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((Short description|British naval officer (1726–1778)))
((Featured article))

((Use dmy dates|date=December 2022))
((Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix=
| name          =  Maurice Suckling
| image         =Maurice Suckling by Thomas Bardwell.jpg
|alt              = Portrait of Maurice Suckling in blue naval uniform sitting in a chair with his legs crossed
| caption       =Portrait by [[Thomas Bardwell]], 1764
| birth_date          = ((Birth date|1726|05|04|df=y))
| death_date          = ((Death date and age|1778|07|14|1726|05|04|df=y))
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial = Barsham Church
| birth_place  = [[Barsham, Suffolk]], England
| death_place  = [[Navy Office (Royal Navy)|Navy Office]], London, England
| nickname      = 
| allegiance    = [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]
| branch         = [[Royal Navy]]
| serviceyears  = 1739–1778
| rank          = [[post-captain|Captain]]
| unit          =
| commands      = ((ubl|((HMS|Baltimore|1742|6))|((HMS|Lys|1755|6))|((HMS|Dreadnought|1742|6))|((HMS|Nassau|1706|6))|((HMS|Lancaster|1694|6))|((HMS|Raisonnable|1768|6))|((HMS|Triumph|1764|6))|[[Comptroller of the Navy (Navy Board)|Comptroller of the Navy]]))
| battles       = ((Tree list))
*[[War of the Austrian Succession]]
*[[Seven Years' War]]
**[[Battle of Cap-Français]]
*[[Falklands Crisis of 1770]]
*[[American Revolutionary War]]
((tree list/end))
| awards        = 
| relations     = ((ubl|[[Catherine Suckling]] (sister)|[[Horatio Nelson]] (nephew)))
| laterwork     = 
|module=((infobox officeholder| embed = yes
|parliament=United Kingdom
|constituency_MP=[[Portsmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth]]
|term_start=1776
|term_end=1778))
))
[[post-captain|Captain]] '''Maurice Suckling''' (4 May 1726 – 14 July 1778) was a British [[Royal Navy]] officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for starting the naval career of his nephew [[Horatio Nelson]] and for serving as [[Comptroller of the Navy (Navy Board)|Comptroller of the Navy]] from 1775 until his death. Suckling joined the Royal Navy in 1739 and saw service in the [[English Channel]] and [[Mediterranean Sea]] during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]. With the support of relatives including Prime Minister [[Robert Walpole|Sir Robert Walpole]], Suckling was promoted quickly and received his first command in 1754. At the start of the [[Seven Years' War]] in 1756 he was promoted to captain and given a command on the [[Jamaica Station (Royal Navy)|Jamaica Station]]. There he played a major part in the [[Battle of Cap-Français]] in 1757 and fought an inconclusive skirmish against the French ship [[French ship Palmier (1752)|''Palmier'']] in 1758 before returning to Britain in 1760.

Suckling was employed in the aftermath of the [[Capture of Belle Île]] in 1761 destroying French fortifications on the [[Île-d'Aix]] and went on [[half pay]] at the end of the war in 1763. He was given his next command during the [[Falklands Crisis of 1770]], and took his nephew Nelson with him. Despite having misgivings over Nelson's suitability for the navy, Suckling supported him and saw him translated into several more active ships in order to further his naval education when Suckling himself moved to command a [[guard ship]]. Suckling left his ship in 1773 and was initially rebuffed in his attempts to gain fresh employment with the navy because of the ongoing peace, but in 1775 [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] [[John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich]], appointed him Comptroller of the Navy.

Suckling was competent in his new role and oversaw the Royal Navy's mobilisation when the [[American Revolutionary War]] began. In 1776 he was also elected [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Portsmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth]]. Suckling was able to use his powerful position to again assist Nelson, forming part of the board that passed him for promotion to [[lieutenant (Royal Navy)|lieutenant]] in 1777. Suckling continued throughout the period to assiduously attend meetings of the [[Navy Board]], but was increasingly hampered by a long-term illness that caused him considerable pain. He died unexpectedly on 14 July 1778.

