Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Thomas Hardy (Royal Navy officer, died 1732)

Article promoted by Ian Rose (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 20:20, 11 October 2022 (UTC) &laquo; Return to A-Class review list

Thomas Hardy (Royal Navy officer, died 1732)
Instructions for nominators and reviewers
 * Nominator(s): 

A strange one. Knighted for discovering the Franco-Spanish fleet before the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702, Hardy was court-martialled for not attacking a French squadron in 1707, and then investigated three more times for the same action. Made a rear-admiral in 1711, he was given command of a squadron in the English Channel. Highlights of this command include failing to catch a French squadron and letting the Dunkirk privateers out to destroy a convoy in 1711, and failing to intercept two more French squadrons in 1712. Made second-in-command of the Baltic Fleet for the Great Northern War in 1715, he served for one season before being dismissed from the navy, possibly for Jacobitism! Pickersgill-Cunliffe (talk) 22:28, 7 July 2022 (UTC)

Support from Hawkeye7
Looks pretty good. I have nothing much to say, but some points to prove I did read it:
 * "prizetaking" should be prize-taking in British English
 * Done.


 * Link Vice-Admiral, Rear-Admiral, Captain, Colonel, election petition, List of governors of Plymouth#Lieutenant-Governors of Plymouth
 * Done.


 * "The fortifications of Cádiz however proved too strong" Delete "however"
 * Done.


 * "commanded by Admiral François Louis Rousselet de Châteaurenault" Vice-Admiral
 * Done.


 * "Ordered to gain intelligence on French movements, the Portuguese were unable to provide him with such" Who was ordered: Hardy or the Portuguese?
 * Oops, certainly not the Portuguese!


 * "incensing the Cabinet who saw Hardy as at fault for not stopping him" I don't think "saw" is the right word here, as he was cleared of blame. "considered"?
 * Done.


 * "As such Hardy was brought before committees" Delete "As such". Or re-phrase.
 * Done.


 * "He having already been found innocent" Suggest "Since he had already been found innocent"
 * Done.


 * "from where Hardy was sent to the court " where -> whence
 * Done.


 * "Within Dunkirk a French privateer squadron was fitting out" Within -> At
 * Done.


 * "with which to embark the princess" You haven't said that she was a princess
 * Reworded to avoid confusion


 * "He became an Elder Brother of Trinity House in 1710" This is Leake right?
 * Nope, reworded


 * " as his political career clashed with the new monarchy of George I" Not sure what is meant here.
 * Have made an attempt at rewording but very open to suggestions. (The source only unhelpfully says "Like a number of other officers with secondary political careers, he found it difficult to flourish in the circumstances which prevailed after the Hanoverian succession, and he was dismissed")


 * " and was buried with his wife" I'm guessing she was dead at the time.
 * Ooh err, would have been a little awkward if she wasn't! Reworded.

Hawkeye7  (discuss)  04:20, 8 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks very much for the review, have replied above. Pickersgill-Cunliffe (talk) 15:24, 11 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Looks good. Supporting. Hawkeye7   (discuss)  19:01, 11 September 2022 (UTC)

Image review - pass

 * File:Sir Thomas Hardy.jpg: Wrong licence on Commons as not taken by the uploader - should be PD-art-old-100-expired - okay
 * Changed


 * File:Bakhuizen, Battle of Vigo Bay.jpg, File:John Leake by Godfrey Kneller.jpg - PD-Old - PD-art-old-100-expired would be better - okay
 * Changed

All good. Hawkeye7  (discuss)  19:01, 11 September 2022 (UTC)
 * File:Battle of Malaga, 1704.jpg, File:Jean Baptiste du Casse.JPG - PD-art-old-100-expired - okay

HF - support
If I haven't gotten to this by Tuesday, please ping me. Hog Farm Talk 20:02, 10 September 2022 (UTC)


 * "and given command of the 6-gun fireship HMS Charles" - is 6-gun just a size rating, or was the Royal Navy putting cannons on something they just intended to light on fire?
 * The ship is recorded as holding 6 guns, although the size isn't recorded. I assume fireships had guns because until they were expended they still had to serve and/or defend themselves. Charles, for example, was first commissioned in 1689 but only expended in 1695.
 * Makes sense. I had in mind the Confederate fireships which were generally derelict hulks or glorified rafts. Hog Farm Talk 03:12, 18 September 2022 (UTC)


 * "He continued in command of Pendennis until the end of the Nine Years' War in September 1697" - I think the chronology of the Nine Years' War could be clarified a bit - wasn't La Hogue part of it?
 * Mentioned it alongside La Hogue as well


 * "With the War of the Spanish Succession ongoing [...] and the allied army successfully got ashore" - I think this would benefit from a simple sentence or clause stating who the allies are and which side the British are on
 * Added further detail. To clarify, while there is a specific Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg) article, I've used Treaty of The Hague (1701) instead because the former article doesn't actually discuss the particular alliance I'm talking about in any detail.


