Admiral Sir Henry Chads: A Fareham-Born Officer Who Fought Pirates and Led the Nore

Sir Henry Chads was born in Fareham on 29 October 1819 into one of the town’s most distinguished naval families. His father was Admiral Sir Henry Ducie Chads, and his mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of John Pook of Fareham.

After studying at the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth, Henry entered the Navy and soon found himself serving alongside his father in the East Indies. As a young officer he took part in operations against Malay pirates in the Strait of Malacca, part of the Royal Navy’s effort to protect shipping routes in Southeast Asia.

His early career was dangerous. In 1844, while serving as lieutenant of HMS Harlequin, he took part in an attack on pirate settlements in Sumatra and was severely wounded. His conduct was recognised with promotion to commander in January 1845.

He then commanded HMS Styx on the west coast of Africa, where the Royal Navy was heavily involved in suppressing the Atlantic slave trade. In 1848 he was promoted captain. Over the following years he commanded a succession of important ships, including HMS Portland, Amphion, Conway, Nile and London.

Chads also became closely involved in the welfare of sailors. In 1848 he was one of the founders of the Royal Sailors’ Home in Portsmouth, and later in life he devoted considerable time to naval charities, particularly the Seamen and Marines’ Orphanage.

His career eventually carried him to the highest levels of the Royal Navy. He became rear-admiral in 1866, vice-admiral in 1872 and admiral in 1877. From 1876 he served as Commander-in-Chief at the Nore, one of the Navy’s major home commands responsible for the approaches to London and the Thames.

He retired in 1884 and was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1887. He never married and spent his later years in Southsea, where he continued his charitable work. He died there on 30 June 1906.

His memorial at St Peter & St Paul therefore represents the second generation of a remarkable Fareham naval family. His father had fought in the War of 1812, Burma and the Crimean era; Henry himself served in China, Southeast Asia and West Africa before eventually commanding one of the Royal Navy’s most important home stations.

Between father and son, the Chads family’s naval service stretches across almost the whole nineteenth century.