John Richards Lapenotiere

Poor Lapenotiere had real trouble with his name. It's mis-spelled all over the place in contemporary documents which implies it was hard for people to pronounce, too. This must have frustrated him, and might have hampered his progress as a naval officer, although he was clearly held in high esteem. A look at Lapenotiere's history, career and life before and after Trafalgar builds an impression of a steady, determined and perhaps stubborn commander, who was nonetheless extremely capable and acclaimed by his superior officers on more than one occasion. This fits well with our knowledge of his journey from Cadiz to London with the precious Trafalgar Dispatch in his safekeeping.

Lapenotiere married Lucia Shean, his first wife, in 1797 in London. Their first two children died young but two daughters survived. Lucia herself died in 1804 and John remarried in 1805, this time to Mary Ann Graves, daughter of another naval officer. They had a further seven children. At least one of Lapenotiere's sons followed him into the Navy.

In 1802 Lapenotiere was appointed to command HM Schooner Pickle. The Naval Biography records that that "His exertions in saving the crew of the Magnificent 74, when that ship was wrecked near Brest, Mar. 25, 1804, obtained him very great credit." Pickle was generally employed as a messenger ship, running back and forth between British shores and various locations overseas. There are notes in the Naval Chronicle showing that Pickle and Lapenotiere were regularly involved in the transmission of dispatches to and from the Mediterranean, and it is likely that Lapenotiere knew the routine very well. Furthermore, Vice-Admiral Collingwood was aware of Lapenotiere and commented on his hard-working nature to Vice Admiral Cornwallis during their surveillance of Napoleon's invasion preparations in Brest: "...the Pickle keep a highly commendable lookout; but it would be desirable to have a cutter here to be some relief to the Pickle, whose commander can never be in bed during the night."

For his safe delivery of the news from Trafalgar, Lapenotiere was promoted instantly to commander. He was presented with a silver sword worth 50 guineas from Lloyds Patriotic Fund, as were the other Trafalgar Captains. After writing reminders to William Marsden, Lapenotiere was eventually paid his £500 gratuity for safe delivery of Collingwood's Trafalgar Dispatch, equivalent to around £30,000 today, and worth a few years' salary back then. In addition, he took his share of the battle spoils, receiving £65 11s in prize money and £161 in the general parliamentary reward.

With more seniority, opportunities to command were not always forthcoming. However in 1806, Commander Lapenotiere was appointed to the brig Orestes and deployed in the aftermath of the Second Battle of Copenhagen. It was during this command in late 1807 that Lapenotiere suffered a dreadful accident, being caught in an explosion on board the vessel which left him terribly burned and injured and fearful for the sight in his right eye. He recovered in due course, and while recuperating, received this warm message from fellow captain, Thomas Staines.

Captain Staines continues that he hoped "that your speedy recovery may enable you to continue those indefatigable exertions in the public service which I have, with admiration, had an opportunity of witnessing, since I have been favoured with your co-operation under my command."

A few years later, Lapenotiere crops up again in naval records for his part in capturing several useful French ships. In October 1810, Admiral Sir Robert Calder, the Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth, writes to the Admiralty about the capture of the French privateer Loup Garou:

The following year, Lapenotiere was promoted to post-captain, but never got to take command under that rank. Shortly afterwards, he retired to enjoy life on dry land with his family in Cornwall.