William Pryce Cumby

Captain William Pryce Cumby CB (20 March 1771 – 27 September 1837) was an officer in the Royal Navy whose excellent service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars was highlighted when he was thrust into the limelight following his service at the Battle of Trafalgar. During the battle the French almost took his vessel, the ship of the line Bellerophon. Despite mounting casualties, heavy bombardment and the death of John Cooke, the captain of Bellerophon, the then Lieutenant Cumby ably took command, leading a charge that cleared his decks of boarders. He then captured the enemy ship from which the attack had come. He later served in the Caribbean and on convoy duties in the Atlantic. At the time of his death, he was Superintendent of Pembroke Dockyard.