OFFICIALLY he was Admiral Lord Richard Howe of Langar Hall — but to the sailors of the English fleet he was Black Dick.
The courageous captain earned that dubious nickname because he was said never
to smile unless a battle was about to begin.
And although he was born in landlocked Notts, his mastery of combat on the
high seas meant he rarely lost a battle.
Richard Howe was born in 1726, the fourth Viscount Howe, and joined the Navy
when he was only 14. By 20, he had risen to captain and he was credited with
firing the first shots of the Seven Years War.
It was during this conflict that he earned his first battle honours, leading
the English fleet to victory over the French at Quiberon Bay in Brittany in
1759.
Throughout his long and illustrious career, Howe would prove to be the curse
of the French, scoring triumph after triumph over their sea forces.
He commanded the British sea forces during the American War of Independence
— while his brother, Sir William Howe, commanded the land forces. During this
campaign, he successfully resisted a superior French force led by D’Estaing
and forced the passage of the Delaware.
He next won fame in 1782 when he came to the rescue of Gibraltar, which had
been held under a long siege by a combined French-Spanish fleet. Despite
superior odds, Howe’s tactical brilliance routed the enemy and relieved the
garrison.
His reward for this triumph was the post of Lord of the Admiralty, but he had
one more glorious page of history to write.
It came in 1794 in the battle now known as the Glorious First of June, when
Howe’s fleet clashed with a similar-sized French force off the coast of
France. Howe’s ships captured six of the enemy and sent two more to the bottom
of the sea, without incurring a single loss. Admiral Lord Howe was by now 68
years old.
A trophy from the battle — an Italian altar cloth of silk and gold
embroidery taken from a French galleon — now rests in Langar church.
The English fleet returned in triumph to Portsmouth to be greeted by King
George III, who asked Admiral Howe to name his reward, suggesting a dukedom
might be appropriate.
Howe asked instead to be made a Knight of the Garter.
But the order was traditionally for royalty and members of the military. It
had never before been given for purely naval services. But, because Howe was his
favourite admiral, the king agreed.
It was to be another three years before Richard Howe could take his place in
the order. There is a fixed membership and he had to wait for a vacancy. It duly
arrived on June 1, 1797, exactly three years after his victory.
No one else achieved that distinction until 1983 when Admiral Sir Terence
Lewin — now Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin — became the second naval Knight
of the Garter.
“It’s hardly ever awarded for naval services alone,” says the naval
historian Stephen Howarth.
Stephen is chairman of the 1805 Club, a worldwide organisation set up to
restore and maintain Nelsonian graves and monuments.
“Admiral Lord Nelson called Howe ‘our great master in tactics and
bravery’,” he explained. “I visited Langar to see if the 1805 could help
with maintaining Admiral Howe’s grave, but everything there is very well
looked after.
“However, the approaching bicentenary of Howe’s KG was too important to
miss.”
A commemorative dinner was held at Langar Hall on Saturday, May 31, and a
special service of matins was held in the village church on Sunday, June 1.
Admiral Lord Lewin and the present Earl and Countess Howe were guests of
honour, while Cdr Judith Swann, CO of HMS Sherwood, represented the RNR and Lt
Ian Dickinson led a company of Sea Cadets.
“Surprisingly,” adds Stephen, “there’s another grave of a Garter
Knight in Bingham — where Sir Thomas Rempstone is buried. He was made KG by
Henry IV way back in 1400, but that was for political services — he helped
overthrow King Richard II.”
Notts can be proud of its naval heritage, and especially of Admiral Lord
Howe, one of the most distinguished sons of the county.
Readers who would like further information about the 1805 should write to the
Membership Secretary, 81 Pepys Road, West Wimbledon, London SW19 8NW.