Grindall is one of the Trafalgar Captains of whom little is known. He had a worthy but unremarkable career before the battle and fell quickly into obscurity after it. Moreover, his ship, hms Prince, played little part in the action: in the words of Lieutenant Frederick Hoffman of hms Tonnant, she ‘sailed like a Haystack.’

Born in 1750, Grindall entered the Royal Navy in the late 1760s/early 1770s, becoming a lieutenant in 1776. As a young man, he served mainly in battleships, including Sir Samuel Hood’s flagship, hms Barfleur, in the West Indies in 1781. Promoted post captain in 1783, he started the war against France in command of hms Thalia and then moved to the battleship hms Irresistible in 1795 and took part in Lord Bridport’s action off Groix.

Taking command of the Prince in 1803, he served in her with the Channel Fleet off Brest until he was detached, with Calder in August 1805, to blockade Cadiz. At Trafalgar, the Prince sailed so slowly that she was ordered to act independently and finally managed to get into action round 4pm. Having exchanged broadsides briefly with Gravina’s flagship, the Principe de Asturias, she assisted in the destruction of the French battleship Achille which, having caught fire, blew up at the end of the battle. Grindall lowered his boats and managed to save some of her crew. Later, during the storm, he and his crew managed to save 350 men from the stricken Santissima Trinidad.

Grindall received the naval gold medal and a sword from the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund and, as one of the most senior captains present at the battle, became a rear admiral in the general promotion of 9 November. He never served at sea again, becoming a vice admiral and a KCB efore he died on 23 May 1820.

CSW