Admiral Benjamin William Page RN
(1765-1845)

Died aged 80

Admiral Benjamin William Page (7 February 1765 – 3 October 1845) was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who served extensively on the East Indies Station. He joined the Royal Navy in 1778 on board the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, his patron. He sailed with Hughes to the East Indies and participated in the series of naval battles against the French that culminated in the Battle of Cuddalore in 1783. Page returned to England in 1785 and was promoted to lieutenant. His first appointment as such was in the frigate HMS Astraea commanded by Captain Peter Rainier. Rainier also became a patron of Page, who transferred with him to the ship of the line HMS Monarch in 1790 and then recommended him for further employment elsewhere. After another period of service in the East Indies, Page was again taken up by Rainier as a lieutenant, this time on the ship of the line HMS Suffolk, in 1793. Page served as Rainier's temporary flag captain in Suffolk and fought at the invasion of Ceylon in 1795 before being given command of the sloop HMS Hobart. In Hobart Page used his extensive knowledge of the East Indies to navigate Rainier's fleet to the Moluccas and Amboyna Island, which they captured. Page was given command of the frigate HMS Orpheus in 1797 and soon after promoted to post captain. He was forced to leave the East Indies in 1798 due to his declining health, and took up his next appointment, as captain of the troopship HMS Inflexible, in 1800. In Inflexible he served in the Mediterranean Sea, supporting the blockades of Genoa and Alexandria and participating in the Battle of Abukir. After leaving Inflexible in 1802 Page was given command of the frigate HMS Caroline. In Caroline he brought news of the Napoleonic Wars to the East Indies in 1803 and served there until 1805, successfully taking a number of privateers and protecting valuable East India Company convoys. Service in the East Indies having again damaged his health, Page did not receive another command until 1808 when he was given the Harwich Sea Fencibles until their disbanding in 1810. Page's last active service came when he commanded the guardship HMS Puissant at Spithead between 1812 and 1815. He was subsequently promoted by seniority to rear-admiral in 1819, vice-admiral in 1830, and admiral in 1841.

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