Commander John Ralph Moss, Royal Navy, and the Battle of St George's Cay

Synopsis: Commander John Ralph Moss and HMS Merlin are long-forgotten in the Royal Navy nowadays. His grave on a desert island must have been destroyed by one of the many hurricanes that sweep the Caribbean, but his brass memorial plate, presumably commissioned by his widow, and relying on uncertain information, survived, ending up in a Canadian antique shop, before being sold at auction in England, where it is in the safe hands of a reputable collector. The story of the small-scale 1798 campaign, conducted apparently against great odds by two quite junior officers, is a heartening one and remains of enormous significance to Belize.

About the presenter(s): A Royal Naval officer who encountered this subject via his lifelong interest in Monumental Brasses. When he encountered one dated 1799 which had been sold at auction at Newmarket, but which apparently was from Jamaica, commemorating a forgotten naval officer, he decided to find out enough about the deceased to provide a brief description to complement the brass plate. The result became an article, leading later to an MA in Biography by Research at the University of Buckingham, and more writing. He visited Belize in 1981 while commanding HMS Cardiff.

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