Trident

Posted by Albert Parker on Saturday 31st of January 2026 21:41

Perhaps Wakely was ill had his will made because he expected (correctly, as it turned out) to die soon. Aix or Basque Roads was not a particularly desease-ridden station. William Laird Clowes, /The Royal Navy, A History_, vol. 3 (1898), pp. 252-253, mentions no actions in that area in his account of the navy's operations in 1762, nor does Robert Beatson, _Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain_ (1804), vol. 2, pp. 590-599, in his account of "transactions" "at or near home." The major naval operations by the British navy in 1762 were attacks on Havana, Cuba, and Manila in the Philippines. Nothing in Trident's entry in Rif Winfield, _British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792_ (2007).

Posted by Sian Plant on Monday 26th of January 2026 18:43

The will of James Wakely of HMS Trident proved 18 September 1762 by his parents (PCC Will PROB11-880). The will was dated 21 Jun 1762 and witnessed by BEnjamin Clive, James Barry and William Vaughn in "Basque Road". Was there any action that could have led to James Wakely's death so soon after the will was made?

Posted by Celia Dodd on Saturday 16th of November 2024 18:32

I am interested in Thomas Godson, mariner of HMS Trident, whose PCC will was proved on 2 Mar 1759. It appears he might not have died as there is a Thomas fitting his description marrying near Beverley, E Yorks in Dec 1859. Would that be possible? What is not mentioned above is that in Feb 1759 the vessel was in Lisbon having its mast repaired. See the National Archive catalogue SP 89/51/87