Edmund Atkinson was master's mate on the Chatham. He joined on 01 April 1791 and remained with the ship until 14 July 1791 when he was discharged at the Cape. He was listed as being 22 years old and from Carlisle when he joined. Little is known about him. An Edmund Atkinson was baptised on 05 July 1766 at St. Mary, Carlisle, the son of James Atkinson.

Joseph Baker, the second son of the James and Ann Baker, was born in Bristol early in 1767. He was baptised at St. Peter's Church in February 1767. His mother was from Ludlow in Shropshire and was either related to or close friends of the Vashon family.

On 19 December 1781, Baker joined the Royal Navy and was posted aboard the HMS Alert, as captain's servant for Commander James Vashon, one of the Ludlow family. Vashon was promoted captain for his role in the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782. Baker went with him briefly to the Prince William as a midshipman for two months. Vashon was appointed to HMS Formidable as flag captain before being given command of HMS Sybil. Baker served with Vashon on both ships.

In January 1784 Baker left Vashon and joined HMS Bombay Castle. He served on her as a midshipman for over two and a half years, firstly under Captain Herbert Sawyer and then in 1785 under Captain Robert Fanshaw. However, in December 1786, he rejoined James Vashon who had taken command of HMS Europa, the flagship of Commodore Alan Gardner. Here Baker met lieutenant George Vancouver, and fellow midshipman Peter Puget. Baker stayed on the Europa for 34 months. He passed his lieutenant's examination and was commissioned on 19 November 1790.

In 1791,Vancouver chose Baker as 3rd lieutenant on his new ship, the Discovery, which set out on 01 April 1791 for the Northwest Coast of America. Joseph Baker began as 3rd lieutenant on the Discovery. On 26 September 1792 he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant. On 25 November 1794, he was made 1st lieutenant. He served the whole voyage on Discovery. Baker kept logs (Adm 55/32 22 Dec. 1790-27 Nov. 1792. Adm 55/33 28 Nov. 1792-01 Jul. 1795). He drew seven views and was responsible for the charts that accompanied Vancouver's text in the official narrative.

Mount Baker in Washington state, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is named for him as is Point Baker near Port Protection on Sumner Strait.

After the expedition with Vancouver, Baker was quickly reunited with Captain James Vashon as first lieutenant on HMS Pompee. They were mainly engaged in the English Channel. Baker was promoted commander on 01 March 1799 and given command of the brig Calypso, which he took to the Caribbean in November 1799. While in the West Indies, Baker transferred to HMS Ganges in October 1801. On 26 April 1802, Baker made post-captain.

Baker was given command of and recommissioned HMS Castor in March 1805. The 32 gun frigate was based in Leith in Scotland and operated in the North and Baltic Seas. Baker and Vashon crossed paths again as Vashon was appointed commander of operations at Leith. In May 1808, Baker took over command of HMS Tartar. While escorting a convoy off Norway on 03 November the Tartar captured the Danish privateer sloop Naargske Gutten. Then on 15 May 1809, Baker captured a Danish privateer sloop near Felixberg on the coast of Courland.

At the beginning of March 1811, vice-admiral Sir James Saumarez, in charge of the Baltic fleet received information of an intended attack by the Danes on the island of Anholt in the Kattegat between Sweden and Denmark, then garrisoned by British forces. The Tartar sailed from Yarmouth on 20 March and anchored off the north end of the island on the 26th, sighting the enemy off the south side of the island the next day. The enemy, with eighteen heavy gunboats covering them offshore, landed in darkness and fog on the south side and attempted to outflank the British positions but were driven back. Gunfire from Tartar and the island's batteries forced the gunboats to get under weigh and move off to the westward leaving the enemy troops ashore to surrender. Tartar chased the escaping gunboats towards Laeso but found herself in shoal water as night approached so had to give up. Baker received a commendation from Saumarez.

Later in the year, the Tartar was operating further up the Baltic together with the Ethalion. When attempting to reach a rendezvous with Ethalion at the island of Dago (now Hiiumaa Island in Estonia) on 18 August 1811, the Tartar struck on a sandbank in the Baltic and was wrecked. All the crew were saved and distributed among the ships on the station. Baker was cleared in a court-martial but this ended Baker's active naval career.

