English Captain: Sir John Chicheley

Sir John Chicheley served in the Restoration navy. He was the protégé of the Duke of York, to whom he owed his rapid advancement. In 1662, he was a lieutenant on the 2nd Rate Swiftsure. In 1663, he commanded the 5th Rate Milford. In 1664, he commanded first the 4th Rate Bristol and then the 4th Rate Phoenix. In 1665, he commanded the 4th Rate Antelope (46 guns). He was in William Penn's squadron at the Battle of Lowestoft. In 1666, he commanded the 3rd Rate Fairfax (60 guns) at the Four Days Battle. In 1668, he commanded the 3rd Rate Rupert. In 1671, he commanded the 3rd Rate Dreadnought. In 1672, he commanded the 2nd Rate Royal Katherine at the Battle of Solebay. Sir John and part of his crew were taken prisoner by the Dutch, but the remainder of the crew were able to retake the ship. In 1673, he commanded the 1st Rate Charles (96 guns). He was Rear-Admiral of the Red at the Schooneveld battles. At the Battle of the Texel on 11 August 1673, Sir John Chicheley's squadron "was driven to leeward", which allowed the Dutch to concentrate against Prince Rupert and Sir John Harman's divisions. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War, 1946.
2. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
3. Brian Lavery, The Ship of the Line, Vol.I, 1983.
4. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.