Captain Michael Everitt RN: Fareham, the Royal Navy and the Making of Arthur Phillip

Captain Michael Everitt (1716–1776) was a Fareham resident and Royal Navy officer whose career connected this parish with some of the major events of eighteenth-century naval history.

Everitt became a post-captain in 1747 and later commanded several important warships. During the Seven Years’ War he commanded HMS Buckingham, which fought at the Battle of Minorca in 1756, before moving to HMS Union and later HMS Stirling Castle.

One of the young men who served under him was Arthur Phillip, a family connection who joined Buckingham in 1755 as Everitt’s captain’s servant. Phillip followed Everitt to other ships, gaining experience that helped shape his later naval career. He would eventually command the First Fleet and become the first Governor of New South Wales. Museums of History NSW specifically describes Everitt’s patronage as important to Phillip’s early advancement.

Everitt’s connection with Fareham is preserved at St Peter & St Paul’s, where a wall memorial commemorates him alongside his wife, Elizabeth. Their family also continued the naval tradition: their son, Captain Michael John Everitt RN, would later die on active service.

Captain Michael Everitt’s memorial therefore links our parish with the Royal Navy, the Seven Years’ War and, unexpectedly, the early story of modern Australia.