==Early life==
Maurice Suckling was born on 4 May 1726 in the rectory house in [[Barsham, Suffolk|Barsham]], [[Suffolk]].((refn|Dates are in [[New Style]]. Ruddock Mackay in the ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'' instead dates Suckling's birth to 1725.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))|group=Note))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=33))((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464)) His father was the Reverend Maurice Suckling and his mother Anne ((nee)) Turner. Suckling's maternal grandfather was [[Sir Charles Turner, 1st Baronet, of Warham|Sir Charles Turner, 1st Baronet]], while his great-uncle was the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]], [[Robert Walpole|Sir Robert Walpole]].((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=33)) Suckling lived in Barsham until the age of four when his father died. His mother then moved the family, which also included his sister [[Catherine Suckling|Catherine]] and brother William, to [[Beccles]] in the same county. Nothing is known of Suckling's childhood past this point apart from that he continued to live in Beccles.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=33))

Suckling's immediate family, as a single parent household, was not especially rich, and he did not receive a university education. These factors limited his career prospects, with the former meaning he could not become a [[British Army]] officer and the latter stopping him from following his father into the clergy. Suckling did however have the support of considerable patronage from the powerful Walpole, and because of this he was able to find a place within the [[Royal Navy]].((refn|In a similar fashion Suckling's brother William would go on to have a career in the [[Civil Service]].((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=33))|group=Note)) At the age of thirteen, on 25 November 1739, Suckling was appointed an [[ordinary seaman]] on board the 50-gun((refn|The number of guns refers to the number of [[long gun]]s a ship was established to carry on its decks.((sfnp|Winfield|2008|pp=10–11))|group=Note)) [[fourth-rate]] [[HMS Newcastle (1704)|HMS ''Newcastle'']] at [[Sheerness Dockyard]]. While some records suppose that he was supported in his joining of the navy by another maternal relative, [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[George Townshend (Royal Navy officer)|George Townshend]], the historian John Sugden says this was the doing of Walpole.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=33))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=55)) Suckling's first patron within the navy was Captain [[Thomas Fox (Royal Navy officer)|Thomas Fox]], the commanding officer of ''Newcastle''.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=33))

==Career==
===Early career===
[[File:HMS Russell - The Capture of the 'Glorioso', 8 October 1747 (detail) BHC0371.jpg|[[HMS Russell (1692)|HMS ''Russell'']], in which Suckling served 1746–1747|thumb|alt=A painting of HMS Russell firing her guns]]
In ''Newcastle'' Suckling saw service in the [[Western Approaches]], the [[English Channel]], and off [[Gibraltar]] and [[Lisbon]]. He was advanced to [[able seaman]] on 7 April 1741 before being promoted to [[midshipman]] on 7 September. In 1742 ''Newcastle'' was sent to serve in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]; while at [[Port Mahon]] in March the following year Fox was given command of the 80-gun [[ship of the line]] [[HMS Chichester (1695)|HMS ''Chichester'']] and, continuing to support Suckling's career, he took the midshipman with him on 16 June.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=34)) While in the Mediterranean Suckling met the future [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] [[Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet|Sir Peter Parker]], at the time another junior officer, and formed a friendship that would endure throughout their respective careers.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=128))

Having continued with Fox in ''Chichester'', on 8 March 1745 Suckling took his examination for promotion to the rank of [[lieutenant (Royal Navy)|lieutenant]] at Port Mahon.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=34)) He was at this stage not actually eligible to take the examination, by the rules needing to be a year older and to have another seven months of sea service. Fox was one of the four captains sitting to examine Suckling, and likely because of this the deficiencies in Suckling's report were ignored and he passed.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=34)) Suckling was immediately promoted and appointed to serve as fourth lieutenant of the 70-gun ship of the line [[HMS Burford (1722)|HMS ''Burford'']]. While sailing off [[Villefranche-sur-Mer|Villefranche]] on 7 February 1746, he was transferred to the 80-gun ship of the line [[HMS Russell (1692)|HMS ''Russell'']] also as fourth lieutenant.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=34)) On 9 June the following year he moved again, joining the 80-gun ship of the line [[HMS Boyne (1692)|HMS ''Boyne'']] at the order of her [[flag officer]], [[rear admiral (Royal Navy)|Rear-Admiral]] [[John Byng]].((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=34)) Having initially served again as fourth lieutenant, Suckling was promoted to become ''Boyne''(('))s third on 9 January 1748 and her second on 16 August.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=34))

