In the English Service

As a result of an extremely dramatic and illustrious career spanning five decades, the life of Jerseyman Vice-Admiral Philippe d'Auvergne, F.R.S., F.S.A., (1754-1816) offers an interesting insight into Anglo-French relations during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Living through a period of great historical significance d'Auvergne's life, with its strange twists and turns is compelling and fascinating, his final demise adding an unexpected and tragic twist. He was an explorer, scientist, artist, naval officer, administrator, spymaster and ruler, albeit briefly, of a small European state. His interests were those of a wealthy country gentleman of the period; he went on the Grand Tour, was extremely knowledgeable about landscape gardening and botany and acquired an extensive collection of paintings, objets d'art and books for Bagatelle, his house in Jersey. His qualities of charm, integrity and humanity and the respect which he inspired in the sailors who served under him, the secret agents whom he sent on dangerous and often suicidal missions and the thousands of French refugees he looked after in Jersey would certainly indicate that he was an interesting character. His position as an honorary French aristocrat and an officer in the Royal Navy who served the interests of the British Crown with unswerving loyalty did not present him with a dilemma; indeed it gave him a unique perspective on what it was to be a European.