[Percival W. Legge]

- Player Info -

Name/nickname: Lioe

AIM/e-mail/whatnot: via PM or aliaslioe@gmail.com

Substitute players: Nyell, Lei

- Character info -

Name: Percival William Legge

Nickname/Alias: Percy (to friends)

Age: 30 (born circa 1711)

Gender: Male

Rank/Occupation: 1st Lieutenant on the Steadfast

Appearance:

Somewhat on the taller side of average, but not remarkably so. Athletic in figure and posture. Has a good sense of balance, which shows in fluid, perhaps graceful, movement.

Dark brown hair that he usually has cut short once it reaches somewhere between chin and shoulders. Light brown eyes. Most noticeable is his perfectly straight nose. Otherwise average features, appealing but not remarkable.

In dress code he errs on the side of caution, i.e. wears the wig and formal dress even when it might not be required. But he wears this with such ease that he doesn't seem overly formal.

Personality:

Percy's most forceful characteristic until recently was ambition, driven by an honest love of the work and the desire to be involved in naval operations at a high level. He is confident, dedicated, loyal and even-tempered. Yet he will use anger as a tool.

In a social setting Percy is charming and adept. Well-liked as a guest, he is comfortable in groups and around strangers. Only better acquaintances hoping to become friends will notice that he is also non-committal and surprisingly reticent about himself.

Now that his career seems to have been de-railed, new character traits are emerging. He is starting to become mistrustful and sullen.

Bio:

As a child Percy grew up with many interests, equally good at physical and intellectual endeavours. For a long time his family and he himself assumed he would pursue a civilian career in government, following in the footsteps of several members of his extended family who had done so with distinction. This was the path he started on, until rather abruptly -- or so it seemed to everyone else -- he joined the Navy at 18.

Noticeable among the midshipmen for his age alone, Percy was able to use the situation to his advantage and through effort, dedication and a bit of luck he quickly rose in rank to lieutenant. After this initial success his ambition fully awakened and he wholly and strategically applied himself, serving under respected captains, managing to gain mission experience that brought him to the attention of the admiralty.

(This timeline is off, I need to revise the dates, but the general gist of Percy's career still stands.)
1726-1730 HMS Monmouth (Capt./Rear Adm. John Balchen), as midshipman and later 3rd lieutenant.
1730-1731 HMS Falmouth (Capt. John Byng), as 2nd lieutenant.
1731-1734 HMS Princess Amelia (Rear Adm. John Balchen), 1st lieutenent.
1734-1736 HMS Newark (Adm. George Walton), 1st lieutenant, promoted to Commander in 1736.

(The first three ships served mostly in the Mediterranean. 1726-1729 the Monmouth was part of Wager's support of Gibraltar.)

There were rumours and even an unofficial acknowledgement that he would very soon get his own captaincy, when an incident occurred that dropped him from grace so fast he was still trying to make sense of it, when he found himself being shipped off to the Caribbean. The incident, if indeed he was assuming rightly because apart from innuendo no explanation had been given to him, was partly of his own making. Would this wretched posting be the end of it or were more consequences to follow?

He has just been assigned as 1st Lt. to the HMS Steadfast under Captain Thorne.

Birthplace: Family estate in Yorkshire.

Family: (Also see "Anything Else")

Father:
William Legge (1672-1750), 1st Earl of Dartmouth. Was member of Board of Trade and Plantations, Secretary of State for the Southern Department, and Lord Privy Seal. Retired from public life in 1715.

Mother:
Anne, daughter of the 1st Earl of Aylesford

Brothers:
George Legge (1703-1732), has a son William Legge (1731-1801) who inherits the title of his grandfather later in life.

Henry Legge (1708-1764). (Bilson-Legge from 1754, when succeeding to estates of a relative.) Private secretary to Robert Walpole. Holds political offices from 1739 onwards, including Treasurer of the Navy (1749-1741) and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

One or two other brothers.

Grandfathers:
George Legge (1647-1691), 1st Baron Dartmouth. British naval commander.

Heneage Finch (1649-1719), 1st Earl of Aylesford. English lawyer and statesman.

Skills:

He is generally competent, but seldom best at anything. Two areas stand out: he is rather a good marksman and excellent at operational and strategic planning.

Weaknesses:

Until recently Percy would have laughed at the suggestion he had weaknesses, or at least lasting weaknesses. Always quite willing to work at improving anything that could stand in his way to advancing his career.

Now his confidence is cracking and he has lost his sense of purpose.

Anything Else:

A note on historical context, if anyone is interested. When creating the character, I only looked at a list of English peers in the 18th century to chose a last name I liked. Apart from his last name, Percy is complete fiction.

Since then, reading up on the family I placed Percy into, I've discovered that it was a serendipitous choice. The basic data about Percy's family, as written further above, is real. In particular, since his brother was private secretary to Robert Walpole, it is reasonable to assume that Percy was acquainted with Horace Walpole, Robert's son.

The picture is a detail from Rigaud's painting of Nelson as a Lieutenant/Captain. Some days after creating the character, I tried to find a fitting image, preferably of a lesser known person, yet the facial expression and posture in this seemed perfect. I am still slightly horrified at borrowing so heroic a figure.



This post has been edited by Percival W. Legge on Nov 6 2010, 11:05 AM

[The Seven Seas]

Hi Lioe, and welcome to Beat to Quarters!

We don't currently have a PC of high naval rank, but you're welcome to play out interactions with an NPC of your own inventing. We currently have positions open aboard the navy ship Steadfast (Roster here) which has docked in Bridgetown, Barbados. And while we don't have much in the way of naval administration set up on land, you're welcome to research and submit a position you think you'd like to play, and I'll approve it. Please feel free to PM me with any further questions or concerns you might have.

That said, I'm looking forward to finding out more about this intriguing young man in game! Approved.