With the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] ending, Suckling returned home in ''Boyne'', arriving at [[Spithead]] on 14 October. He was then, on 1 November, transferred from ''Boyne'' into the 50-gun fourth-rate [[HMS Gloucester (1745)|HMS ''Gloucester'']] as the ship's [[First lieutenant#Royal Navy|first lieutenant]], which the naval historian [[David Syrett]] suggests was another appointment brought about by Suckling's patrons.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=34)) The captain of ''Gloucester'' was his relative Townshend.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=55)) Suckling's position in ''Gloucester'' meant that he avoided the unemployment that came to many naval officers when the Royal Navy began to [[ship commissioning#ship decommissioning|decommission]] warships in response to the end of the war.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=34))

''Gloucester'' sailed to join the [[West Indies Station]] on 15 May 1749, and Suckling spent the next three years of his career based in the ship at [[Colony of Jamaica|Jamaica]]. ''Gloucester'' finally returned to England on 16 January 1753, at which time Suckling was appointed second lieutenant of the 70-gun ship of the line [[HMS Somerset (1748)|HMS ''Somerset'']], which was the [[guard ship]] at [[Chatham Dockyard]]. He was promoted to become ''Somerset''(('))s first lieutenant on 19 April before, on 2 January 1754, being discharged from the ship.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=35)) One day later he was promoted to [[commander (Royal Navy)|commander]].((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=35))

===First commands===
At the same time as his promotion Suckling was given command of the 14-gun [[sloop]] [[HMS Baltimore (1742)|HMS ''Baltimore'']].((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464)) The ship was at the time serving on the [[North America Station]], and Suckling took passage out in a merchant ship to take up his new command. He did so at [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], [[South Carolina]], on 20 May. In ''Baltimore'' Suckling spent most of his time patrolling the coast of the [[Carolinas]], with occasional diversions taking him as far north as [[Boston]]. On 11 September 1755 Suckling was with his ship at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], when [[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]] [[Edward Boscawen]] translated him into command of the 64-gun ship of the line [[HMS Lys (1755)|HMS ''Lys'']], which had recently been captured from the French just before the start of the [[Seven Years' War]]. ''Lys'' was only armed [[en flute]], and Suckling was ordered to sail her back to Britain.((refn|The naval historian Rif Winfield records Suckling taking command of ''Lys'' in June rather than September.((sfnp|Winfield|2007|p=259))|group=Note))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=35))

Having left Halifax on 19 October with the rest of Boscawen's ships, ''Lys'' was separated from them in a storm but succeeded in reaching [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|the Downs]] on 23 November. Suckling's command of ''Lys'', being a ship of the line and officially the command of a [[post captain]], combined with his patronage and the beginning of the Seven Years' War, almost guaranteed his promotion to that rank. This occurred on 2 December. Suckling had taken longer than some of his contemporaries, such as [[Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel|Augustus Keppel]] and [[Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe|Richard Howe]], to reach the rank, but having done so he could expect to be eventually promoted to [[flag rank]] by seniority if he lived long enough.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=35))

===Seven Years' War===
Alongside his promotion, Suckling was given command of the 60-gun ship of the line [[HMS Dreadnought (1742)|HMS ''Dreadnought'']] which was the [[flag ship]] of Townshend, now a rear-admiral.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36)) Ordered to Jamaica, ''Dreadnought'' formed part of an eleven-warship escort for a convoy that left Spithead on 31 January 1756.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36)) ''Dreadnought'' arrived at [[Port Royal]] on 18 April; Townshend would go on to leave the [[Jamaica Station (Royal Navy)|Jamaica Station]] but Suckling and ''Dreadnought'' continued on.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36)) The ship spent most of her service in harbour at Port Royal as the area was a [[wikt:backwater|backwater]] in the Seven Years' War. Suckling was able, however, to occasionally take his ship on patrols around the coast of [[Hispaniola|Santo Domingo]].((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36))

