Bruce, Henry William 1792 - 1863

(1792-1863) Knight, Admiral

Henry William Bruce was born on the 2nd February 1792 in Ireland. He began his long career with the navy in 1803, serving on HMS Euryalus and taking part in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. He subsequently served on several ships, one of which was HMS Ajax, which was lost by fire off the Dardanelles in 1807.

Bruce was promoted to Lieutenant in 1810. He participated in the War of 1812 and received commendation for his actions on board HMS Belvidera during her escape from an American squadron. In May of 1814 he was promoted to Commander and in command of HMS Manly, accompanied Admiral Cockburn's flotilla up the Patuxent River - a prelude to the invasion of Washington.

Bruce returned to England in 1814 and in 1821 served as Senior Commander on the Cork Station during King George IV's visit to Ireland, which led to a promotion to Captain in November 1821. Over the next thirty years he was in command of ships serving in South America, China and India. In March 1851 he was appointed Commodore of the West Coast of Africa Station.

On July 30 1852, Bruce was promoted to Rear Admiral and two years later received his command of the Pacific Station, a command which was to span from November 1854 to July 1857. Bruce died in 1863, a full Admiral and a KCB (Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath).