Admiral of the Blue Sir Henry Digby GCB (20 January 1770 – 19 August 1842) was a senior British naval officer, who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the Royal Navy. Born into a long-established naval family, his uncle was the famous Admiral Robert Digby, Henry went to sea at the end of the American Revolutionary War aged fourteen.
As a lieutenant aboard HMS Pallas, he received a commendation for rescuing the crew of a burning ship. Promoted to commander in August 1795 and captain in December 1796, Digby established a reputation as an aggressive prize taker, capturing 57 ships in less than twenty months. His richest capture came in October 1799 when he assisted in the taking of the treasure ship, the Santa Brigida. He commanded HMS Africa at the Battle of Trafalgar, manoeuvring her into the French and Spanish fleet against orders, having been instructed by Nelson to avoid battle, fearing Digby's small ship of the line would be overwhelmed.
In 1806 Digby married Lady Jane Elizabeth Coke, daughter of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, with whom he had three children. They moved to the estate in Dorset inherited from his uncle where the prize money amassed by Digby paid for a comfortable life. He continued to serve in the navy, was appointed Commander in Chief, Sheerness and attained the rank of admiral in 1841.
Early life
The nephew of Robert Digby, Henry was born in Bath on 20 January 1770. His father, the Hon. Rev. William Digby, was the younger brother of Edward Digby, 6th Baron Digby and later became Dean of Durham and Chaplain Ordinary to King George III. Henry was one of ten children and the oldest of four boys; two of whom, Charles George (1780) and Joseph (1786), also served in the Royal Navy. The younger, Joseph, later becoming a vice-admiral. On 2 April 1783, Henry was entered onto the muster roll of HMS Jason then HMS Vestal from 1 May till 6 March 1784 as a captain's servant. After a six-week break, on 16 April he was entered into the books of HMY Royal Charlotte until the end of the year when he finally went to sea aboard the 50-gun HMS Europa and sailed for the West Indies.
Naval career
Digby was to spend the next two and half years aboard the Europa. He was almost immediately promoted from captain's servant to Able Seaman and shortly after, to Midshipman. On 4 July 1787, after a brief return to England, he was appointed, first to the Janus and then the Salisbury on the North American station. Digby's father died in November 1788 and he returned home but by December he was aboard the sloop Racehorse trying to stop the smuggling trade in the North Sea. He returned to England once more on 22 September 1789 and did not go to sea again until the following August during which time he passed his lieutenant's exam. After a short probationary period aboard HMS Bellerophon, he was confirmed as fourth lieutenant of the Lion in October 1790. Returning from the West Indies in September 1791, Digby spent a year and eight months in England dealing with family affairs, following the death of his mother.
On 5 May 1793, Digby was appointed first lieutenant of HMS Eurydice serving in the Channel Squadron, and from there to the Proserpine on 16 February 1794. Appointed second lieutenant to the 5th rate HMS Pallas on 25 March, he received a commendation for saving hundreds of lives when, on 1 May 1795, the first-rate HMS Boyne caught fire and exploded in Spithead. Digby took a small boat close into the blazing ship to rescue men struggling in the water despite the risk of instant annihilation should the ammunition store catch alight, as happened later that day. Shortly after, on 20 May 1795, Digby joined HMS Dictator as first lieutenant and stayed with her until he was promoted in August that year.
First commands
In August 1795, Digby was promoted to commander of the 16 gun fireship, , operating in Quiberon Bay and the Channel. On 16 December 1796 he made Post Captain and was appointed to the 6th rate, 28 gun, Aurora, escorting convoys in the waters around Portugal and Spain and damaging the enemy's commercial interests wherever possible. In these first two commands, Digby took 57 enemy vessels before transferring to HMS Leviathan under Commodore John Duckworth and was present at the capture of Minorca in November 1798. In 1799 he was given a lucrative independent cruise in the frigate HMS Alcmene. Patrolling the waters in and around Portugal and the Azores, Digby captured dozens of small merchant ships and a 28 gun French privateer, Courageux.