A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Skekel, John
SKEKEL. (Captain, 1825. f-p., 21; h-p. 31.)
John Skekel was born in March, 1779, at Mortlake, co. Banff.
This officer entered the Navy, 10 Dec. 1795, as A.B., on board the Thisbe 28, Capt. John Okes Hardy, with whom he served until the end of 1802, at Halifax and on the Home station, in the same vessel, and as Midshipman and Master’s Mate, in the Assistance 50, St. Albans 64, and Achille 74. On the breaking out of the war in 1803 he sailed with Capt. Hardy in the Courageux 74, for the West Indies, where, in June of the same year, he acted as Lieutenant at the reduction of Ste. Lucie. Being confirmed, 21 Feb. 1804, into the Pandora 44, Capt. John Nash, he accompanied the expedition against Surinam; and was actively employed during the operations which preceded the surrender of that colony with the flotilla in the Commewyne river. He had been previously, in the boats, engaged in preventing supplies from being thrown into Martinique; and had been, 13 March, present at the cutting out, close to Pearl Rock, of the Mosambique privateer of 10 18-pounder carronades. His appointments, after he left the Pandora, were – 15 Oct. 1804, to the Hero 74, Capt. Hon. Alan Hyde Gardner, under whom he fought in Sir Robt. Calder’s action, was wounded in Sir Rich. Strachan’s[1] (for which he received a donation from the Patriotic Society), and witnessed the capture, 13 March, 1806, of the Marengo 80, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Linois and 40-gun frigate Belle Poule – 23 May, 1807, to the Ville de Paris 110, flag-ship of Lord Gardner in the Channel – 2 June, 1808, to the Bellerophon 74, bearing the flag at first of Hon. A. H. Gardner in the Channel, and commanded next by Capt. Sam. Warren as a private ship on the Baltic station, where, in common with the others employed, he received the approbation of the Admiralty for his conduct in the boats of a squadron at the brilliant cutting out, off Percola Point, 7 July, 1809, of the Russian gun-boats alluded to in our memoir of Capt. Chas. Allen[2] – and 23 July, 1810, and 11 April, 1811, to the Formidable 98, Capt. Jas. Nicoll Morris, and Dictator 64, Capt. Williams, also in the Baltic. On 28 June, 1811, he was confirmed a Commander (a fortnight after he had been ordered to act as such) in the Fly sloop of 16 guns; from which vessel he exchanged soon afterwards into the Gluckstadt 18. In her he was overtaken on his passage home with convoy by a violent storm; and, to avoid foundering, he was obliged to part with all his guns. The Gluckstadt being paid off in Nov. 1811, he was next appointed – 26 Aug. 1812, to the Bold 14, fitting for the North American station, where he was wrecked during a strong north-east gale, near the north end of Prince Edward’s Island, while proceeding with convoy up the St. Lawrence, 27 Sept. 1813 – 7 June, 1814, to the Plover 18, employed until Nov. 1816 on the Newfoundland station – and 30 May, 1823, to the Ordinary at Plymouth. He attained Post-rank 27 May, 1825; and accepted the Retirement 1 Oct. 1846.
Capt. Skekel married, in July, 1835, Louisa Madalina Hughes, of York Street, Portman Square, London.