John Brodie

Admiral John Brodie (1592-1679) is generally regarded as Arransia’s national hero, his courage and dogged determination being seen as exemplifying the national character. He won the greatest naval victory in Arransia’s history, and at an age when many men would be happy in retirement, discovered a surprising talent for administration that made him the father of the modern Arransian navy. He was also noted for his short and explosive temper, and his unwillingness to suffer fools at all, but it could never be said of him that he was not a fair man.

He was born in Howick in 1592, the second son of Thomas Brodie (1559-1623). His father was a merchant captain trading with the Brunswickian and Mayonnaise colonies in the Western Ocean, but in reality his activities often verged on piracy. His eldest son, also called Thomas (1589-1667) followed him in to this trade, and by the age of 24 was commanding his own ship. John initially acted as his sailing master, but it quickly became clear that, while he was a superb navigator, he had little interest in the wheeling and dealing of commercial life.

At this time the division between naval and merchant seamen was much more fluid, and it was suggested that John had the potential for a career in the developing Royal Arransian Navy, which for the first time had acquired in the late 16th century a core of dedicated warships. In 1615, John was commissioned as First Lieutenant of the royal galleon Malcolm, and in 1619, at the age of 27, he gained his first command, of the 350-ton galleon Serpent. He had already gained a reputation as someone who demanded high standards of his men, and could be very unforgiving of them if they fell short, but at the same time was always seen as fair and inspired a great deal of loyalty. Arransian seamen, then as now, expect decisive leadership but will not suffer tyranny.

After several successful skirmishes with the Brunswickians and Mayonnaise, in 1625 Brodie became the first captain of the new 650-ton two-decker Garland. Further success here led him to be the natural choice to take command of the mighty 1350-ton Polar Bear, which was launched at Lawrenny in 1631 and entered service in 1632. This ship, built to counter the Brunswickian Royal Arthur and the Mayonnaise Couronne, was Arransia’s first “great ship”, intended not only as a fighting ship but as a symbol of royal prestige and authority. Although not quite as big as her foreign rivals, she was a far more seaworthy vessel and, with the quality of the cannon then being produced by the gunfounders of Aydon, was probably at the time the world’s most formidable warship.

Although Brodie was a Teviot man, and most of the initial crew of the Polar Bear were from Marchwood, he quickly asserted his authority and worked her up to an impressive level of efficiency. Further recognition followed when, in 1637, he was promoted to Vice-Admiral. The following year, as second-in-command to Admiral Humphrey Gale, he took part in the ill-fated expedition to attempt to capture the Brunswickian stronghold of Port Tennant in the Western Ocean. Although Arransia assembled an impressive force for this enterprise, Brodie counselled before he set off about the dangers of the campaign and the limited chances of success. The attack proved disastrous, with most of the soldiers struck down by malaria before they ever engaged the Brunswickians, and seamen having to take part in a rearguard action on land, during which Gale was killed and Brodie lost his right leg. Despite being in great pain from the amputation, Brodie took command and managed to bring the fleet home with the loss of only three warships, although most of the transports had to be abandoned, and very few of the soldiers ever saw Arransia again. The enduring pain from the wound seemed to make Brodie even more short-tempered and abrasive than he had been before.

Although Brodie was commended for his part in this action, he seemed to be written off as an invalid, and the office of Lord High Admiral went to Christopher McBride (1585-1648). However, in 1643, the death of King Malcolm IV and his succession by the 19-year-old Queen Margaret led to a change in government in Danby and Brodie’s return to favour, once he had confirmed his fitness to serve. He rapidly set about improving the discipline, organisation and supplies of the fleet, and in the summer season of 1645 took the Polar Bear and the two new 850-ton two-deckers the Comet and Rainbow on a circumnavigation of Sabrantia that left nobody in any doubt about the morale and preparedness of the Arransian Navy. Brodie was also raised to the peerage as Baron of Lawburn.

For many years, Brodie had remained unmarried, giving rise to some speculation in recent times that he had been homosexual, although there is no concrete evidence for this – it seems that he was simply someone who was too busy with his career to contemplate marriage. In 1647, at the age of 55, he married the nineteen-year-old Elizabeth Mowatt (1628-1721), who was the daughter of an old family friend and unfortunately had a club foot. Unkind people said this went very well with Brodie’s peg leg. Elizabeth bore Brodie seven children, and always said in later life that the bluff, bad-tempered Admiral had been a model of kindness and gentleness towards her. She survived him for forty-two years and in her later life devoted much time to making Lawburn Castle, the family home, a much more pleasant and comfortable place to live.