 * " in a convoy from Virginia" - currently links to Virginia, but would Colony of Virginia be better?
 * Done.

Rest of it looks fine, no significant issues. Hog Farm Talk 23:15, 11 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Hi, thanks for the review and apologies that it's taken me this long to get back to it. I've replied above. Pickersgill-Cunliffe (talk) 18:58, 17 September 2022 (UTC)

Support by CPA

 * I don't think the "died 1732" is needed in the article's name because there isn't a Thomas Hardy who is also an officer yet. If you're about to change it please do it after the nomination will pass or otherwise the bot will be confused.
 * I added the date to ensure that the article wasn't confused with Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, who is a much more famous Royal Navy officer. Open to suggestions if you think it inappropriate though.
 * I think almost any British reader would assume that a British naval officer named Thomas Hardy was the one of Trafalgar fame. Gog the Mild (talk) 17:20, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

That's anything from me. Cheers. CPA-5 (talk) 14:25, 24 September 2022 (UTC)
 * "Hardy became a follower of George Churchill" Add here his rank.
 * Done.
 * "Hardy was knighted for his services." Which year?
 * The same year as noted earlier in the section.
 * "who became Hardy's patron in the service.[3][1]" Re-order the refs here.
 * Done.
 * "protecting trade from French privateers.[3][1][6]" Same as above.
 * Done.
 * "of mast ships in October.[3][8][7]" Same as above.
 * Done.
 * "Anglo-Dutch army successfully got ashore.[3][12][11]" Same as above.
 * Done.
 * "had recently arrived from the West Indies and was sheltering off Vigo.[3][2][15][16]" Trim one citation here per WP:CITETRIM.
 * Done.
 * "valuable ship" sailing from Santo Domingo" Add country here.
 * Not sure if this would be useful; the answer is "Spain", but saying so might confuse people into thinking I'm talking about mainland actual Spain..
 * "three ships[Note 3] to Tangier" Add country here.
 * Done.
 * "fleet and having seventy-four casualties.[3][2][23][21]" Trim per WP:CITETRIM.
 * Done.
 * "February, again serving in Dilkes' squadron" --> "February, again serving in Dilkes's squadron" Extra s is typically British.
 * Done.
 * "to the Channel, having been unproductive off Portugal.[30][29]" Re-order the refs here.
 * Done.
 * "convoy while he was parted from it.[3][2][32]" Same as above.
 * Done.
 * "ignored the vessel, entering Brest on 13 September" Add here country there are multiple Brests in the world.
 * Done.
 * "honourable court martial should be upheld.[Note 9][39][37]" Re-order the refs here.
 * Done.
 * "investigations were widely denounced as "un-English".[3][2][40]" Same as above.
 * Done.
 * "the line HMS Albemarle.[Note 10][3][2][40]" Same as above.
 * Done.
 * "From Lisbon the fleet travelled to Barcelona" Add country after Barcelona.
 * Done.
 * "Barcelona, where she and Charles married.[45][42]" Re-order the refs here.
 * Done.
 * "to blockade Dunkirk, with his flag in Canterbury" Add country here.
 * Done.
 * There are three howevers maybe remove one here?
 * Done.
 * "command through the winter of 1711–1712" Try to avoid seasons because of MOS:SEASONS.
 * Done.
 * "In the summer of 1715 Hardy was appointed second-in-command to Admiral" Same as above.
 * Done, might be a little awkward though.
 * "no official report of such a promotion occurring.[59][57]" Re-order the refs here.
 * Done.
 * "married the politician George Chamberlayne.[2][3][60][61]" Trim per WP:CITETRIM.
 * Done.
 * Isn't it court-martial instead of court martial? Same with in depth and in-depth?
 * Fixed in-depth, but believe court martial is British spelling.
 * "The French formed line of battle" --> "The French formed a line of battle"?
 * Believe the former is correct.
 * "(died 28 April 1720) some time before 1710" --> "(died 28 April 1720) sometime before 1710"?
 * Done.
 * Hi, thanks for the review! This completely slipped me by, apologies for not getting to it sooner. Have made my responses above. Pickersgill-Cunliffe (talk) 16:54, 4 October 2022 (UTC)


 * CPA-5 ? Gog the Mild (talk) 16:48, 9 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Looks good. Cheers. CPA-5 (talk) 17:39, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

Source review - pass

 * Any chance of OCLCs for the two Clowes works?
 * Done.
 * And is there an OCLC for Campbell?
 * Done.
 * In passing, why the upper case initial letters for "Elder Brother"?
 * Re-checked the source, and that's my bad. Changed.


 * The sources all seem to me to be appropriately reliable and I can see no formatting issues. Gog the Mild (talk) 17:03, 5 October 2022 (UTC)