Thomas Edgar's headstone in All Saints' Church, Lydd, Kent

Image: © Andrew Diack Taken: 8 Mar 2022

Thomas Edgar was born in Woolwich, London, and he joined the Royal Navy at the age of ten. He led an adventurous life which took him to many places in the world including: Quiberon Bay in 1759 where he served under Admiral Hawke in his decisive and pivotal victory over the French; he followed Hugh Palliser when he was appointed Governor of Newfoundland; he was master of HMS Discovery and was directly involved in the events that led to the fatal stabbing of Captain James Cook on the island of Hawaii during his third voyage to the Pacific; he was captain of the Oroonoko, a sloop in the Leeward Islands; he was master of the Hope in the Falkland Islands during 1786-1787 and there his name was commemorated by the names Port Edgar and Edgar Ridge. Edgar was appointed master and government agent aboard Lady Juliana which transported 226 female convicts to Australia. The ship arrived there in June 1790. In a voyage on board Gorgon, in 1794, Edgar was reported as having a drink problem and this may have been a factor that led him to quit his life at sea. Another factor in his decision to retire from the sea may have been that he had married Sarah Bean in 1789 and that he was now desirous of a home life on land, In 1795, Thomas Edgar became the keeper of Dungeness Signal Tower in Kent and he remained in that post until his death in Lydd, Kent on the 17th October 1801. He was laid to rest in the churchyard of All Saints’ in Lydd. Due to weathering and potential damage, his headstone was removed to the North Chapel in All Saints’ for safekeeping.

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