Charles Frederick Des Voeux
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Charles Frederick Des Voeux | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation | Naval officer  |
| Rank | lieutenant (1846–) |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
Charles Frederick Des Voeux (c. 1825—after 28 May 1847) was an Irish officer in the British Royal Navy. He served as mate aboard HMS Erebus during the 1845 Franklin Expedition which sought to chart the Canadian Arctic, including the Northwest Passage, and make scientific observations. All personnel of the expedition, including Des Voeux, died in what is now Nunavut, Canada in uncertain circumstances. He and Graham Gore signed and deposited the Victory Point Record, one of the only official communications of the expedition yet found.
Family
Charles Frederick Des Voeux was the son of Reverend Henry Des Voeux and Frances Dalrymple and a member of the Des Voeux family. He was the brother of cricketer Henry Des Voeux, half-brother of colonial administrator William Des Voeux, and grandson of Sir Charles Des Voeux, 1st Baronet.[1] His great-grandfather Anthony Vinchon de Bacquencourt moved from France to Ireland after renouncing his Catholic faith in favour of Reformed Christianity, also known as Calvinism, and changed the family name to Des Voeux.[2] Charles Frederick Des Voeux was born in Ireland, but the exact location of his birth and where he spent his childhood are unknown.[3]
Naval career
Des Voeux served under Charles Napier in the Egyptian Ottoman War in 1840. He then proceeded to China for the First Opium War, serving under William Parker and then aboard HMS Endymion under Frederick Grey.[4] Endymion sailed in Hangzhou Bay and the Yangtze River.[5] During the war, he distinguished himself serving as aide-de-camp to Hugh Gough, the commander-in-chief of the British forces.[4] Prior to joining Endymion, he sailed on HMS Cornwallis where he became acquainted with James Fitzjames, who would command Erebus during the Franklin Expedition.[6][7]
On 1 May 1844, Des Voeux passed his lieutenant's examination, but was not promoted until 9 November 1846 (in absentia). For several months after May 1844, he served as mate aboard the gunnery ship HMS Excellent in Portsmouth, under Thomas Hastings.[8] Five Franklin Expedition officers last served on Excellent prior to serving in the expedition: Des Voeux, James Walter Fairholme, Robert Sargent (HMS Erebus), John Irving, and George Henry Hodgson (HMS Terror).[9]
