William Henry Maxwell

William Henry Maxwell was an officer of the Royal Navy who rose to the rank of Admiral. He served on the Cape of Good Hope Station, Australia Station, and as the Commodore in Charge at Hong Kong.

Maxwell entered the Royal Navy as a Cadet in 1854. He served in the frigate in the Baltic Campaign in 1854–1856, and was appointed Midshipman in 1856. In December 1880, the Emerald was sent to investigate the death of Lieutenant Bower and four crew of the schooner who were killed in the Nggela Islands in October 1880. The Emerald spend 2 months attempting to locate the attackers. Being unable to do so the Emerald destroyed approximately 33 villages as well as cutting down fruit trees and destroying canoes in reprisal for the Sandfly incident.

The Emerald, under Captain Maxwell, visited the Ellice Islands in 1881. His command of Emerald ceased on 2 September 1882. He took command of on 28 March 1883 for service with the Channel Fleet. His command of Neptune ceased on 1 April 1885. He returned to England and was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral in 1889 and Vice-Admiral in 1894. He was placed on the Retired List in 1895, and he was advanced to the rank of Admiral on the Retired List in 1900.