Henry William Bruce

Admiral Sir Henry William Bruce, (2 February 1792 – 14 December 1863) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.

Early life Born the second son of Sir Henry Hervey Aston Bruce, 1st Baronet and the former Letitia Barnard (a daughter of Rev. Dr. Henry Barnard and Mary Canning). His elder brother was Sir James Bruce, 2nd Baronet. His maternal uncle was Gen. Sir Andrew Barnard. He took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

In 1851 he was appointed Commodore of the West Africa Squadron. In 1852 he was promoted to rear-admiral. Then in 1854, as Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station, he founded a military hospital at Esquimalt. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1860. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1861. He was promoted to admiral in 1863.

Personal life In 1822 he married Jane Cochrane, daughter of Adm. Hon. Sir Alexander Cochrane (a son of the 8th Earl of Dundonald). Before her death in 1830, they were the parents of:

Alexander Hervey Bruce (d. 1874), a Lt.-Col. in the Bengal Staff Corps who married Elizabeth Julia Mackinnon.

"This piece of silver plate was presented to Sir Henry William Bruce by his Captains, Commanders, and Lieutenants in 1854 as a token of their grateful sense of his uniform, kindness and consideration to themselves, the officers and ship's companies under their command, during the period they had the pleasure of serving under him on the West Coast of Africa".