[[File:The Glorious Action off Cape Francois Oct.r 21.st 1757 between three English, & seven French Ships of War wherein the latter were entirely defeated 32270.jpg|The [[Battle of Cap-Français]], 1757, in which Suckling commanded [[HMS Dreadnought (1742)|HMS ''Dreadnought'']]|thumb|alt=Depiction of the Battle of Cap-Français with two lines of ships firing their guns at each other]]
On 21 October 1757, ''Dreadnought'' and two other 60-gun ships of the line undertook an operation to intercept a French convoy leaving [[Cap-Haïtien|Cape Français]]. ''Dreadnought'' first spotted sails at 7am, and at midday the British found that the French squadron sent to escort the convoy had come out to engage them. It was an unexpectedly powerful squadron, consisting of seven warships, including four ships of the line. The senior British officer, Captain [[Arthur Forrest (Royal Navy officer)|Arthur Forrest]], met with his captains. When he suggested that the French were looking for a battle, Suckling replied "I think it would be a pity to disappoint them".((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36))((sfnp|Allen|1852|p=178))((sfnp|Clarke|McArthur|2010|p=270)) The three ships formed a [[line of battle]] with ''Dreadnought'' taking the [[vanguard]].((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36))((sfnp|Clowes|1898|p=165)) Suckling began the battle at 3:20pm by engaging the French flag ship, the 74-gun ship of the line [[French ship Intrépide (1747)|''Intrépide'']]. ''Dreadnought'' destroyed so many of ''Intrépide''(('))s [[spar (sailing)|spars]] that the French ship was unable to stop herself from falling afoul of the ship following behind her, the 50-gun fourth-rate [[HMS Greenwich (1747)|''Greenwich'']]. This put the French squadron into confusion as their ships began to get caught up in one another. The British took advantage of this, attacking them with little return fire.((sfnp|Allen|1852|pp=177–178))

The action continued for around two and a half hours.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36))((sfnp|Clowes|1898|p=165)) At this point the French [[commodore (rank)|commodore]], [[Guy François Coëtnempren de Kersaint]], called for one of his [[frigate]]s to tow ''Intrépide'' out of the battle.((sfnp|Clowes|1898|p=165)) The French squadron, having received heavy casualties, retreated back into Cape Français. Forrest's ships, their [[rigging]] and [[mast (sailing)|masts]] heavily damaged, were unable to chase them. This ended the [[Battle of Cap-Français]], the only full-scale battle of Suckling's career.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36)) The British lost twenty-four men killed and eighty-five wounded in the skirmish, of which ten and thirty respectively were from Suckling's command. Unable to re-engage the French, the ships returned to Port Royal to undergo repairs. After this ''Dreadnought'' returned to her regular duties at Jamaica.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36))

On 1 September 1758 ''Dreadnought'' was patrolling alongside the 50-gun fourth-rate [[HMS Assistance (1747)|HMS ''Assistance'']] when they received intelligence that the French 74-gun ship of the line [[French ship Palmier (1752)|''Palmier'']] was off [[Port-au-Prince]]. They discovered ''Palmier'' there the following morning, and at 4am ''Dreadnought'' began to attack ''Palmier'' from close range. ''Assistance'', however, was [[wikt:becalmed|becalmed]] and unable to help Suckling in the engagement. ''Palmier'' fired into ''Dreadnought''(('))s rigging and, with his ship's movement disabled, Suckling was unable to stop the French ship from escaping. When ''Assistance'' finally reached ''Dreadnought'' the two ships chased after ''Palmier'' but were too far behind to re-start the engagement. ''Dreadnought'' had eight men killed and seven wounded in the action.((sfnp|Clowes|1898|p=300))((sfnp|Beatson|1804|p=125)) On 17 June 1760 ''Dreadnought'' was ordered back to England as escort to a convoy of sixty-four merchant ships. She arrived in the Downs on 29 August.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36)) Suckling subsequently sailed his ship to Chatham, where she was [[paid off]] on 19 November.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36))

