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Admiral Lord St. Vincent - Saint or Tyrant?: The Life of Sir John Jervis, Nelson's Patron

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This is the story of John Jervis, the first-ever British Naval officer - outside of the Royal Family, to eventually hold the rank of Admiral of the Fleet (the Naval equivalent of Field Marshall). Jervis was in command at the Battle of St. Vincent (from which he would later take his name on becoming ennobled). He recognised, however, that that victory was brought about by the actions of the young Captain Nelson who brilliantly disregarded his standing orders, broke formation and placed his ship ahead of the main Spanish Fleet - thus bringing that fleet to battle when they might otherwise have sailed on and avoided direct action. In short, had Nelson not acted as he did, then all those involved would not have had a share in both the resultant glory and prize money.

From that moment onwards, Jervis became Nelson's patron - often choosing him to command squadrons and even fleets of ships over more senior officers. Not only did Nelson never fail in the field of conflict, but he also repaid that support many times over with his now-famous deeds. They did, however, eventually fall out over the subject of prize money.

Jervis was a most competent naval officer, though often fastidious in the way in which he would involve himself in the minutiae of detail of running individual ships - something which he should have left to other officers. This book is a complete and very well researched account of his life - both at sea and at home, though he rarely saw the latter. All the letters and opinions expressed at the time are repeated as we re-live this man's life and career through this book.

An exceedingly fascinating insight for those with an interest in the subject.

NM