Name Galfridus Walpole Service/branch Royal Navy | Died August 7, 1726 | |
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Buried at St Martin Churchyard
Houghton, Norfolk
United Kingdom Allegiance United Kingdom of Great Britain Relations Robert Walpole, father
Sir Robert Walpole, brother
Horace Walpole, nephew (son of Sir Robert) Other work Postmaster General of the United Kingdom
Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital, London Place of burial Houghton, Norfolk, United Kingdom | ||
Galfridus Walpole (1683 – 7 August 1726) was a naval officer, member of parliament and postmaster general of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. He lost his right arm after a naval battle against the French in Vado Bay, Italy, in 1711. He commanded ships for another nine years, was elected a member of parliament and was appointed joint postmaster general, a position he held until his death.
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Life and career
Galfridus was born in 1683, the son of Robert Walpole and Mary Burwell of Houghton, Norfolk, and the younger brother of Sir Robert Walpole. In 1709 he married Cornelia Hays but they did not have any children.
In 1706 he was commander of HMS Solebay, a sixth rate 24-gun frigate, followed by the HMS Feversham and between 1707–1709 he commanded HMS Poole, a fifth rate frigate. From 1710–1714 Galfridus was in charge of HMS Lion, a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line. The last commission was on the HMS Peregrine Galley from 1716–1720, a ship that later became a royal yacht.
While commanding HMS Lion, on 22 March 1711,a Walpole's ship was in Vado Bay in the Mediterranean as lookout cruisers when they sighted four French enemy ships. Amongst those who gave chase and engaged the enemy for about two hours was HMS Lion who lost forty men. Walpole was so badly injured that his right arm was amputated by the ship's surgeon John Atkins who sat up for two nights with Walpole who gave the surgeon no thanks for the attention.
He became a member of parliament for Lostwithiel, Cornwall in 1715, a position he held until 21 March 1721.
Walpole was the treasurer of Greenwich Hospital, London during the same period he was a member of parliament. On 8 April 1721 he was appointed joint postmaster general, vacated his seat in parliament, and remained in that office until his death on 7 August 1726. A year before his death he took out a lease on Westcombe Park, the site of Westcombe Manor owned by Sir Gregory Page, 2nd Baronet.
Lord Nelson's sword
According to legend, Walpole's sword, used on HMS Lion, was given to a young Horatio Nelson who was apparently wielding it when he too lost his right arm in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 15 July 1797. The Walpole sword which has a silver-hilted hanger was made by Nixon Cutlers of London, has 1752 London silver hallmarks and a 60 cm curved blade. Due to its provenance, the sword is known as the Galfridus Walpole — Suckling Sword, having been given to Walpole's godson and great nephew Maurice Suckling whose sister Catherine Suckling was Nelson's mother. William Suckling, Maurice's bother, gave the sword to Nelson who wore his uncle's valued gift in his early career. The sword appears to have been returned to the Suckling family.
The sword was sold at auction by Sotheby's in late 2003 for GBP 36,000, described as "believed to be that carried by Captain (later Admiral Lord) Horatio Nelson" and with extensive notes relating to the provenance and origins of the story that it was with Nelson at the time of his death. Some, however, have doubted the truth of the legend and W.J. Andrew in Notes and Queries in 1922 argued that Nelson would be most unlikely to have used an outdated century old sword in battle.