Suckling did not stay unemployed for long, being appointed to command the 70-gun ship of the line [[HMS Nassau (1706)|HMS ''Nassau'']] on 16 January 1761.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36)) Employed in the [[Bay of Biscay]], ''Nassau'' mostly saw service implementing [[blockade]]s, with there being little serious opposition for the British after the [[Battle of Quiberon Bay]].((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36)) In June Suckling's ship reinforced the British squadron that had recently [[Capture of Belle Île|captured Belle Île]], and she was then detached in a squadron under Captain [[Thomas Stanhope (Royal Navy officer)|Sir Thomas Stanhope]]. Stanhope's orders were to engage any French shipping left in the [[Basque Roads]], and to destroy fortifications on the [[Île-d'Aix]].((sfnp|Clowes|1898|p=236)) The squadron found no ships to attack but between 21 and 22 June ''Nassau'' and five other ships were sent on to Aix. Despite interference from French [[Pram (ship)|prames]] based in the [[Charente (river)|Charente]] they succeeded in their task with only minor losses.((sfnp|Clowes|1898|pp=236–237))

Suckling left ''Nassau'' in February 1762 to recommission the 66-gun ship of the line [[HMS Lancaster (1694)|HMS ''Lancaster'']], returning to his former ship on 22 February.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464)) Suckling then stayed in ''Nassau'' until the end of the Seven Years' War, paying off his ship at [[Nore|the Nore]] in February 1763.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=36)) Suckling's fortune to find employment at the end of the War of the Austrian Succession did not now repeat itself, and he went ashore on [[half pay]], probably living at his home in [[Woodton]], [[Norfolk]]. After seven years in such a position Suckling's services were called upon again for the [[Falklands Crisis of 1770|Falklands Crisis]] in 1770.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37)) As the Royal Navy began mobilising in the expectation of war against Spain, he was given command of the 64-gun ship of the line [[HMS Raisonnable (1768)|HMS ''Raisonnable'']], which was [[fitting out]] at Chatham, on 17 November.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37))

===Patron of Nelson===
[[File:HMS Triumph 1764.jpg|Suckling commanded [[HMS Triumph (1764)|HMS ''Triumph'']] as a [[guard ship]] from 1771 to 1773|thumb|alt=Depiction of HMS Triumph from the port side with all her sails set]]
Suckling's sister Catherine had died on 26 December 1767, leaving behind three sons; [[William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson|William]], Maurice, and [[Horatio Nelson]].((refn|Syrett instead records Catherine's date of death as 26 June.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37))|group=Note))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=40)) Suckling and his brother subsequently took an interest in promoting the careers of their nephews, and when Suckling took command of ''Raisonnable'' he brought Horatio with him, appointing him a midshipman.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37)) Suckling, who had told tales of his naval exploits to Horatio while on half pay, accepted him at the direct request of Nelson's father [[Edmund Nelson (priest)|Edmund]] and did not himself think that it was the right choice, saying:
((quote|What has poor Horatio done, who is so weak, that he should be sent to rough it out at sea? But let him come, and the first time we go into action a cannon ball may knock off his head and provide for him at once.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=39))))
Despite this attitude Suckling was happy to use his influence for Nelson's benefit;((refn|Alongside his wider support of Nelson's career Suckling would also provide him with a series of detailed instructions for managing and commanding a ship, ranging from keeping the [[Magazine (artillery)|magazine]] secure to how to stow [[hammock]]s.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=132))|group=Note)) he wrote him into ''Raisonnable''(('))s books on 1 January 1771 rather than in March or April when Nelson actually joined the ship so that he could have several extra months of seniority.((refn|At the time of his official joining date Nelson was in fact still at school in Norfolk.((sfnp|Croft|2023|p=43))|group=Note))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=54))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=56)) This was Nelson's first sea service although ''Raisonnable'' never left the [[Thames Estuary]] during Suckling's command, which ended with the de-escalation of tensions and the decommissioning of the ship.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37)) On 13 May Suckling was instead given command of the 74-gun ship of the line [[HMS Triumph (1764)|HMS ''Triumph'']], continuing to support Nelson by taking him with him to his new ship.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37)) ''Triumph'' was employed as a guard ship, and during Suckling's tenure she would spend time at [[Blackstakes]], Sheerness, and Chatham. On 26 June Suckling was also appointed senior officer for his part of the Thames Estuary; he filled most of his time with paperwork regarding topics including naval discipline and the deployment of [[Royal Marines|marine]] detachments.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|pp=54–55))

