Talk:William Hoste

Untitled
There is a lot more to be said about William Hoste, and I'm going to make some incremental changes, which I will explain here as I go along. I've got a copy of Tom Pocock's biography on its way from Amazon, so in the meantime I'll start working from my own notes from the same book.

Added details of Godwick Hall - Edward Coke is the connection between Dixon Hoste and Horatio Nelson. Later note to be added about that. William went to the Paston School at North Walsham, a grammar school founded by Sir William Paston in 1606, where Nelson had also been a few years earlier. There should be a Wikipedia article about Paston - another project perhaps. No evidence that William's relationship with Nelson was influenced by their common schooling, but worth noting that a small and rather obscure Norfolk grammar school educated two such notable naval officers of the period.Thomsk 15:47, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Nelson's patronage was key to Hoste's later career. Coke is the common contact that made the initial introduction between Nelson and Dixon Hoste, who apparently had little influence of his own.Thomsk 16:18, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

More details added of Hoste's early career, up to his appointment as commander of HMS Mutine. I need to come back and check this section for links to existing articles in Wikipedia.Thomsk 16:30, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Also need to come back and add sub-headings.Thomsk 16:31, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Various changes to the early part of the article. First sub-headings added. Landlord was Thomas Coke, not Edward. He was a Whig like Dixon Hoste, whereas I think Nelson was a Tory. Not sure how relevant this is, so I haven't mentioned it in the article pending further research. Thomsk 12:26, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I think this is a bit more complete now. All of the 1911 Brittanica material has gone, all sections expanded and relevant links added. I've probably missed other links, and it could do with a proof-read. Lots more material available - Battle of Lissa article could be significantly expanded.Thomsk 15:33, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

What ship?
The article states:

"He moved with Nelson to HMS Captain in 1796 and was with him at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. In 1797 he fought in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in which Nelson lost his arm. Following the death of a Lieutenant Weatherhead in the battle, Nelson promoted Hoste to Lieutenant to fill the vacancy, his position being confirmed, thanks to his 'book time' in Europa, in February 1798. Later that year Hoste was aboard HMS Theseus a 74-gun third-rate at the Battle of the Nile, under Captain Ralph Willett Miller.''"

Which infers that Hoste was aboard Captain during the battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and transferred to Theseus later.

I have it that he transferred to the Theseus in June 1797 and was thus aboard her during the battle. Is this section just badly written or is my information contradictory?--Ykraps (talk) 09:28, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Info I've got says he was aboard Theseus at Santa Cruz but not landed, and was promoted from mid to Lieutenant to replace Weatherhead. ODNB also suggests that between Captain and Theseus he was aboard Irresistable''. This would make sense as Nelson briefly transferred to Irresistable after the Battle of St Vincent and would have taken a few followers with him. I would suggest that the passage it altered to reflect these sources. Corneredmouse (talk) 17:11, 2 February 2011 (UTC)


 * My info also says he remained aboard Theseus during the assualt but I don't have anything that suggests he was on board Irresistable. Do you have a link to that bit on ODNB?--Ykraps (talk) 08:17, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

|William Hoste biography from ODNB 1891

Hope this helps although I always find it helpful to cross reference the ODNB as it is often wrong.Corneredmouse (talk) 09:58, 3 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks.--Ykraps (talk) 14:46, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

HMS Eurydice
To my knowledge, Hoste returned to England in the April of 1803 and was appointed to Eurydice in October that year. The article however currently states:

"At the end of 1804 he was given the command of HMS Eurydice (1781), which cruised the African coast, following which he returned to England and then to the Mediterranean".

This paragraph is unreferenced and I therefore intend to replace it with the information I have, which I can reference. However, I am happy for anyone to revert these edits providing they can cite references.--Ykraps (talk) 14:45, 5 February 2011 (UTC)