Captain Sir Richard Spencer RN was a nineteenth century man of action. He was adventurous, resourceful, devoted to those in his care. He is remembered today as the early Government Resident of the fledgling settlement in Albany on the south coast of Western Australia. The story of his early life in the Royal Navy of Admiral Lord Nelsons day is told here for the first time. Zealous, intrepid to the point of foolhardiness, and a hero to his men, Captain Spencer was a rising star during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.