William Fisher

Who was William Fisher?

William Fisher, was an officer of the Royal Navy and a novelist.

Fisher was the second son of John Fisher of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was born on 18 November 1780, and entered the navy in 1795. After serving in the North Sea, at the Cape of Good Hope, and in the Mediterranean, and as acting lieutenant of HMS Foudroyant on the coast of Egypt, he was confirmed in the rank on 3 September 1801. In 1805 he was lieutenant of HMS Superb during the chase of Pierre-Charles Villeneuve to the West Indies during the Trafalgar Campaign; and in 1806 was promoted to be commander. In 1808 he commanded the 18-gun HMS Racehorse in the English Channel, and in the same ship, in 1809-10, was employed in surveying off Mozambique. In March 1811 he was promoted to post-rank, and in 1816-17 commanded in succession the 20-gun ships HMS Bann and HMS Cherub on the coast of Guinea, in both of which he captured several slavers and pirates, some of them after a desperate resistance. From March 1836 to May 1841 he commanded HMS Asia in the Mediterranean, and in 1840, during the operations on the coast of Syria as part of the Egyptian–Ottoman War, was employed as senior officer of the detached squadron off Alexandria, with the task of keeping open the mail communication through Egypt. For this service he received the Turkish gold medal and diamond decoration. He had no further service afloat, but became, in due course, a rear-admiral in 1847.