In 1812, Baker took charge of a prisoners of war camp at Stapleton near Bristol. He remained there until the closure of the camp in 1814. He applied to resume active naval duty in 1815 but was turned down.

Baker married Elizabeth Weyermann (born in 1776 and a niece of James Vashon) in early 1797. They made their home in Presteigne, Radnorshire. Together, they had ten children, three daughters and seven sons, including Admiral James Vashon Baker (the name r eflecting the relationship with the Admiral) and General Sir William Baker (the 4th son, born in Leith in 1808 and who died in 1881). Joseph Baker died on 26 June 1817 at Presteigne and was buried at St. Andrew's parish church. He left a will proven on 20 September 1817 (PROB 11/1596).

Three years after Joseph's death, Elizabeth moved with her children to Ludlow to be near her uncle, the admiral. Sadly, over the next few years, three of her sons (Casper, Peter and Henry) died before she, herself, died in Ludlow in February 1841. She was survived by two daughters (Josephine, who had married a Colonel John Colvin, and Elizabeth) and four sons (James, William, Vashon and Joseph).

Notes for the will.
Baker's will was written in 1797 shortly after his marriage. It makes reference therefore to his wife but no children.
James Sykes, one of the executors, died in 1816.

Volant Vashon Ballard was born on 04 January 1774 at Ludlow, Shropshire, the son of Humphrey Ballard and his wife Sarah (née Vashon). Humphrey Ballard had married Sarah Vashon on 28 November 1770 at Ludlow. Both parents came from Ludlow in Shropshire. Volant Ballard was also the nephew of Captain (later Admiral) James Vashon.

Ballard began his Royal Navy career as captain's servant to his uncle, Captain James Vashon on HMS Expedition in April 1786. The Expedition was the flagship of Commodore Alan Gardner. After four months Ballard moved with Vashon and Gardner to HMS Europa in the September. The Europa was based at Jamaica and one of her lieutenants was George Vancouver. The Europa was paid off in Britain in 1789.

Ballard then moved to HMS Astrea under Captain Peter Rainier (whose sister was the second wife of James Vashon). Ballard remained on the ship for a year before following Rainier to HMS Monarch in June1790. Eight months later, Ballard joined Vancouver's expedition on 28 February 1791. He spent the whole voyage on Discovery beginning as an AB. On 01 June 1791, he became a midshipman and remained so until 01 December 1792. He then transferred to be clerk before becoming a midshipman again from 01 December 1794. During the voyage Ballard kept a log (Adm 55/29 Discovery, 01 Mar. 1791-02 Jul. 1795).

After the Discovery voyage, Ballard passed his lieutenant's examination and was immediately commissioned on 06 November 1795. On 25 December 1798, while commanding the sloop Hobart, on the East India station, Ballard was promoted to captain and transferred to the frigate Carysfort. He remained with the Carysfort until mid-1800.

He commanded the Jason for 2 months in mid-1801 and then took over command of HMS De Ruyter in December 1801. He sailed her to the West indies and was based at Antigua from August 1803 to mid-1804. His next ship was HMS Berschermer in 1804. Ballard recommissioned HMS Blonde (ex Hebe) in July 1806. They departed in a convoy to the West Indies on 07 January, and, in August, captured the French privateers La Dame Villaret and the Hortense. The Hirondelle and the Duquesne were captured in September and the Alert in October.

At the end of 1809, the Blonde was part of a light squadron off Basseterre in the blockade of Guadaloupe. On 18 December 1809, Captain Samuel Ballard (no apparent relation of Volant) in HMS Sceptre assumed charge of the squadron. Two French ships were discovered moored in a strong position in Anse-la-Barque. The Blonde was deputed to lead the attack and bore the brunt of the action, which left the enemy frigates in flames. The action led to the capture of Guadeloupe and Volant Ballard was honourably mentioned. Ballard briefly captained HMS Statira from 1810 to 1811. This was his last active service.

