This officer is a son of the late William King, of Southampton, Esq., and a brother of Captain Andrew King, RN. He first went to sea in the Director of 64 guns, commanded by Captain Thomas West, in June 1789, and from that period served in various ships till 1794 when he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, for his good conduct as a Midshipman on board the Barfleur, a second rate, bearing the Flag of Rear Admiral Bowyer, in the memorable actions between Earl Howe and M Villaret de Joveuse, an account of which will be found in our first volume. After serving for some time with the present Sir Edward Thornbrough, in the Robust 74, Mr. King joined the Dryad of 44 guns and 251 men, and he was the senior Lieutenant of that ship when she captured, after a spirited action,  Proserpine, a French frigate of 42 guns and 348 men. His behavior on that occasion procured him the official commendations of his Captain, Lord Ameluis Beauclerk, and he was in consequence advanced to the rank of Commander. but we have reason to believe, did not obtain an appointment as such till June 1798, when he was commissioned to the Gaite sloop of war, in which vessel he cruised with considerable success against the enemy's privateers and trade on the Leeward Lands station, until Sept 28, 1800, when he was promoted into the Leviathan 74, bearing the flag of Rear Admiral Duckworth. whom he served under at the reduction of the Swedish and Danish West India colonies, in March 1801. He subsequently removed into the Andromeda frigate, and continued to command her till the end of the war when he was obliged through ill health to return to England. In April, 1805 he was appointed acting Captain of the Endymion, during the absence of the Hon. Charles Paget and in that tine frigate, we find him employed off Cadiz under the gallant Collingwood.

A few days previous to the arrival of the combined French and Spanish fleets, Captain King was detached on a particular service, and when off Cape St. Mary fell in with the enemy, whose force consisted of twenty-six sail of the line, and nine frigates. Finding it impracticable to pass a-head of their line for the purpose of communicating with his Admiral, whom he had left in shore with only four line-of-battle ships, and after being chased by two sail of the line and a frigate, he took up a position in their rear, and by repeated signals let them to suppose that he was in communication with a fleet astern.  This ruse de guerre had the desired effect and M Villeneuve, who commanded the combined force, put into Cadiz. where he was closely reconnoitered by Captain King, who lost no time in reposing what had occurred to his chief, whom he joined at the entrance of the Straits   The ability and zeal which Captain King had thus displayed, were fully testified by Vice Admiral Collingwood in his public dispatches. Captain King continued in the Endymion till the latter end of 1806.  In the following spring he was appointed to the Monmouth of 64 guns, and ordered to the East Indies, from whence he convoyed home a valuable fleet of Indiamen. He subsequently commanded the Rodney 74, on the Mediterranean station, and in Nov 1814, was appointed to the Cornwallis, another third rate, fitting for the flag of Rear Admiral Buriton, but the bad state of his health at that period preventing him from undertaking a voyage to India, he resigned the command of' that ship previous to her quitting port, since which he has been on half pay.  (obit)

Is a brother to Captain Edward Durnford King, R.N., This officer served as a Midshipman on board the Bellenon 74, bearing the flag of Rear Admiral Pasley, in the battle of May 28 and 29, and the glorious battle of June 1, as senior Lieutenant of the Andromeda frigate, commanded by Captain Henry Inman, when that officer attempted to destroy a French squadron in Dunkirk harbour, 1799, as first on la Desiree, under the same commander, at the defeat of the Danish line of defense before Copenhagen, April 2, 1801, (on which occasion he was commended), and as fourth Lieutenant of Nelson's flagship, in ever memorable conflict with the combined fleets near Cape Trafalgar, Oct 21, 1805. His promotion to the rank of Commander took place Jan 22, 1806. Captain King commanded the Hebe hired armed ship, and was several times warmly engaged with the enemy' s batteries and flotilla, during the siege of Copenhagen in 1807. From thence he returned home in the Waldemaar, a Danish 80, the equipment of which ship was greatly expedited by his zealous exertions. His post commission bears date Oct 13, 1807  In the summer of 1808, Captain King was appointed the Tempore, to the Venerable 74. and in her he assisted at the reduction of Flushing, August 15, 1809  We subsequently find him commanding the Hannibal 74, bearing the flag of Sir Thomas Williams, Royal Georue a first rate, Rainbow of 26 guns, and Iphigenia frigate, the three latter on the Mediterranean station. The Iphigenia formed part of Sir Josias Rowley's squadron at the capture of Genoa in April 1814, and was afterwards ordered to conduct a fleet of transports from Gibraltar to Bermuda. In Oct 1815. We find her proceeding to the East Indies, from whence Captain King returned home in command of the Cornwallis 74. His last appointment was Dec 28, 1821, to the Active 46, in which frigate he continued until about Sept 1824.  He married, Mar 5 1821, Mary, eldest daughter of Charles Lewin, of St. Albans. Co. Hens.

