A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Brake, William Lenthall
BRAKE. (Lieutenant, 1810. f-p., 18; h-p., 33.)
William Lenthall Brake was born, 24 July, 1787, at Plymouth.
This officer entered the Navy, in the summer of 1796, as a Volunteer, on board the Royal William, Capt. Fras. Pickmore, flag-ship of Sir Peter Parker, Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, in which ship he had the misfortune to be very severely injured by a block falling from the mast-head and fracturing his skull. He was in the same ship at the period of the Spithead mutiny, in April, 1797, and was afterwards, until the peace, employed in her tender, the Ant schooner, Lieut.-Commander Matt. Bowles Alt. At the re-commencement of hostilities, in 1803, Mr. Brake joined the Pandour 44, Capt. John Nash, under whom he assisted as Midshipman at the reduction of the Dutch colony of Surinam in May, 1804. Removing then to the Ramillies 74, Capts. Fras. Pickmore and Robt. Yarker, he served as Signal-Mate at the capture of Linois’ squadron in 1806, and of the Danish islands of St. Thomas and Santa Croix in Dec. 1807. From Nov. 1808 about which period he passed his examination, until officially promoted, 2 Nov. 1810, he appears to have been next employed, as Master’s Mate and Acting-Lieutenant, in the Thetis 38, Capt. Geo. Miller, Neptune 98, bearing the flag of Sir Alex. Cochrane, Intrepid 64, Capt. Christopher John Williams Nesham, Julia 16, Capts. Wm. Dowers and Sam. Geo. Pechell, (all on the West India station,) FdriEOSE 38, Capt. John Simpson, off Halifax, and Victory 100, and Ardent 64, flag-ships on the Baltic station, the former of Sir Jas. Saumarez, the latter of Sir Geo. Hope and Sir Philip Durham. From the Ardent Mr. Brake was appointed, 12 Feb. 1812, to the Trinculo 18, Capt. Geo. Rennie, in the West Indies, where he became, 13 June following. Senior of the Garland 22, Capt. Rich. Flummer Davies. In the boats of the latter ship, we find him capturing, after a chase of four hours, and only 14 days subsequent to the declaration of war, the American privateer schooner Poor Sailor.[1] For his conduct in next silencing, when in the Tagus, the fire of a castle, Mr. Brake was publicly thanked, in common with the other officers and crew of the Garland. He has been unemployed since 2 Feb. 1816.
Lieut. Brake married, 30 June, 1817, Miss Louisa Newman, and by that lady has issue six children.
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1812, p. 2571.