Royal Naval Biography/Cookesley, John
JOHN COOKESLEY, Esq.
[Post-Captain of 1818.]
Served as midshipman, and master’s-mate, on board the Polyphemus 64, flag-ship of Vice-Admiral (afterwards Sir Robert) Kingsmill, on the Irish station, from June 1794, until promoted into the Trusty 50, armed en flutes Dec. 16, 1799. At the close of the French revolutionary war, he received the Turkish gold medal for his services during the Egyptian expedition; and on the renewal of hostilities, in 1803, he was appointed to the Zebra bomb. Captain William Beauchamp, in which vessel we find him present at the bombardment of Havre, in July and Aug. 1804[1]. He next became senior lieutenant of the Constance 24, Captain Anselm John Griffiths, employed in the blockade of the river Elbe; and subsequently first of the Gibraltar 80, in which ship he continued from the summer of 1805 until the promotion that took place after Lord Gambier’s court-martial in 1809; when he was advanced to the rank of commander for the conspicuous part he had borne in the night attack upon la Ville de Varsovie, French 80, and her consorts, in Aix roads, on the 11th April preceding[2]. His conduct on that occasion was thus recorded in the minutes of the above tribunal:
“Captain George Wolfe, of l’Aigle, was again called in and examined. * * * * * * Q. Do you know of any particular fire-ship or ships that were improperly conducted on the evening of the 11th of April?
“A. the ship that passed between us and the island Olivera, and got on shore there, was the only one I particularly noticed. I hailed five that came near us, from our own ship being very nearly set on fire by those that were badly managed. I could not learn the names of two of the officers of fire-ships that behaved well; five behaved very well: one of them teas commanded by Captain Newcombe, who desired me to remember he had passed us; Lieutenant Cookesley, of the Gibraltar, was another, who begged I would keep my eye upon him, as he would not fire his vessel till he was amongst the enemy: I did, and saw him run on board a two-decked ship.”
The two-decker alluded to by Captain Wolfe was la Ville de Varsovie, and her officers afterwards affirmed that they cut and run aground purposely to avoid the fire-vessels; we have already stated that she was destroyed on the following day; and we have only to add, that Mr. Cookesley’s commission as commander was dated back to the day on which he had so highly distinguished himself. From May 1810 until Dec. 1816, he successively commanded the Recruit, 18 gun-brig, and Hazard, ship-sloop; the whole time on the Newfoundland station, with the exception of one year in the West Indies and at Brazil. His promotion to post rank took place Dec. 7, 1818.