BHC2512

Flagmen of Lowestoft: Admiral Sir Thomas Allin (1612-1685) Long Caption: Allin served with Prince Rupert in the exiled royalist fleet after the Civil War. At the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665 he commanded the 'Plymouth', 60 guns, and was knighted for his services. At the Four Days' Fight in 1666, he served again with Rupert in the 'Royal James', 70 guns, and missed the first three days of it since Rupert's division only rejoined Monck at the end. His command of the van squadron at the St James's Day Fight on 25 July 1666 contributed significantly to the defeat of de Ruyter. After the peace he commanded the squadron in the 'Straights' (of Gibraltar) - what would later become the Mediterranean fleet - against the Barbary pirates and then became Comptroller of the Navy. The painting is inscribed 'Sir Thomas Allin' and is one of the 'flagmen' series commissioned by Charles II's brother James, Duke of York, after the Battle of Lowestoft. This was the first major action of the Second Dutch War, in which James commanded the fleet. It is one of those which Pepys noted as begun or finished when, with Allin and Admiral Sir William Batten, he visited Lely's studio on 18 April 1666. Credit line: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Greenwich Hospital Collection Object: BHC2512 Artist: Sir Peter Lely Date: 1665 Medium: oil on canvas Size: 1270 mm x 1015 mm Click here to buy a bespoke print of this image.