William Thornton Bate

William Thornton Bate (31 January 1818 – 29 December 1857) was a British Royal Navy officer and surveyor. He served in First Anglo-Chinese War and Second Anglo-Chinese War. He died during the Battle of Canton in 1857.

Early life Bate was born in 1818, the son of the Governor of Ascension Island. He entered the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth at the age of 13, spending two years studying there. He was then appointed as a midshipman aboard HMS Isis, and sailed with her to the Cape of Good Hope. He spent five years at the Cape, transferring to HMS Britannia and then, on his passing his lieutenant's exam, to HMS Blenheim. He sailed with the Blenheim to the China Station.

Surveying career

In autumn 1842, Bate was assigned to Commander Collinson on HMS Bentinck, who had been tasked with surveying the waters around the Chinese coast. In May 1842, he was involved in the attack on Chapu. Collinson was responsible for surveying the approaches to Chapu, and once the troops were landed, Bate accompanied them. He was involved in a hand-to-hand battle with a Chinese defender. Bate captured him, then opened the gates of the fort to the British, at which the Chinese fled. He was taken ill with smallpox in 1852, but recovered and was able to complete his surveys, including one of the island of Palawan.

He was buried in Hong Kong Cemetery at Happy Valley, Hong Kong.

Legacy Bate's strong Christian views led to him becoming lionised as a Christian hero. Reverend John Baillie published A Memoir of Captain W. Thornton Bate, R.N in 1859. Charles Rogers included a biography of Bate in Christian Heroes in the Army and Navy in 1867. A memorial was erected in St Ann's Church in Portsea, as well as in the grounds of St. John's Cathedral, Hong Kong Island.

Bate Head (Tuen Tsui) Peninsula in Sai Kung is named after him. Mount Bate on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was probably named after him by Captain George Henry Richards.