling the coast from the Carolinas up to places like Boston, and on 11 September 1755 he was transferred by Vice-Admiral Edward Boscawen to command the larger ship of the line HMS Lys, which then sailed back to Britain. After Lys reached the Downs on 23 November and Suckling’s promotion was secured on 2 December, he was expected to rise further to flag rank in due course. After being sent to Jamaica to command the 60-gun HMS Dreadnought, Suckling spent most of his time at Port Royal but made occasional patrols near Santo Domingo. In 1757, Dreadnought helped fight off a French convoy near Cape Français, destroying major parts of the French flagship and forcing the French to retreat after heavy damage. In 1758, Dreadnought attacked the French ship Palmier but was becalmed alongside HMS Assistance, allowing Palmier to escape, and Suckling later returned to England for repairs and convoy duty before taking further commands as the war continued.

Featured Article Quiz #121