5-930: Vice-Admiral Sir William Essington KCB (c. 1753 – 12 July 1816) was an officer in the Royal Navy during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . On 15 June 1795, he was in command of Sceptre at Saint Helena . There, with the assistance of several East Indiamen , primarily the General Goddard , he captured eight Dutch East Indiamen on their way back to Europe. Essington replaced Erasmus Gower as captain of HMS Triumph on 4 June 1797. Phillip Parker King named Port Essington , an inlet in Australia 's Northern Territory , after Essington in 1803. On 23 April 1804, Essington
10-567: A number of times during this period. In the Royal Navy, the rank of vice-admiral should be distinguished from the office of Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom , which is an Admiralty position usually held by a retired full admiral, and that of Vice-Admiral of the Coast , a now obsolete office dealing with naval administration in each of the maritime counties. Vice-admirals are entitled to fly
15-518: Is immediately superior to the rear admiral rank and is subordinate to the full admiral rank. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is lieutenant-general ; and in the Royal Air Force , it is air marshal . The Royal Navy has had vice-admirals since at least the 16th century. When the fleet was deployed, the vice-admiral would be in the leading portion or van , acting as
20-517: The deputy to the admiral. The rank of Vice-Admiral evolved from that of Lieutenant of the Admiralty (1546–1564) that being an officer who acted as secretary to the Lord Admiral of England and lapsed in 1876 but was revived in 1901 by King Edward VII . Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined his career path . The command flags flown by a Vice-Admiral changed
25-551: Was knighted and promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue . He was present at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807, flying his flag aboard HMS Minotaur . He died at Nottingham Place on 12 July 1816 at the age of 63, with the rank of vice-admiral . Vice admiral (Royal Navy) A vice-admiral ( VAdm ) is a flag officer rank of the Royal Navy and equates to the NATO rank code OF-8 . It
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