James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley

Vice-Admiral The Right Honourable The Earl of Berkeley KG PC
The 3rd Earl of Berkeley by Godfrey Kneller
Born	aft. 1679
Died	17 August 1736
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1699 - 1727
Rank	Vice-Admiral
Commands held	HMS Boyne HMS St George
Battles/wars	War of the Spanish Succession
Awards	Knight of the Garter

Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley KG PC (aft. 1679 – 17 August 1736) was the son of Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley and the Hon. Elizabeth Noel. He was known by the courtesy title of Viscount Dursley prior to succeeding as Earl of Berkeley in 1710. He was a distinguished Royal Navy officer who served as First Lord of the Admiralty during the reign of King George I.

Viscount Dursley received his commission as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy on 10 March 1699 and was promoted to Captain on 2 April 1701. He was also MP for Gloucester 1701–1702. He took part in the battle off Málaga under Admiral Rooke, commanding HMS Boyne. He was summoned to Parliament by writ of acceleration as Baron Berkeley on 5 March 1705, and continued to rise in the Navy.

Dursley commanded HMS St George in 1706, and narrowly escaped the Scilly naval disaster in which Sir Cloudesley Shovell in HMS Association was lost on 23 October 1707. The St George ran aground on the same ledge as the Association, but was lifted off with the next wave. It is said that it was Dursley who gave his close friend Shovell the priceless emerald ring which features prominently in some of the legends still told about the disaster. Dursley was promoted to Vice-Admiral of the Red on 12 January 1708. He recaptured HMS Bristol, taken while guarding a convoy, from the French on 9 April 1709, but she sank shortly after.