Foley, Admiral Sir Thomas (1757-1833)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0064 FOL
Held at	: National Maritime Museum   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/ ›
Full title	: Foley, Admiral Sir Thomas (1757-1833)
Date(s)	: 1797-1832
Level of description	: Collection
Extent	: 2ft; 62cm
Name of creator(s)	: Foley | Sir | Thomas | 1757-1833 | Knight | Admiral

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Foley entered the Navy in 1770 and after early service in Newfoundland and the West Indies was promoted to lieutenant in 1778. During the American War he saw service in the Channel, North America and the West Indies. In 1782 he was promoted to commander and in 1790 to captain. After a period on the Home Station, he was Flag-Captain in the BRITANNIA at the battle of Cape St Vincent, 1797, and in the GOLIATH he led the Fleet into action at the Nile, 1798. In 1800, Foley was appointed to the ELEPHANT in the Channel Fleet, going later to the Baltic, where he served at the battle of Copenhagen, 1801. Foley 'was then ill and unfit for service for several years until his appointment as Commander-in-Chief in the Downs from 1811 to the peace, 1815. He had been promoted to rear-admiral in 1808, became a vice-admiral in 1812 and in 1825 an admiral. In 1830 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, where he served until his death. There is a privately printed biography by John Beresford Herbert, The life and services of Admiral Sir Thomas Foley, G.C.B., Rear-Admiral of Great Britain (Cardiff, 1884).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Sir Thomas Foley, consisting of about 630 letters received by Foley between 1797 and 1832. Much of the correspondence concerns the promotion of young officers. There are approximately 140 correspondents; those with more than a few letters include Prince William Henry, Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton (1759-1832), Admiral Sir Richard Keats (q.v. ), Robert Saunders Dundas, Lord Melville (q.v.), Earl St Vincent (q.v.), Admiral Sir Robert Stopford (q.v.), Admiral Sir William Young (1751-1821) and Vice-Admiral Sir William Hope (1766-1831).

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Conditions governing access:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Finding aids:

Detailed catalogue online at the: National Maritime Museum website .

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers were purchased in 1953 from Christie's through the Caird Fund.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Edited by Sarah Drewery, Jun 2011.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
2010-08-26