Years of service 1755-1800 Rank Admiral Service/branch Royal Navy | Died January 1, 1809, Jamaica Name Alan 1st | |
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Allegiance Kingdom of Great Britain
Great Britain and Ireland Commands held Jamaica Station
Cork Station
Portsmouth Command Relations Alan Hyde Gardner (eldest son),
Robert Barrie (nephew) Other work MP for Plymouth and, later, Westminster. Children Alan Hyde Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner Grandchildren Alan Gardner, 3rd Baron Gardner Great grandchildren Herbert Gardner, 1st Baron Burghclere | ||
Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner (12 February 1742 – 1 January 1809), was a British Royal Navy officer and peer of the realm. He was regarded by some as one of the Georgian era's most dashing frigate captains and, ultimately, a respected senior admiral.
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Naval career
Gardner joined the Royal Navy in 1755. Promoted to Captain in 1766, his first command was the fireship HMS Raven. He commanded a number of frigates before being promoted to a ship of the line. In 1782 he commanded a ship at the Battle of the Saintes and in 1786, as Commodore of the Jamaica Station (consisting of HMS Europa and HMS Experiment), he suppressed smuggling in the Gulf of Mexico and ordered detailed hydrographic surveys of Caribbean locations of interest to the Navy. During this time, he commanded and probably mentored future famous officers such as George Vancouver, Peter Puget and Joseph Whidbey.
He became a Member of the Board of Admiralty in 1790 and was appointed commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands Station in 1793. As Rear Admiral in November 1793, he was the first officer to articulate a growing conviction in the navy that lemons were the best cure for scurvy and, going against prevailing medical opinion, demanded a supply for his ships. The resulting scurvy-free voyage of HMS Suffolk to India was a crucial element in the Admiralty's decision in 1795 to issue lemon juice as a daily ration in the navy – a policy which drastically minimised outbreaks of scurvy. During the Mutiny at Spithead in 1797, Gardner negotiated directly with the mutineers, until he lost his temper, seized a mutineer by the throat and threatened to hang the lot. This nearly led to his own demise at the hands of the mutineers, but cooler heads prevailed.
He left the Admiralty Board in 1795 and was promoted to full admiral. In 1800 he became Commander-in-Chief of the Cork Station. That year he was also created Baron Gardner, of Uttoxeter, in the Peerage of Ireland and in 1806 the title of Baron Gardner in the Peerage of the United Kingdom was created for him. He was Member of Parliament for Plymouth and, later, Westminster. He was briefly Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth from March to June 1803 but returned to the Cork Station after that. In 1807 he was made Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet and he died in office on 1 January 1809.
Family
Gardner was born at the Manor House Uttoxeter, which is commemorated by a plaque. He married Susannah Hyde Gale (c. 1760 – 20 April 1823) on 20 May 1769. They had two sons. The older son, Alan Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner, became an admiral in the Royal Navy. Gale was a Jamaican heiress and the daughter of Francis Gale, a plantation owner, and Susanna Hall.
Through his brother, Major Valentine Gardner, he was the uncle of Colonel William Linnæus Gardner, an Indian officer.
Legacy
An East Indiaman was named after Admiral Gardner; it was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, 24 January 1809. It was carrying a large number of copper 10 and 20 cash coins minted by the East India Company for circulation in the Madras Presidency. The coins were preserved in tightly sealed barrels and large numbers were retrieved around 1986. They are frequently packaged and sold as inexpensive "shipwreck coins."