Aware that the monotony of service on board a guard ship would not provide the practical experience necessary for Nelson's naval career, Suckling organised for a [[Hibbert, Purrier and Horton]] ship captain who had served under him in ''Dreadnought'' to take Nelson to the West Indies. Nelson left on 25 July and throughout the trip was kept on the books of ''Triumph'', which ship he re-joined on 17 July 1772.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|pp=56–57))((sfnp|Tracy|2006|p=263)) Suckling continued on in ''Triumph'' throughout this, his duties at the time of Nelson's return including hosting on board [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] [[John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich]].((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=57)) In May 1773 Suckling had Nelson transferred to serve in the 8-gun [[bomb vessel]] [[HMS Carcass (1759)|HMS ''Carcass'']] for an expedition to the [[North Pole]], he having previously operated with ''Carcass''((')) commander Captain [[Skeffington Lutwidge]].((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=56))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=62))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=64)) Nelson having returned from this, Suckling then had him join the 24-gun frigate [[HMS Seahorse (1748)|HMS ''Seahorse'']] on 27 October. ''Seahorse'' was commanded by another friend and old ''Dreadnought'' shipmate, Captain [[George Farmer (Royal Navy officer)|George Farmer]].((sfnp|Sugden|2005|pp=82–83)) Suckling left ''Triumph'' on 1 December when his standard three-year appointment came to an end.((sfnp|Harrison|2019|p=464))((sfnp|Clarke|McArthur|2010|p=277))

===Comptroller of the Navy===
[[File:Young Nelson.jpg|[[Horatio Nelson]] as a young [[post-captain|captain]] in 1781|thumb|alt=Portrait of Horatio Nelson in blue naval uniform, standing and leaning on a sword]]
Suckling returned to half pay; he was still in his prime, a handsome and slim man despite some [[gout]] in his right hand and a thinning hairline.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=54)) As a senior captain there were limited positions available for him within the navy while the country was at peace.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=37)) Suckling showed an interest in working ashore when positions in [[Newfoundland Colony|Newfoundland]] and Jamaica arose in 1775.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=105)) Employment was also available for naval officers within the civil side of the navy's command, the [[Navy Board]]; having spent two years unemployed, on 12 April Suckling was appointed [[Comptroller of the Navy (Navy Board)|Comptroller of the Navy]].((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|pp=37–38))

The Comptroller of the Navy was the head of the Navy Board, responsible for all Royal Navy warship construction and upkeep as well as [[Troopship|troop transport]]s and dockyards. The position was highly prestigious as well as important and why Suckling, a relatively unknown candidate, was chosen by Sandwich is not known.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=38))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|pp=105–106)) The naval experience that Suckling brought to the position was of great value to Sandwich, who went about reforming naval administration with particular emphasis on making Royal Navy shipyards more productive.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Rodger|2004|p=372))

Suckling proved adept as head of the Navy Board, initially in peace and then during the [[American Revolutionary War]].((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=38)) Despite his deep commitment to public duty he found it time-consuming and arduous work.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=38))((sfnp|Sugden|2012|p=6)) During his tenure the mobilisation of the navy for war saw the number of ships under his purview expand from 110 in October 1775 to 306 in July 1778. Suckling attended the majority of meetings called by the Navy Board, often six days a week, overseeing both the growth of the navy and the creation of a fleet of 416 troop transports to convey the army across to America.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=38)) His hard work was done in tandem with that of Rear-Admiral [[Hugh Palliser|Sir Hugh Palliser]], his predecessor as Comptroller of the Navy and the incumbent [[First Naval Lord]].((sfnp|Mackay|2008))

Suckling continued to receive personal advancement during this period, being elected unopposed as [[member of parliament]] for the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]]-controlled constituency of [[Portsmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth]] on 18 May 1776; he never voted or made a speech during his tenure in the [[House of Commons]].((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=38))<ref name="HOP">((cite web |url =http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/suckling-maurice-1726-78|title= Suckling, Maurice (1726–78).|publisher= History of Parliament|accessdate = 29 October 2022|last=Drummond|first=Mary M.))</ref> Suckling was also able to use his position to again assist his nephews, appointing Maurice a clerk in the [[Navy Office (Royal Navy)|Navy Office]] in November 1775 and on 9 April 1777 serving as an examining captain on Horatio's lieutenancy examination. Nelson was, as Suckling had been, underage for the position but this was ignored and he passed, being appointed to serve in the 32-gun frigate [[HMS Lowestoffe (1761)|HMS ''Lowestoffe'']].((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=38))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=106))

