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. Even after Suckling's death his relationships with officers such as Parker resulted in preferment for Nelson. 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. Sugden emphasises Suckling's importance to Nelson, saying that he had "managed his career, planned every move and cleared away every obstacle". Nelson said after Suckling's death that: Personal life Suckling married his cousin Mary Walpole, daughter of Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, on 20 June 1764. 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 family. The couple did not have any children before Mary died in 1766. 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. Suckling left his sword, said to have previously been owned by Galfridus Walpole, to Nelson. Notes and citations Notes Citations References Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War 1726 births 1778 deaths British MPs 1774–1780 Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Members of Parliament for Portsmouth Military personnel from Suffolk