Ballard was made a Companion of the Bath in 1815. His older brother, Humphrey Ballard, married Ann Robonson Baker on 17 December 1814 in Presteigne, Radnorshire. Ann Baker was either the sister or neice of Joseph Baker, who had sailed with Ballard and Vancouver, thus providing a link between Baker and Ballard. Ballard, himself, married Arabella Sarah Crabb, from Shidfield Lodge, Hampshire on 18 September 1811.

The Ballards had the following children: Sarah Arabella (1812); Harriett Vashon (1814); Volant Vashon (1816); James Boucher (1817) (later a navy Captain); Edward Humphrey (1819); and George Frederick (1823). Ballard became a rear admiral in 1825 but died at Bath on 12 October 1832, and was buried at the church of St Saviour, Walcot in Wiltshire. He left a will proven on 15 November 1832 (PROB 11/1807).

The section about Robert Barrie has been compiled with much assistance from Ann Alt in Ohio, U.S.A. for which many thanks.

According to a document attached to his lieutenant's examination certificate, Robert Barrie was baptised on 10 May 1773. Other documentation has him born a year later on 05 May 1774. It is agreed, however, that he was born in St. Augustine, Florida, the son of Robert and Dorothea (Dolly) Barrie. His father, originally from Sanquhar, Dumfries in Scotland, was a surgeon's mate in the 31st Regiment of Foot. Barrie senior was suffering from pleuratic fever and returned to Britain. However, he died at sea in 1775 en route with his family. Barrie's mother, who was the sister of Alan Gardner, an officer in the Royal Navy (later Admiral Lord Gardner), eventually married again in 1784, this time to George Clayton, a wealthy Lancashire textile manufacturer. Young Robert Barrie, after basic schooling, joined the Royal Navy in 1788, under the patronage of his uncle, Captain Alan Gardner.

Barrie joined HMS Europa on 05 June 1788 as part of the admiral's retinue. The ship was under the command of James Vashon and George Vancouver was one of the lieutenants. After a year Barrie moved to HMS Goliath on 20 November 1789 as a midshipman under Captain Andrew Snape Douglas. Six months later Barrie followed Snape Douglas to HMS Alcide where he served for seven months, again as a midshipman.

In December 1790, Barrie joined Vancouver's proposed expedition to the Northwest Coast of America on 27 December 1790. He spent the whole voyage on Discovery. He began as a midshipman. On 01 February 1792, he became an AB and then, on 01 April 1793, he became a midshipman again. From 26 November 1794 to the end of the voyage, he was a master's mate (from 26 November 1794). He took an active part in many of the surveys on the northern coast of what is now British Columbia. Barrie kept a log but it is now missing. Letters he wrote to his mother are among the Barrie papers held by Duke University. Vancouver named Barrie Point on Sumner Strait after him. A part of Gardner Canal in British Columbia was named Barrie Reach at a later date.

When Vancouver's expedition returned to Britain, Barrie passed his lieutenant's examination in October 1795 and was immediately commissioned on 05 November 1795. He saw duty on HMS Queen (from November 1795), HMS Royal Sovereign (1796) and HMS St. George (1800). He then joined a former Discovery shipmate, Thomas Manby, in the Bourdelois in 1801. In early December of that year, the Bourdelois, with Thomas Manby as captain, sailed from Portsmouth with a convoy to the West Indies. However, the convoy was dispersed in a gale off Cape Finisterre and on 08 January 1801, off Palma, the Bourdelois sighted a strange sail. Two boats were dispatched under Lieutenant Robert Barrie to investigate. After a 14 hour row, Barrie recaptured the Adventure (a London vessel, recently taken by the Mouche, a French privateer).

Barrie was rewarded for his actions with promotion to commander on 23 October 1801. Several months later, on 29 April 1802, he was advanced to captain, while in command of the sloop Calypso. In late 1803, the Bourdelois was recommissioned with Robert Barrie as her new captain. About this time, Barrie spent time in London with Thomas Pitt, sharing his somewhat hedonistic lifestyle.

