Shovel

Shovel, SIR CLOUDESLEY, a brave but ill-fated admiral, was born of poor parents, about 1650, most probably at Clay, a Norfolk fishing-village. Here he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, but he ran away to sea, and soon rose by his remarkable ability and courage through the grades of cabin-boy and seaman to the quarter-deck. He served as lieutenant under Sir John Narborough in the Mediterranean (1674), burned four pirate ships under the walls of Tripoli, commanded a ship at the battle in Bantry Bay (1689), and was soon after knighted for his conduct. In 1690 he rose to be rear-admiral of the blue, and took an active part in the battle off Beachy Head; two years later, as rear-admiral of the red, he supported Admiral Russell heroically at La Hogue, and himself burned twenty of the enemy's ships. He was sent to Vigo in 1702 to bring home the spoils of Rooke, next served under that hero in the Mediterranean, and led his van at Malaga. In January 1705 he was made rear-admiral of England. That year he took part with Peterborough in the capture of Barcelona, but failed in his attack on Toulon in 1707. On the voyage home his ship, the Association, struck a rock off the Scilly Isles, on the foggy night of the 22d October 1707, and went down with 800 men on board. Three other vessels of his squadron perished with a loss of over 2000. Sir Cloudesley Shovel's body was washed up next day, and buried in Westminster Abbey.