Source:   John Marshall, Royal Naval Biography, (London : Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, (1823-1835), Volumes No. 9, p.257 - published 1827.  As extracted from the volume held in the Admiralty Library and provided courtesy of CPO Peter Lockyer - HMS Victory, Portsmouth Naval Base. For the names of the officers and ratings on the Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar - see the official crew list.

Note: The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy, 1660-1815, ed. David Syrett and R.L. DiNardo (Aldershot: Scolar press for the Navy Records Society, 1994)  would be a source for the likely 1835 death date of Capt. Andrew King.

Obituary from the Pall Mall Gazette: To have been born in 1802 and to have lived till 1895; to have been Mr. Gladstone's senior at Eton: to have been flogged by Keate (note: famous headmaster at Eaton known for his flogging), and subsequently to have married his daughter; to have taken his degree while George IV was King; to have been ordained in the year that Williams IV came to the throne: to have been a Bishop for twenty-seven years—these achievements would have been established a record for Dr. Durnford had he no other claims to fame. He was a churchman of the old school of "high and dry" who, caring for the due and proper performance of the ritual of the Church, cared more for the things which the ritual symbolized. He took very literally the pastoral view of a clergyman's functions, and he busied himself more with the welfare of his own flock than with the conflicts that were disturbing other sheepfolds. There were never any troubles in his parish or in his diocese. And so his name scarcely came before the public. Yet he was a ruler and those over whom he ruled so long will deeply regret the disappearance—even at the ripe age of ninety-two—of him who was till yesterday, Bishop of Chichester.

Richard Durnford had two sons, Richard Durnford Jr., former secretary of the Charity Commission, and Sr. Walter Durnford.

Bishop Durnford's tomb at Chichester Cathedral

W.R.W. Stephens (ed.), Memoir of Richard Durnford, D.D., Sometime Bishop of Chichester, with Selections from his Correspondence (John Murray, 1899)

SIR WALTER DURNFORD

Second son of Rt. Rev. Richard Durnford, he was the Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and a Fellow of Eton College. Born on February 21, 1987 and died at the age of 79 on April 7, 1926. He attended Eton in 1859. He was elected a Fellow of King's and returned to Eton as a master in 1870. He retired from Eton in 1899 and went to reside as a fellow at his old college in Cambridge where he spent his retirement on various boards and councils. He held the Mayoralty of Cambridge in 1905 and was a magistrate fro the Borough, and Principal of the Cambridge Training College for Schoolmasters. He was elected Vice-Provost of King's in 1909 and Provost in 1918. In 1919 he was made G.B.E. He was an avid gardener and thespian, often appearing on stage. His retreat, Pit House, in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight was were he indulged his passion for gardening. Sir Walter Durnford was unmarried. Obituary.

VICE ADMIRAL JOHN WALTER DURNFORD

Grandson of Bishop Durnford and nephew of Sir. Walter Durnford. Born 1891, died 1967. He joined the Royal Navy in 1904 at the age of 13. He served in World War I; naval advisor to White Army, Russia (1919-1920); Imperial Defense College (1936); Chief Staff Officer, Malta (1937-1939); World War II; Second Naval Member, Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (1941-1942); Director, RN Staff College (1944); Director of Naval Training, Admiralty (1945-1947).

