A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Herringham, William Allan
HERRINGHAM. (Capt. 1837. f-p., 18; h-p., 26.)
William Allan Herringham entered the Navy, Nov. 1803, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Leopard 50, Capt. Jas. Nicoll Morris, on accompanying whom, after having served off Dungeness and Boulogne, into the Colossus 74, he fought, as Midshipman, and was wounded, at the battle of Trafalgar, 21 Oct. 1805.[1] Joining then the Adamant 50, Capts. John Stiles, John Fyffe, and Micajah Malbon, he escorted in that ship a valuable fleet of Indiamen to the Cape of Good Hope, accompanied another home from St. Helena, and was subsequently, until the autumn of 1808, employed on the African and Jamaica stations. The time which intervened between the date last mentioned and that of his official promotion, 2 Nov. 1810, was passed by Mr. Herringham in the Mediterranean and Channel, latterly in the capacity of Acting-Lieutenant, on board the Thames 32, Capt. Hon. Granville Geo. Waldegrave, and Caledonia 120, flag-ship of Admirals Lord Gambier, Fras. Pickmore, and Sir Harry Burrard Neale. On 30 Sept. 1811, he joined the York 74, Capt. Robt. Barton, with whom he served, again in the Mediterranean and on the North Sea station, until next appointed, 17 Aug. 1812, to the Java, of 46 guns and 377 men; as Second-Lieutenant of which frigate he had the misfortune, on 29 of the following Dec, to be captured, while on his passage to India, by the American ship Constitution, of 55 guns and 480 men, after a close and fierce action sustained by the British for a period of 3 hours and 40 minutes, and until they had had 22 of their men killed and 102, including their Captain, Henry Lambert, mortally, wounded. On his restoration to liberty Mr. Herringham (whose able exertions during the conflict had obtained for him the highest commendation of his commanding officer)[2] was appointed, 8 Oct. 1813, to the Tigris 36, Capt. Robt. Henderson, under whom he served for four years on the Irish, West India, and Channel stations. Attaining the rank of Commander 16 Jan. 1818, he was subsequently, on 8 Sept. 1831, and 12 June, 1833, nominated to the Second Captaincy of the Talavera 74, commanded on particular service by Capts. David Colby and Thos. Brown, and of the Forte 44, Capt. Watkin Owen Pell, employed on the North America and West India station. He left the former ship, for the recovery of his health, in Dec. 1832, and was paid off from the Forte a few weeks after his advancement, 10 Jan. 1837, to Post-rank. He has not since been afloat.
Capt. Herringham, in consideration of his wound, was presented, after the battle of Trafalgar, with a gratuity from the Patriotic Fund. In 1817 he had the honour of steering H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester when on a visit to the flag-ship at Plymouth.