Brodie acquired a three-legged ship’s cat named Caesar, which apparently had been given to him as something of a joke, but to whom he became very attached. He once famously ordered the Polar Bear to heave to and the ship’s boat to be launched to rescue the cat when it had fallen overboard, and also had a seaman flogged for making fun of it. He insisted that Caesar be present at councils of war and, when made an Earl after the Battle of Ugglesby Head, had him appear on his official portrait. Caesar eventually died in 1662, when he was believed to be 20 years old, and has his own tomb in the grounds of Lawburn Castle.

1651 saw Brunswick racked by civil war, which gave Arransia a clear opportunity to take advantage. To forestall this, the leading faction in Brunswick send a powerful naval squadron into Arransian waters with the aim of landing troops. In late April they entered the Embo Firth and captured the towns of Embo and Ugglesby at its mouth. The Arransian fleet was bottled up by easterly winds in the Rye at Barcaldine and unable to intervene. However, this gave them the opportunity to make sure their stocks of food, drink and ammunition were replenished, and when the wind changed in early May they were in a very high state of readiness.

It is fortunate that one of the most talented marine painters of the day, Ezekiel Winter, was on hand to witness this scene, and he produced a magnificent canvas that provides an unforgettable record of the nineteen ships of the Arransian fleet putting to sea just before its greatest moment of triumph, and is one of the most valuable documents for the study of 17th century warship design. It is striking that the ships were not painted in the familiar scheme of black and white stripes, but instead carried elaborate and brightly-painted geometric patterns on their sides.

Favourable winds allowed Brodie to achieve a substantial element of surprise, and the Brunswickians had to put to sea at short notice rather than risk being destroyed at their moorings. The two fleets gave battle on the 14th of May 1651 off Ugglesby Head. The Brunswickians, with 17 ships, were slightly outnumbered, but they had at their head the giant 1700-ton Royal Arthur, the largest ship in the world, and had less of a tail of smaller galleons than the Arransians. The fighting, as in most 17th-century sea battles, was something of a confused mêlée, which has led to some historians putting the Arransian victory mainly down to luck. However, others have pointed out that successful tactics at sea usually amount to no more than having the advantage of time and place, and fighting boldly on the day, and Brodie had certainly managed to achieve this.

The Arransians succeeded in slicing the Brunswickian line in three places and were often able to rake the enemy from the stern. The Polar Bear engaged the Royal Arthur and dismasted and captured her within two hours, with minimal loss of life on the Arransian side. Victory was total and decisive, with four Brunswickian ships being captured in reasonable condition, two sunk outright, five driven ashore and wrecked, two so badly damaged that they never put to sea again, and only four managing to escape and return to their home country. The only ship lost on the Arransian side was the elderly Malcolm, which had been somewhat rickety anyway, and was beached after she started leaking badly. However, the Arransians managed to remove most of her stores and cannon. Ugglesby Head remains the worst defeat suffered by the Brunswickian Navy in their entire history.

Brodie did not rest on his laurels but, gathering the sixteen ships that were still seaworthy, took advantage of an unexpected, strong easterly wind and sailed round the north coast of Brunswick to appear off Aubourg Port at the beginning of June. At the same time, the Arransians had routed the main Brunswickian army at the Battle of Gollanfield, and in late June Queen Margaret made a triumphal entry into Aubourg with, it must be said, much Brunswickian celebration.

The captured Royal Arthur was given a jury rig and taken into Elswick where she was remasted. Renamed the Tiger, by early July she had been commissioned into the Arransian fleet, and when she appeared off Aubourg Port to join the rest of Brodie’s squadron it cast dismay over the watching Brunswickians. However, the Tiger, which was a slow and unwieldy ship needing a very large crew, never really found favour with the Arransians, and spent most of her time in reserve, being broken up in the late 1660s when two new three-deckers were built. On the other hand, the fairly new 750-ton two-decker Adventure, also captured in the battle, served successfully for many years in Arransian colours, retaining her original name.

Of course, as is well known, this success could not last. Margaret was formally crowned Queen of Brunswick in late July, but her support was already waning, and there were mutterings of discontent back in Danby, where there were rumours that a faction of nobles might seek to install her younger sister Catherine as Queen in her place. By early September, Brunswickian forces seeking the restoration of King Edgar were at the gates of Aubourg and Margaret at the last minute decided to cut and run. She embarked on the Heron with the pursuing enemy less than fifteen minutes behind and, as the wind filled the sails and the ship stood out into the bay, the greatest adventure of Arransian history was over. Out at sea, she transferred to the much larger Polar Bear which transported her back home. The current Arransian one-dollar note has, alongside the large portrait of Margaret, an image of her and Brodie side by side on the deck of the flagship.

