ADMIRAL SIR WILLIAM DOMETT, G.C.B. The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, an original copy

ADMIRAL SIR WILLIAM DOMETT, G.C.B. The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, an original copy of the Statutes of the Order, 72pp, being the unrevised pre-1815 Statutes of the Order, the title page dated “Reprinted in 1812” , in red morocco binding with gilt tooled decoration and gilt title to spine “Order of the Bath”, blind seal of the Order bound in at rear end papers, the rear free end paper signed by James Pulman as Deputy Bath King of Arms. Letter from the College of Arms, dated 26/7/1828, bound in before title page, confirming Pulman’s receipt of the collar and badge, along with the sash and badge, of the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath that belonged to the late Admiral Domett G.C.B. following their return to the Central Chancery of the Order after his death. Minor scuffing to binding, otherwise internally clean, good condition, and, given the fact that Admiral Domett’s GCB set of insignia was returned on his death, his copy of the Statutes of the Order remains the sole surviving physical record of Domett having been nominated successively to the two highest classes of the Order of the Bath, Knight Commander (K.C.B.), and then promoted Knight Grand Cross (G.C.B) as a reward for his services as an officer of the Royal Navy.

Admiral Sir William Domett was first commissioned Lieutenant, 17/12/1778, promoted Captain, 9/12/1782 (Colonel of the Portsmouth Division, Royal Marines, 1/1/1801) and Rear Admiral of the Blue, 23/4/1804. He was subsequently appointed Rear Admiral of the White, 9/11/1805, Rear Admiral of the Red, 28/4/1808, (Commissioner of the Admiralty 9/5/1808 to 23/10/1813), and promoted Vice-Admiral of the White, 25/10/1809, appointed Vice-Admiral of the Red, 4/12/1813, and promoted Admiral of the Blue, 12/8/1819 and Admiral of the White, 27/5/1825.

Admiral Domett was one of the outstanding naval officers of the 18th and early 19th centuries. He saw service under many of the great fleet commanders, including Admirals Hood, Rodney, Howe, Hyde Parker, Cornwallis and Nelson. Admiral Nelson was so impressed by him that he specifically requested at one stage that Domett retain his position as Captain of the Fleet. Few naval officers of his era saw as much action as Domett did. During the American War of Independence he saw service aboard HMS Surprise, which was the advance ship of the squadron that raised the rebel siege of Quebec in May 1775, and was also present during the action off Chesapeake on 5th September 1781. He also saw service with Lord Howe during the relief of Gibraltar in 1782, was present at the Glorious First of June, 1794, and was with Nelson at Copenhagen. Domett was appointed K.C.B., 2/1/1815, and advanced to G.C.B., 16/5/1820. He died on 19/5/1828.

Volume accompanied by photocopied extract from the Dictionary of National Biography, along with a 4 page article regarding the life and ancestry of Admiral Sir William Domett (1751-1828), extracted from The Genealogist magazine, vol 15, no 1, March 1965, from which the following details are taken: William Domett went to sea in 1769, at the age of 18, in the Quebec frigate on the West India Station as Able Seaman. He worked his way to midshipman and lieutenant, serving in ships commanded by his patron Alexander Hood and his brother Samuel Hood and took part in actions against the French off Cape Henry, Chesapeake Bay, St. Kitts and The Saints after this last battle he was given command of the sloop Ceres, captured from the enemy, in which he took home Rodneys duplicate despatches. In 1782 he was promoted Post Captain commanding the Queen, 98, and served as Flag Captain to Rear Admiral Sir Alexander Hood in the relief of Gibraltar. In Howes great victory of the Glorious First of June 1794 he commanded Royal George, 100, which suffered severe damage and casualties. In an engraving commemorating this battle Captain William Dometts portrait appears among those of the captains who took part in the action. In the next year he was Flag Captain to Alexander Hood (now Lord Bridport) at the Battle of Lorient in which three French capital ships were captured. His patron specially commended him in a despatch for his manly spirit and the assistance I received from his active and attentive mind. In 1801 he was appointed to London, 98, as Captain of the Fleet to Rear Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and was present at the Battle of Copenhagen. He then served with Lord Nelson in the Baltic a minute in the Admiralty Secretarys Register records: William Domett, Esq., to be First Captain of the St. George or of any other ship wherein the Rt. Hon. Horatio Lord Nelson shall hoist his flag. His active service at sea ended in 1805, after several years as Captain of the fleet to Vice Admiral Cornwallis, when ill-health prevented him from Flag Command in the Channel. He had served thirty-five years, mostly at sea and in many engagements with the enemy. He had been promoted Rear Admiral in 1804 and rose through the various ranks of Admiral until he was promoted Admiral of the White in 1825. He was elected M.P. for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in 1809. An engraving was made in 1806 from a portrait by Bowyer. The original has not been traced and may have been a miniature. It depicts William Domett, Rear Admiral of the White. in naval uniform with a medal on his coat – that awarded for the Glorious First of June. A fine face with broad forehead, the hair powdered, well-marked brows over wide-set eyes. There is also a miniature in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, when he was elderly. For his retirement he had acquired an estate in the parish of Hawkchurch, known as Westhay. Near the ancient farmhouse, which may have been the home of his ancestors, he built a modest residence in brick, slate-roofed, which stands almost unaltered since his day. He was unmarried.

The achievements of Admiral Sir William Domett are additionally further recorded on a memorial tablet erected in his memory in the Church of St John, Hawkchurch, inscribed “Sacred to the Memory of Sir William Domett, G.C.B., Admiral of the White. He entered His Majestys Navy in I769 under his friend and patron Viscount Bridport and was engaged in active service for 46 years. He had the rare and distinguished honour of serving as Captain of the Fleet under the following Heroes of England Lords Bridport, Hood, Rodney, Howe, Keppel, St. Vincent, Nelson. An eulogium on his character more eloquent than words and more durable than marble. He was present in Lord Rodneys action of 1782, in the same year he commanded the Queen at the relief of Gibraltar and the Royal George at the Glorious Victory of the First of June 1794, and for the style and gallantry with which he commenced the fight he was honoured with a medal by His Majesty George III. He was appointed by the King Colonel of the Portsmouth Division of Marines. At the Battle of Copenhagen he acted as Captain of the Fleet by the particular request of Lord Nelson. On his return from the Baltic he was appointed Captain of the Channel Fleet by Admiral Cornwallis. In 1804 he was appointed one of the Commissioners of the Admiralty and in 1813 Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth but in 1815 he resigned his command in consequence of ill-health, and retired to spend the remainder of his life on his Estate at Westhay in this parish, where he suddenly expired on the 9th of May 1828, aged 76 years. A friend of the poor, a Christian indeed he died as deeply regretted as he lived universally beloved.”

NOTE. The article in the Genealogist magazine quoted above refers to a portrait in which Domett is depicted wearing a medal awarded to him for the Glorious First of June. The medal awarded to Domett for the Glorious First of June was a Small Naval Gold Medal, and this is presumably the one depicted in the engraving after the portrait by Bowyer.