British Royal Navy in Bermuda - 200 Years - Hamilton, Bermuda
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 32° 17.663 W 064° 47.020
20S E 332051 N 3574463
A plaque and a flag commemorating 200 years of British Naval presence in Bermuda is located just inside the west entrance to the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Waymark Code: WMMRWG
Location: Bermuda
Date Posted: 10/31/2014
Views: 3
In 1794 the American Revolutionary War was over and the British passed the Militia Act 1794 that led to Bermuda becoming an important naval base in the New World.
In 1795 the Royal Navy sent several ships to Bermuda to establish a permanent base. Captain Francis Pender was dispatched to Bermuda on HMS Oiseau to acquire acquire some of the Bermudian fast sloops for service in the Royal Navy. Later Vice Admiral George Murray arrived in Bermuda on HMS Resolution accompanied by HMS Cleopatra and HMS Thesly and sailed into St. George Harbor. Admiral Murray named Captain Pender the “Superintendent of the Port” at St George’s and directed him to purchase several fast Bermuda-built cedar vessels for use as advice boats. This was the beginning of the presence of the Royal Navy in Bermuda which ended when the Royal Naval Dockyard in left the Royal Naval Dockyard in 1995.
A British Royal Navy White Ensign and a plaque commemorates this presence. The White Ensign, consisting of the red cross of St. George on a white field and the British Union Jack in the upper canton. The plaque is inscribed:
THIS FLAG COMMEMORATED
200 YEARS OF THE PRESENCE OF
THE ROYAL NAVY IN BERMUDA
FEBRUARY 19, 1995
DEDICATED OCTOBER 29, 1995 BY
THE RT. REVD. WILLIAM J. D. DOWN, M.A. F.N.I.
LORD BISHOP OF BERMUDA