From 1804 Barrie was on HMS Brilliant on the Irish station until early 1806. In June 1806, he took command of HMS Pomone, operating in the English Channel. He captured or destroyed 21 French vessels off the French coast over two months. On 5 June, Pomone sighted a convoy running close in shore south of the Ile d'Yeu. As the rest of the British squadron was too distant, Barrie decided to stop the convoy getting into Sable d'Olonne by himself. Fourteen of the enemy were taken and one driven on shore. Seven brigs, five sloops, a dogger and a chasse maree laden with wheat, flour and provisions were sent to Plymouth. Sir Richard Strachan, watching the prizes, signalled to the squadron "Pomone has great merit."

On 13 June 1809, in the Mediterranean off Cap Bon, the Neapolitan privateer Lucien Charles (commanded by General de Boissi, the adjutant general of France) was captured after a short chase. Pomone was then employed watching the port of Toulon and, when the enemy's ships put to sea on 21 October, Barrie sailed to inform Lord Collingwood. The French privateer brig Dubourdieu was captured by Pomone on 18 January 1811. On 13 March, Pomone was west of the Maddalena Islands between Corsica and Sardinia, when a brig, l'Etourdie, was sighted to the eastward. Barrie gave chase and saw the brig enter a small cove on the north side of Montecristo Island, about 45 km south of Elba. As the Pomone approached, the brig was set on fire by her crew and blew up an hour later. In April, Barrie in the Pomone, together with the Unite and the Scout, approached three vessels in the Bay of Sagone in Corsica. The enemy commanded the heights around the bay and the vessels were covered by a battery of guns. The British ships attacked until the guns on shore were silenced and the three French ships were ablaze. Later, the Pomone captured a ship carrying Lucien Buonaparte, the brother of Napoleon, who was attempting to escape to America from Italy with his plunder.

On 14 October 1811, the Pomone, returning from the Mediterranean with Sir Hartford Jones, the British ambassador to Persia, on board, struck on the Needles off the Isle of Wight. The crew, passengers and cargo were all taken off before the ship sank. Captain Barrie and his officers were cleared of blame for the loss at a court martial.

Barrie served briefly on HMS Grampus from June 1812 in North American then West Indies waters. He was then appointed to HMS Dragon in October 1812 and took the ship on the Halifax station. During the winter of 1813, Captain Barrie was commodore of the squadron blockading the Chesapeake until Rear Admiral Cockburn arrived in May 1814. Under Barrie, 85 vessels were captured. On 01 June 1814, Barrie was sent with the boats of Dragon and Albion and the schooner St. Lawrence to attack a flotilla being fitted out at Baltimore. They met the flotilla standing down the Chesapeake and retreated before it towards the Dragon which was anchored off Smith's Point. When Dragon got under weigh the Americans retreated into the Paxutent River where the ship could not follow them. On the 15th, Barrie proceeded up river with 12 boats containing marines and troops. They occupied Benedict and Marlborough and loaded tobacco on the boats and a schooner. Dragon returned to at Halifax for a refit and where she became the flagship of Rear Admiral Griffith.

Barrie, in the Dragon, led a flotilla from Halifax on 26 August 1814, which anchored off Metinicus Island before sailing up Penobscot Bay to reach reached Castine. The town were abandoned and then occupied by a landing party. Captain Barrie with 80 marines and 600 troops continued up the river to attack the Adams frigate at Hamden. Before the boats could reach them, the Americans set the Adams on fire, and retreated to Bangor where they surrendered. HMS Dragon subsequently returned to the Chesapeake where Barrie resumed as commodore of the squadron. In late 1814, Barrie landed twice at Tappahanock and brought off tobacco and flour together with the arms and baggage.

On 11 January 1815, the Dragon proceeded to the coast of Georgia in a small convoy and took possession of Cumberland Island. Barrie landed on the mainland where he captured a fort at Point Petre and destroyed the barracks and store houses at St. Mary's before bringing out a ship laden with timber and a captured English East Indiaman. Dragon returned to Plymouth at the end of 1815 and was put out of commission. Her officers presented Captain Barrie with a piece of plate valued at 100 guineas and, on 21 December 1815, a public dinner was held at Preston to honour his services.

