Memorial: M1339

Plaque in St Mary’s Church, Bideford, Devon commemorating Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Grenville d. 1591

Location

St Mary's Church, Bideford, Devon, England

Details

Type: Wall plaque
Materials: Brass
Vessel: Revenge

Event

Battle of Flores

Event Date

1591

People

Grenville, Richard
Age: 49
Date of Death: 10/09/1591
Cause of Death: War casualty
Rank / Occupation: Vice-Admiral of the Fleet
Organisation: Royal Navy

Extra

Notes: Sir Richard Greville commanded a squadron of English ships that single-handedly attacked a fleet of 53 Spanish ships. Greville was mortally wounded in the gun battle and died of his wounds. His ship, Revenge, was surrendered to the Spanish, however it sank in a cyclone off the island of Terceira in the Azores.

Alfred Lord Tennyson, the Victorian poet, immortalised the Revenge in his poem ‘The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet’.

Bibliography: David Saunders 'Maritime Memorials & Mementoes' (Yeovil, 1996) p. 20
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