English Captain: Francis Digby

Francis Digby served in the Restoration navy. In 1666, he was lieutenant on the Royal Charles. Later in 1666, he was appointed captain of the 4th Rate Jersey. On 25 July 1666, his ship was lying in need of repair. In 1667, he was appointed captain of the Greenwich. Then, in 1668, he became captain of the Montagu. Finally, in 1672, he was captain of the 2nd Rate Henry (74 guns). He was assigned to the Earl of Sandwich's division. He was killed at the Battle of Solebay, on 28 May 1672. William Laird Clowes says of Captain Digby: "Digby, besides being a captain in the Royal Navy, was a captain in the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot (the Marines of that day), and is remarkable as having been the first naval officer to hold the double commission." (Clowes, page 307). Sources:

1. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898.

2. Julian S. Corbett, “A Note on the Drawings in the Possession of The Earl of Dartmouth Illustrating The Battle of Solebay May 28, 1672 and The Battle of the Texel August 11, 1673”, 1908.

3. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.

4. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.