John Phillimore
Sir John Phillimore CB (18 January 1781 – 21 March 1840) was an officer of the
Royal Navy who saw service during the
French Revolutionary and
Napoleonic Wars. He was involved in several notable actions during his active career, taking part in both Battles of Copenhagen, sending
Sir Hyde Parker's famous signal to
Nelson in the first, and fighting off Danish gunboats in the second. He went on to win a hard-fought victory over a French frigate in 1814 and reaped the rewards. He was at times a controversial figure, causing a scandal when he thrashed the naval historian
William James with a stick for apparently badly representing Phillimore's conduct, and on another occasion inviting rebuke from the
Navy Board for his request for more paint for his ship. He nevertheless became an
aide-de-camp to the young
Queen Victoria, and took important steps to reform how the lower ranks and ordinary seamen were treated in the Navy.
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