A view promoted in older biographies of Nelson,((refn|Older biographers who recorded this view include [[James Stanier Clarke]] & [[John McArthur (Royal Navy officer)|John McArthur]], [[Nicholas Harris Nicolas]], [[David Howarth (author)|David Howarth]], and [[Christopher Hibbert]]((sfnp|Croft|2023|pp=39–40))|group=Note)) that he was unaware his uncle was to examine him and that Suckling did not tell the other examiners of their relationship, "not wish[ing] the younker to be favoured", has been questioned in more recent years by Sugden and the naval historian [[R. J. B. Knight]].((sfnp|Croft|2023|p=38))((sfnp|Croft|2023|p=40)) Nelson was promoted to captain two years later, beating the average time of a lieutenant to reach captaincy by eight years.((sfnp|Croft|2023|pp=44–45))

===Death and legacy===
While continuing in work, from around January 1777 a long-term but undiagnosed illness had begun to take a considerable toll on Suckling's health.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=105)) He would often spend days at a time "in much bodily pain", as he wrote to Sandwich on 28 January.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=105))((sfnp|Talbott|1998|p=25)) The naval historian [[Nicholas A. M. Rodger|N. A. M. Rodger]] argues that Suckling was a "less successful choice" than Palliser had been because of this, but that he was still an able man.((sfnp|Rodger|2004|p=372)) Having attended his last meeting of the Navy Board on 4 March 1778, he suddenly and unexpectedly died in his apartments at the Navy Office, London, on 14 July, aged fifty-two.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=39))<ref name="News1">((cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=16 July 1778 |title=London |url= |work=London St James Chronicle |location=London |page=3))</ref> He was buried in the [[chancel]] of Barsham Church.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))

Having missed almost every battle that took place during the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War, Syrett argues that the majority of Suckling's career was "uneventful and perhaps even lacklustre".((sfnp|Syrett|2002|p=39)) While he found success as Comptroller of the Navy that, Syrett suggests, might have seen him become "one of the great naval administrators of the Royal Navy", the overwhelming reason for Suckling's enduring fame lies with Horatio Nelson. Suckling is most remembered as the man who was instrumental in beginning and supporting Nelson's naval career as he grew to become a national hero.((sfnp|Syrett|2002|pp=1, 39)) Even after Suckling's death his relationships with officers such as Parker resulted in preferment for Nelson.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=128)) Nelson would go on to remember his uncle's conduct at Cape Français, recollecting it prior to fighting the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] exactly forty-eight years later.((sfnp|Mackay|2008)) Sugden emphasises Suckling's importance to Nelson, saying that he had "managed his career, planned every move and cleared away every obstacle".((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=131)) Nelson said after Suckling's death that:
((quote|I feel myself to my country his heir...And it shall, I am bold to say, never lack the want of his counsel. I feel he gave it to me as a legacy, and had I been near him when he was removed, he would have said, "My boy, I leave you to my country. Serve her well, and she'll never desert, but will ultimately reward you."((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=132))))

==Personal life==
Suckling married his cousin Mary Walpole, daughter of [[Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole]], on 20 June 1764.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))<ref name="HOP"/> The marriage further increased Suckling's network of powerful connections, as Mary was the sister-in-law of the daughter of [[William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire]], another powerful figure.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=55)) The couple did not have any children before Mary died in 1766.((sfnp|Mackay|2008))<ref name="HOP"/> The death of much of Suckling's family before him left "a worrying void in his life" according to Sugden. With very few close relatives, his will of 1774 left bequests to his brother and some of the Walpole family, but the majority of his wealth was split between Catherine's children.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=56)) Suckling left his sword, said to have previously been owned by [[Galfridus Walpole]], to Nelson.((sfnp|Sugden|2005|p=132))

==Notes and citations==
===Notes===
((reflist|group=Note))
===Citations===
((Reflist))