He served on the HMS Argyll, HMS Shannon and Submarine P 39 (1914-1918). He was the Commanding Officer of the HMS Suffolk (1939-1940) and HMS Resolution (1942-1943);. Married to Marie Durnford, He retired in 1948 to Chelsea, England, where he served as local Mayor prior to his death.

Photo of the launching of the HMAS Mildura by Marie Durnford, wife of Acting Chief of Naval Staff, Commodore J.W. Durnford, RN.

Papers at the IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, LONDON: Papers, chiefly 1924-1952 (ref: P142, 143), including; semi-official correspondence 1924-1949; including two letters from V Adm Sir Thomas Hope Troubridge on the importance of training 1945; also two letters from AF Sir Algernon Usbourne Willis on the progress of operations in the Mediterranean 1943; typescript unpublished autobiography, written after his retirement in 1948, covering his career 1904-1948; photograph album relating to Durnford's career 1911-1920, including; photographs relating to his service in HMS ARGYLL, HMS SHANNON and Submarine P 39 1914-1918; photographs of the British Military Mission to South Russia 1919-1920: photographs relating to the Allied Control Commission, Constantinople, Turkey 1920.

JOHN DURNFORD JERNEGAN

Born 1911, died 1981.  United States Foreign Service officer. 1958-1962 Ambassador to Iraq. 1965-1967 Ambassador to Algeria

LADY GERTRUDE DURNFORD ALSTON

Gertrude Durnford was one of the ten children of the reverend Thomas Durnford, vice chancellor of Rockbourn and Witchbury and sister to Stillingfleet Durnford. She married Sir Rowland Alston, sixth and last baronet of Alston of Odell, Beds, who died in June 29, 1790, aged 64. Upon his death the title became extinct as there were no children. The family property, by the will of his father, Sir Thomas Alston, M.P., was passed onto Sir Thomas' illegitimate son. Lady Alston died March 1807.

ODELL, a parish the hundred of WILLEY, county of BEDFORD, 1¼ mile (N.E by N.) from Harrold, containing 439 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £19. T. Alston, Esq. was patron in 1798. The church is dedicated to All Saints. This place formerly possessed a market, granted to William Fitzwarren, in 1222, which has been long disused; but a fair is held on the Thursday and Friday in Whitsun-week. Odell castle, the seat of the Alston family, a small part of which constitutes the remains of the ancient building of the same name, stands conspicuously on an eminence, commanding a fine view of the river Ouse. (Lewis, Samuel. A Topographical Dictionary of England, 1831)

BRIGADIER JOHN DURNFORD-SLATER
ADMIRAL SIR ROBIN DURNFORD-SLATER

Although the Durnford-Slaters carry the name Durnford they are not Durnfords by birth.  A distant relative of the Slaters, Henrietta de Courcy, was married to George Durnford (son of Elias Walker).  Henrietta de Courcy, willed the Havelet House in Guernsey to the Slater family with the stipulation that they carry the Durnford name in honour of a "good man." 

FIRST SETTLERS OF CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND

A family of Durnfords were among the 438 passengers in the first four ships to arrive in Canterbury, New Zealand.  William Durnford (35), his wife Elizabeth (33) sons Edward (14), Williams (12w), Charles (10), Henry (7), Jacob (5), George (3) and daughter Martha (8), arrived on the CRESSY, a 720 ton ship that sailed from Gravesent Sept. 7, 1850 and arrived in Lyttlton (Christchurch harbour) on Dec. 27, 1850.  They were steerage passengers. 

The passenger list clearly states DURNFORD, but subsequent information, including the historical plaque in Christchurch states DUNFORD. The late David Durnford in Christchurch brought this oversight to the city, but I have doubts they'll change the plaque just for us!