Following the peace in 1815, Barrie was placed on half pay. He was also made a Companion of the Bath. Barrie married Julia Wharton Ingilby on 24 October 1816 and, together, they had one son and four daughters. Barrie was made commissioner of the dockyard at Kingston, Upper Canada, in January 1819, at the time the senior naval position in the Canadas. The Barries moved to live at Point Frederick, the present site of the Royal Military College of Canada. Barrie was involved with various matters connected with maritime matters, including the hydrographic surveying of the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River system, the building of the Rideau and Welland canals and relations with the United States over topics such as the international boundary.

At the end of 1825, Barrie went to Britain for consultation with the Admiralty about the naval establishments and the defence of Canada. He returned to Kingston in 1827 but when the inland naval establishment was abolished in June 1834, Barrie returned to Britain for good. King William IV immediately appointed him KCH and knighted him. He was promoted rear-admiral in 1837, and in 1840 was created KCB.

Barrie died on 07 June 1841 at his seat in Swarthdale, northern England. Julia Barrie died in February 1837. One of their daughters, Georgina, became a catholic nun and went with Florence Nightingale to the Crimea.

Barrie is remembered in Canada in a number of place-names, which include Barrie Point and Barrie Reach, B.C., the village of Barriefield near Kingston, Barrie Island in Lake Huron, and the Ontario city of Barrie.

The Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library of Duke University in the United States holds Sir Robert Barrie Papers (1765-1953), amongst which are papers relating to Barrie's participation in the Vancouver expedition and his later career.

Edward Bell was listed as being 20 years old and from Dublin when he joined the expedition. He joined on 17 January 1791 and spent the whole voyage on Chatham. He was the clerk until 01 February 1794. Bell then spent the middle part of the voyage from 01 February 1794 to 29 September 1795 as a midshipman. He resumed as clerk to the end of the voyage. An anonymous journal exists from the voyage, which it is believed was written by Bell. It is often critical of Vancouver. The journal is in the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand. It covers 01 Jan. 1791-26 Feb. 1794.

An island in Behm Canal, Southeastern Alaska is named after Bell. He appears not to have pursued a naval career. Nothing else is known about him (07 December 2008).

William Robert Broughton was born in 1762 in Cheshire, the son of Charles and Anne Broughton. Broughton joined the navy and served as a midshipman under Captain Knight in the War of American Independence. He was promoted lieutenant on 12 January 1782 and served in that rank on the Burford as the British encountered the French in the Far East under Suffren. He served again with Knight on HMS Victory in 1790, before later that year William Broughton joined the expedition being planned to sail to the Northwest Coast of America.

He was appointed to command the brig Chatham, which would accompany George Vancouver. William Robert Broughton joined the Chatham on 01 January 1791 as commander. He left the voyage at Monterey on 25 November xxxx to carry dispatches back to Britain. Among his achievements on the voyage was suveying the Broughton Archipelago north of Vancouver Island and the Columbia River. No journal or log for Broughton on the Chatham now exists.

On his arrival in Britain, Broughton was made commander on 03 October 1793. He was given command of HMS Providence with instructions to rejoin Vancouver on the Northwest Coast of America. However, various events combined to delay their departure and it was in early 1795 that Broughton left Plymouth. Zachary Mudge, who had returned separately to Britain rejoined Broughton as first lieutenant on the Providence. At Monterey in xxxxx 1796, he learned that Vancouver had departed and, having reasoned that Vancouver would have completed their task, crossed the Pacific where he undertook a survey of the Yellow Sea and parts of Korea and Japan.

Broughton became the first Briton to visit Korea. At Macao, he purchased a schooner, Prince William Henry, as a companion vessel and this proved a most wise and fortuitous action. On 16 May 1797, the Providence struck a coral reef near the coast of Taiwan and was lost. The crew was all saved and the schooner returned them all to Macao. Most of the crew were discharged to other vessels while Broughton resumed the survey in the schooner. In May 1798, Broughton arrived in the Prince William Henry at Trincomalee in Ceylon where the voyage ended. Broughton sought a passage to Britain where he arrived in early 1799. He published the narrative of the voyage in 1804 as "Voyage of discovery to the north Pacific ocean...performed in HM sloop Providence and her tender in the years 1795-6-7-8". In his absence, Broughton had been promoted captain on 28 January 1797.