==References==
*((cite book|last=Allen|first=Joseph|year=1852|title=Battles of the British Navy|volume=1|location=London|publisher=Henry G. Bohn|oclc=557527139))
*((cite book|last=Beatson|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Beatson|year=1804|title=Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain from 1727 to 1783|volume=2|location=London|publisher=Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme|oclc=557578326))
*((cite book|last1=Clarke|first1=James Stanier|author-link1=James Stanier Clarke|last2=McArthur|first2=John|author-link2=John McArthur (Royal Navy officer)|year=2010|orig-year=1805|title=The Naval Chronicle|volume=14|location=Cambridge|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-10801-853-1))
*((cite book|last=Clowes|first=William Laird|author-link=William Laird Clowes|year=1898|title=The Royal Navy, a History from the Earliest Times to the Present|volume=3|location=London|publisher=Sampson Low, Marston and Company|oclc=645627800))
*((cite journal|last=Croft|first=Harrison|title='I Did Not Wish the Younker to be Favoured': Reconsidering Nelson's examination for lieutenant|journal=The Mariner's Mirror|volume=109|issue=1|date=February 2023|pages=38–49|doi=10.1080/00253359.2023.2156213|s2cid=256417566 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00253359.2023.2156213))
*((cite book|last=Harrison|first=Cy|year=2019|title=Royal Navy Officers of the Seven Years War|location=Warwick, England|publisher=Helion|isbn=978-1-912866-68-7))
*((cite ODNB|first=Ruddock|last=Mackay|title=Suckling, Maurice|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/26758|year=2008))
*((cite book|last=Rodger|first=N. A. M.|author-link=Nicholas A. M. Rodger|year=2004|title=The Command of the Ocean|location=London|publisher=Penguin Group|isbn=0-713-99411-8))
*((cite book|last=Sugden|first=John|year=2005|title=Nelson: A Dream of Glory|location=London|publisher=Pimlico|isbn=978-0-712667-43-2))
*((cite book|last=Sugden|first=John|year=2012|title=Nelson: The Sword of Albion|location=London|publisher=The Bodley Head|isbn=978-0-224060-98-1))
*((cite journal | last =Syrett | first =David |author-link=David Syrett |title =Nelson's Uncle: Captain Maurice Suckling | journal =The Mariner's Mirror | volume = 88| issue = 1 | date =February 2002 | pages =33–40 | doi =10.1080/00253359.2002.10656826 | s2cid =161883184 | url =https://doi.org/10.1080/00253359.2002.10656826))
*((cite book|last=Talbott|first=John E.|year=1998|title=The Pen & Ink Sailor: Charles Middleton and the King's Navy, 1778–1813|location=London|publisher=Frank Cass|isbn=0-7146-4452-8))
*((cite book|last=Tracy|first=Nicholas|year=2006|title=Who's Who in Nelson's Navy|location=London|publisher=Chatham|isbn=978-1-86176-244-3))
*((cite book|last=Winfield|first=Rif|year=2007|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|publisher=Seaforth|isbn=978-1-78346-925-3))
*((cite book|last=Winfield|first=Rif|year=2008|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1814|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|isbn=978-1-84415-717-4))

((s-start))
((s-par|gb))
 ((succession box 
| title=[[Member of Parliament]] for [[Portsmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth]] 
| before=  [[Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke|Sir Edward Hawke]]
| before2=  [[Peter Taylor (paymaster)|Peter Taylor]]
| with=    [[Peter Taylor (paymaster)|Peter Taylor]] 1776–1777
| with2= [[William Gordon (diplomat)|Sir William Gordon]] 1777–1778
| years=1776–1778
| after= [[Robert Monckton]]
| after2=[[William Gordon (diplomat)|Sir William Gordon]]
))
((s-mil))
((succession box | title=[[Comptroller of the Navy (Navy Board)|Comptroller of the Navy]] | before=[[Hugh Palliser|Sir Hugh Palliser]] | after=[[Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham|Charles Middleton]] | years=1775–1778))
((end))

((DEFAULTSORT:Suckling, Maurice))
[[Category:Royal Navy officers]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War]]
[[Category:1726 births]]
[[Category:1778 deaths]]
[[Category:British MPs 1774–1780]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War]]
[[Category:Members of Parliament for Portsmouth]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Suffolk]]
[[Category:Royal Navy captains]]

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