Although these events may appear like a setback for Arransia, Brunswick remained torn by internal strife for many years, and the destruction of a large section of her fleet left her much weaker than she had been before. Arransia managed to seize substantial areas of territory and also relieved Brunswick of large quantities of loot. As well as the Queen, the Heron had carried a precious cargo of 10 tons of gold. Brunswick never really managed to assert her strength commensurate with her size until after the creation of the Republic, and the second half of the 17th century can be regarded in many ways as Arransia’s golden age, with most of the older towns and cities showing extensive building from this period. Arguably between 1660 and 1700, Arransia was the most prosperous nation on earth. During this period Arransia was able to develop a strong internationally trading merchant fleet with the confidence that the Navy would intervene to support them where necessary. Margaret nursed various schemes to extract bloody revenge on Brunswick, but in general chose sensible ministers who dissuaded her from rash action.

Margaret had great faith in Brodie for smashing the Brunswickian fleet and rescuing her from Aubourg and, as well as continuing in the role of Lord High Admiral, allowed him to became a de facto Prime Minister. He was created the first Earl of Luce. He carried out long-overdue reforms of land tenure law and excise duties, and presided over a period of peace and prosperity. In terms of the Navy, he implemented many changes that effectively form the basis of the service that exists today, such as a formal scheme of officer training, uniforms, improved conditions for lower ranks and official standards for ship design. He also established, for the first time, a proper royal dockyard at Skerne.

In the mid-1660s, following Brodie's reforms, the national finances were strong enough to contemplate further expansion of the Navy, and two full three-deckers were ordered, the Royal Margaret, built at Lawrenny, and the Leviathan, built at Howick. The Royal Margaret was slightly bigger, and much more heavily ornamented, befitting her role as a symbol of national pride, but the Leviathan was always thought to be slightly the better sailer. The Royal Margaret was captured by the Brunswickians at the Battle of Falwell Bay in 1715 (and subsequently broken up by them), but the Leviathan continued in commission for many years afterwards and was not finally broken up until 1753, making her one of the longest-lived of all sailing warships.

By this time, Brodie was approaching 80 and his health was failing, and in 1671 he formally stood down from the position of Lord High Admiral, to be succeeded by David Moncur (1613-93) who had been the captain of the Garland at Ugglesby Head. Nevertheless, when the Royal Margaret, Leviathan, Polar Bear, Rainbow, Comet and Adventure made a flag-showing cruise around Sabrantia and across to Mayenne in 1674, the 82-year-old Brodie came along as a passenger, and was often to be seen seated on the quarter-deck of the Polar Bear (he would, of course, sail in no other ship) growling his irritation at anything that seemed out of place. At the time, no other country in the world had three three-deckers in commission and this could be said to represent the all-time zenith of Arransian naval power.

After this, Brodie retired to his estates in Teviot for the years remaining to him. His youngest child had been born in 1660 and was still of school age. He died peacefully in his sleep in November 1679 at the age of 87. He received a magnificent state funeral in Danby, but is buried in Howick Cathedral in a tomb decorated with anchors, sea-serpents and polar bears. Three major Arransian warships have borne his name – a 100-gun sailing ship of the line launched in 1719, an 18,000-ton battleship of 1905, and currently a sleek and powerful 7,500-ton guided missile destroyer completed in 1998. Brodie’s descendants continue to bear the title of Earl of Luce, and indeed the seventh Earl, Stuart Brodie (1836-1902) was Admiral of the Fleet between 1891 and 1896, although not generally considered a great success in the role. The current Admiral of the Fleet, Philip Leslie, is a direct descendent of Brodie, as his daughter Sarah married Leslie’s ancestor as Earl of Howick in 1675. The Polar Bear had a long and successful career after Ugglesby Head, eventually being accidentally destroyed by fire in Skerne Roads in 1696.

In 1994, a group of Arransian naval enthusiasts successfully completed a full-size replica of Captain Randle Scullion's ship the Porpoise, which is much in demand by film-makers. The ship has auxiliary diesel engines but as far as possible follows the original design. Plans are now afoot to produce a similar replica of the much larger Polar Bear, which if it could be achieved really would be a sight to behold.

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