In 1803, Broughton had command of HMS Penelope cruising in the North Sea off Yarmouth in case of French attacks. The next year, Broughton faced a court martial at Sheerness on charges preferred by his first lieutenant Gedges but they were found to be frivolous and he was acquitted. In May 1804, the Penelope took part in an action off Ostend.

Broughton took command of HMS Illustrious and, in 1809, was part of the expedition under Lord Gambier against the French Brest fleet in Aix Roads. In 1810, still in Illustrious, Broughton went out to the East Indies, and was present at the capture of Mauritius in December. In early 1811, as commodore on the station, he had charge of the expedition against Java, which assembled at Malacca. Sailing in the June, Broughton was accused of being too cautious and it was already August when troops were landed for the attack on Batavia (Jakarta). On 09 August, Rear Admiral Robert Stopford arrived and assumed command, much to Broughton's anger. Broughton returned to Britain and later applied for a court martial against the rear-admiral for assuming command and the manner in which he did so. The Admiralty dismissed Broughton's request and the incident marked the end of his active service.

Broughton was made a Companion of the Bath on 04 June 1815. He had married a cousin, Jemima, daughter of Sir Thomas Delves Broughton, baronet. Together, they had three daughters and one son, William, who became a captain in the navy. On 12 August 1819, Broughton became a Colonel of Marines. The Broughtons moved to Florence in Italy where William died suddenly from an attack of angina pectoris on 12 March 1821. He was buried in the English burial-ground at Livorno. He left a will proven on 23 May 1821 (PROB 11/1643).

Adam Brown sailed as an able seaman on the Chatham. Brown was born on 03 February and baptised on 25 February 1776 at Swallow Street Scotch Church in Westminster. His father, also Adam Brown had married Cesilia Wilson on 04 July 1762 at St. Cuthberts, Edinburgh. After having two children, the family moved south to London about 1766.

Brown joined the Royal Navy and his first posting was the Chatham for Vancouver's voyage. A close friendship developed with James Johnstone and Alexander Menzies, possibly because of their shared Scottish roots. Brown and Menzies were beneficiaries and executors of Johnstone's will over twenty tears later, while Menzies married Brown's sister, Janet, in 1802.

After the voyage with Vancouver, Brown remained in the navy joining HMS Swallow under Commander George Fowke in January 1796 for two years including service in Africa and West Indies. He next joined the Carnatic in early 1798 under Captain George Bowen followed by time on HMS Queen in January 1800. His next four postings all involved ships commanded by Captain Robert Otway. Brown served as master's mate on, firstly, HMS Trent (July 1800), then the Royal George (November 1800), HMS London (February 1801) and finally the Edgar (August 1801).

In July 1802, Brown moved to the Cruizer under Commander John Hancock. After four months he passed his lieutenant's examination but it would be only in April 1811 that he was commissioned a lieutenant. Details of service in the intervening years are not known. In 1813, Brown served on HMS Asia as flag lieutenant under Captain Alexander Shippard. He was promoted commander on 28 April 1814 and appointed to the Sapphire sloop. However the crew were paid off before October 1814. No further details of his career are known.

When he died on 12 April 1828, Brown was living at Brompton Square in Kensington. He appears to have never married. He left a will, proven on 02 May 1828 (PROB 11/1740). He left a house in Windmill Street, Soho to his unmarried sister Mary while Janet Menzies received stock. Brown had been a principal beneficiary in James Johnstone's will five years earlier.

Notes for the will.
Janet Menzies, Brown's sister, was the wife of Archibald Menzies, with whom Brown sailed on the Chatham.
Katherine Johnson was most probably another sister of Brown's and the mother of the two nieces and two nephews also mentioned.
Andrew Johnson would be one of Archibald Menzies' executors, fourteen years later.

