Henry Wolsey Bayfield

Henry Wolsey Bayfield
Henry Wolsey Bayfield
Born	21 January 1795 Kingston-upon-Hull, England
Died	10 February 1885 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Allegiance	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Admiral on retired list, Vice Admiral

Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield (21 January 1795 – 10 February 1885) was a British naval officer and surveyor.

Bayfield was born in Kingston-upon-Hull, to John Wolsey Bayfield and Eliza Petit. His family was an ancient one, who at one time lived at Bayfield Hall in Norfolk. While his education is unknown, he joined the Royal Navy on 6 January 1806 at the age of 10, as a volunteer on HMS Pompee. That same year, he was on the ship when it defeated a French privateer. At Cádiz, he was transferred to HMS Queen, and shortly after to HMS Duchess of Bedford. In this particular ship, he was wounded in a battle with two Spanish ships near Gibraltar; for his good work in this episode, he was transferred as a first class volunteer to HMS Beagle, on 29 September 1806, on which over the next four years he was involved in a number of battles. He was rated midshipman in 1810, and saw Canada for the first time in the same year, at the age of 15. In April 1811, he transferred to HMS Wanderer, and worked in many different places, including the coast of North America, the West Indies and Spain. He was commissioned as a lieutenant on 20 March 1815, and in the summer of 1816 assisted Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen in surveying various Canadian rivers and lakes. There are works in the art collection of the Royal Military College of Canada by Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield (1795-1885).