Promoted to rear admiral on 10 March 1707 , Norris became second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet , with his flag in the third rate HMS '' Torbay '' . After taking part in the British defeat at the Battle of Toulon in July 1707 and , while sailing aboard his flagship HMS '' Torbay '' , Norris was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly in October 1707 when Shovell and four of his ships were lost , claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors . Promoted to vice admiral on 26 January 1708 , Norris transferred his flag to the third-rate HMS '' Ranelagh '' and became Member of Parliament for Rye later in the year . While still serving as second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet , he took personal charge a squadron deployed to the Baltic Sea to prevent Swedish grain arriving in France in 1709 . Promoted to full admiral on 21 December 1709 , he became Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet early in 1710
great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly
Scilly naval disaster of 1707
John Norris (Royal Navy officer)