John Aisley Browne was baptised on 13 March 1774 at St. Paul's, Covent Garden, London, the son of George and Mary Browne. He joined the Royal Navy in May 1788 on the Jason as a lieutenant's servant. Browne then served for four months on HMS Duke under Captain Robert Kingsmill as captain's servant before joining the Discovery.

Browne was listed as being 17 years old and coming from London when he joined the Discovery on 07 January 1791 as an AB. He was a midshipman from 01 June 1791 to 08 October 1793. He then resumed as an AB. He spent the whole voyage on Discovery. Browne kept a log during the voyage (Adm 51/4533 pt. 53 Discovery covers 01 Jan. 1791 to 26 Mar. 1795).

After serving with Vancouver, Browne joined HMS Leopard in December 1795 as a midshipman under Captain William Swaffield. Two months later he transferred to HMS Eurydice under Captain Richard Bennet for cruising and convoy duties.

Browne passed his lieutenant's examination in July 1796 and was commissioned in February 1797. He immediately went to the Tisiphone on 08 February 1797, which had been commissioned by Commander James Wallis, and they operated in the North Sea. This is Browne's only known service. He was not listed as an naval officer in 1805 and nothing else is known about him (15 December 2008).

Thomas Clarke was born on 07 September and baptised on 14 November 1772 at St. Dunstan's in the West, London, the son of John and Biddy Clarke. Thomas Clarke joined the Royal Navy in January 1789 as captain's servant to Captain Richard Bickerton on HMS Sybil. Clarke remained on her for 21 months before joining HMS Discovery on 29 December 1790 as an AB. He remained as such until 01 February 1791 when he became a midshipman. On 01 June 1791 he resumed as an AB and then on 03 January 1793 Clarke became a midshipman again. On 01 April 1793 he became an AB again but he was one of three from the midshipman's mess who were discharged at Hawai'i on 07 February 1794 into the Daedalus storeship for return to Britain. It is unclear if he was ill or one of the young troublemakers Vancouver had to contend with during the voyage.

Clarke reached Britain before Vancouver and joined HMS Artois under Captain Sir Edmund Nagle in March 1795. After one month Clarke transferred to HMS Melpomene under Captain Sir Charles Hamilton. Clarke was commissioned lieutenant on 15 November 1796 and joined on the Tribune under Captain Scory Barker. A year later Clarke was one of 238 men who died when the ship was lost on 16 November 1797 on the Thrum Shoal, off Halifax Nova Scotia.

A will, written and signed on 05 December 1791 in the presence of John and Eliza Clarke, exists for Thomas Clarke. Eliza Clarke (more commonly known as Biddy) was his mother while John Clarke was his brother. His father, another John Clarke, was already dead. Both John Clarkes, father (1740-1790) and brother (~1760-1815) and a younger brother, Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke, were all prominent London doctors and surgeons. Clarke's will lists him as "Thomas Clarke, a midshipman of the Discovery, Capt. Vancoavre". The date (December 1791) must be wrong as the Discovery was already in the Pacific by then. The will was proven by Biddy Clarke of Chancery Lane, London, Clarke's mother, on 27 June 1798 (PROB 11/1308).

Notes for the will.
It is fairly certain that this will is for the Thomas Clarke that sailed with Vancouver. However, it is dated December 1791 when the Discovery was already in the Pacific. The scribe writing the will must have made a mistake.
The Artois was a 5th rate of 38 guns, 984 tons, built at Rotherhithe in 1794. It was wrecked near Rochelle, France in July 1797.
The Melpomene was a 5th rate of 39 guns, 1,014 tons, captured from the French near Calvi in 1794.
The Tribune was a 5th rate of 36 guns, 916 tons, captured from the French off the Irish coast in June 1796. The Tribune, with Clarke aboard, sailed from Torbay on 22 September 1797 as part of a convoy to Quebec and Newfoundland. On 16 November, the captain, Scory Barker, allowed the ship's master to take the ship into Halifax without using a pilot from the port. The ship hit the Thrum Shoal and was wrecked with only eight men surviving. Clarke was not one of the survivors.