COL. DEWEY FOSTER DURNFORD, USMC

Colonel Dewey F. Durnford Jr. U.S. Marine Corps, veteran of WW II, Korea and Vietnam. A fighter ace with 7 victories and holder of the following awards: Legion of Merit with Combat V, Distinguished Flying Cross (4 awards), Air Medal (10 awards) and numerous unit and campaign awards. Graduate of North High School, 1941 and the University of Maryland, 1958. Raised in Columbus, OH. Col. Durnford served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 29 years.  Col. Durnford passed away on April 22, 1999 at the age of 76. Obit

U.S. Navy's list of Aces.

Find a Grave page for Dewy Foster and family.

JOHN WILLIAM DURNFORD, ESQ.

A native Montrealer, John Durnford earned a BA in 1949 and a BCL in 1952 from McGill University, Montreal. He was admitted to the Bar in 1953 and practiced law in Montreal for several years before joining McGill as an associate professor in 1959. He served as the Dean of Law between 1969 and 1974 and was appointed the Sir William Macdonald Professor of Law in 1977. Prior to his appointment as dean, Durnford was the representative of the Quebec Bar to the Conference of Commissioners on Uniformity of Legislation in Canada and a member of the Advisory Council on the Administration of Justice. The Law Students' Association teaching award is named after him; the John W. Durnford Teaching Excellence Award. In 1995 Durnford was the recipient of the Canadian Tax Foundation's Douglas J. Sherbaniuk Distinguished Writing Award.

DIANA DURNFORD

Miss Texas, 1981.  Representing El Paso, Texas.  Was semi-finalist at Miss USA. You Tube Video

HUGH MaKENZIE ELLIOTT DURNFORD

A member of the Military Durnford (2nd great grandson of Elias Walker Durnford) he was a writer and managing editor of the Reader's Digest Association in Canada. He was also a car enthusiast and amoung his books was Cars of Canada. He also wrote Tunnelling to Freedom and Other Escape Narratives from World War I. One of the stories involved the daring escape from a WWI prisioner camp by another Hugh Durnford, the grandson of Bishop Durnford (no relation).

Obituary: Hugh Durnford, managing editor of the book department of the Reader’s Digest Association (Canada) and for 20 years, a Montreal Star reporter, writer and editor, died suddenly Friday at the Montreal General Hospital. He was 48. Hugh Mckenzie Elliott Durnford was born in Montreal in 1931, the son of Col. And Mrs. Elliott Durnford. He was educated at St. George’s School, Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario and McGill University, where he graduated in 1953. Hugh served the Star in various capacities from 1954 to 1974 and then joined the Digest as a book editor. An ardent lover of Canada, he took special delight in heading the team that over a two year period produced Heritage of Canada, a popular history that was subsequently published in French as Heritage du Canada. Mr. Durnford was a founding member and former president of the Vintage Automobile Club of Montreal and for years edited its magazine, Le Chauffeur. He is survived by his wife Nancy, three daughters, Sally, Megan and Kendra, his mother, Mrs. Amy Durnford and a sister, Mrs. Jacis Stead, all of Montreal. Funeral service will be at 2pm Tuesday at St. George’s Anglican Church, thence to the Mount Royal Crematorium.

Article from Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts

MEAGAN DURNFORD

ISAAC DURNFORD

Isaac Durnford is the son of Max and Janet-Lynne Durnford of Francois, Newfoundland and is a budding actor. He has appeared or will be appearing on the big screen in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Young boy in ball); and, A Dennis the Menace Christmas (Jack Bratcher). In television he appeared in the Eyewitness episode of Blue Murder (Jack Garret) and commercials for KFC, Campbell's Soup, The Bay, Maple Leaf Pillsbury, Egg Farmers of Ontario, and Canadian Tire. Isaac's IMDb page. Egg Farmers of Ontario commercial (he's the He's the child talking about missing practice.

He currently stars as Cory Schluter in the Canadian children's TV series Dino Dan.

Isaac Durnford & Dustin Hoffman (taken by dad, Max Durnford)