John Liddell (Royal Navy officer)

[2] Born in Dunblane in 1794,[3] Liddell was educated at the University of Edinburgh before joining the Royal Navy where he saw service on HMS Asia at the Battle of Navarino (1827).For his preparations for the battle, he was subsequently one of the first recipients of the Gilbert Blane Medal in 1832.[4] During a period as director of Malta's Bighi Naval Hospital (1827–1844), he served on HMS Barham during Sir Walter Scott's 1831 voyage to Naples.[10] Succeeding Sir William Burnett, his time as Director-General coincided with the Crimean War, which brought him into contact with Florence Nightingale with whom he was subsequently in occasional contact regarding hospital design; at his request, Nightingale inspected Haslar Hospital in January 1857, and he later accompanied her on a visit to Chatham hospital.[11] Liddell died at his London home at 72 Chester Square,[12] and was buried on 2 June 1868 in the Greenwich Hospital's cemetery[2] (today East Greenwich Pleasaunce).