Augustus Reynolds

Augustus Reynolds

Portrayed by R. Crowe
Full Name	Augustus David Reynolds
Date of Birth	March 8, 1777
Father	David Tiberius Reynolds, 3rd Viscount Titchfield (d.)
Mother	Lady Anke Reynolds
Town Residence	{{{residence}}}
Branch of the Military	Navy
Ship or Regiment	{{{regiment}}}
Currently Enlisted?	Yes
Enlistment Date	1791
Current or Final Rank (if retired)	Captain
Major Engagements	Trafalgar (1805) Chasseron (1806) Second Battle of Copenhagen (1807)

Augustus Reynolds is a naval officer and the 5th Viscount Titchfield.

Played by Blighty.

Background

Augustus Reynolds was the second son of David Tiberius Reynolds, 3rd Viscount Titchfield. Augustus’s father was caring and sought to educate his sons well but did not shy when showing favoritism to Augustus’s older brother Samuel. Augustus still had a relatively happy childhood and traveled with his father to Portsmouth, London, and even Cardiff on different occasions. At 14, Augustus found himself a position as Midshipman aboard the 74-gun HMS Mars. In 1797, during the Spithead Mutiny, Augustus was ashore and had no hand in the event. Augustus passed the Lieutenant’s examination the following year and remained aboard HMS Mars. During his service, he rarely returned home. However, on a visit in 1802, Augustus courted and married Portia Reynolds (nee Grenfield). The daughter of a Portsmouth merchant Portia was noted for her beauty and intelligence. After only a day of marriage, Augustus returned to sea. Portia became pregnant following a shore leave in 1803 but lost the child. The death of Augustus’s father in 1804 led to the accession of his brother Samuel to the head of the Reynolds household. Samuel, though smart, lost much of the family’s fortune through poor business practices and reckless spending. Lands held by the family for rental revenue in Ireland had to be sold off. The family remained in a vastly reduced but comfortable position thanks to revenue from land holdings in both Wales and Hampshire. In 1805, HMS Mars took part in the Battle of Trafalgar. Augustus was very slightly wounded in the battle, though many around him were killed or wounded.

By 1806, Augustus was a First Lieutenant and secured the position of Commander on the bomb ketch HMS Zebra. It was around this time that he was notified by anonymous letter of his wife’s indiscretions. His brother and wife had begun a very public affair which deeply hurt him. Portia and Augustus never spoke again except for a letter informing him that her father had died. Things came to a head in January 1808 when both his wife and brother died in a carriage accident near Croydon. Augustus stayed in service, finding promotion to Post Captain in March of 1808. Taking command of the frigate HMS Fox, Augustus saw limited service in the channel. In July 1809, Augustus took command of the frigate HMS Spartan and operated in the Mediterranean. However, in 1810, he was transferred to the Admiralty in London where he acts as staff (ensuring the whims of the Admiralty are heeded). Augustus purchased a modest but pleasant home at number 8 Clifford St. In private he can be ‘found’ to be puffing on a cheap pipe while enjoying a cheap ale.

Augustus maintains the family country estate, Posbrook House. It is the primary residence of his mother.

Career Brief

• Midshipman 1791
• Lieutenant 1798
• Second Lieutenant 1803
• Commander 1806
• Post Captain 1808
• Captain 1810

Augustus entered the navy as a midshipman in 1791 and served in HMS Mars until 1806. During those 15 years, Augustus experienced several engagements including Trafalgar (where he was very lightly wounded) and the action at Chasseron in 1806. Following the action at Chasseron, Augustus was promoted to Commander and took command of the bomb ketch HMS Zebra in the Baltic. In 1807, it took part in the Second Battle of Copenhagen. Promoted to Post-Captain, Augustus took command of the sixth rate HMS Fox where he operated in the channel before abruptly receiving command of HMS Spartan in the Mediterranean in 1809. In 1810, Spartan saw action off of the coast of Naples and operated in the Greek Islands. Thanks to family connections, he was promoted but transferred to the Admiralty as staff. He is fairly well respected by most officers.

His career has been a mixture of patronage and ability. Patronage allowed him to be raised to Captain in 1810, much to the derision of some officers whom even Augustus considered to be more deserving.

Personality

Augustus is known to be brooding in his work. He is uncomfortable in social situations that are of the larger variety. He does well in smaller gatherings or activities. Larger parties are the bane of his existence but he recognizes these events as necessary evils. Augustus has a keen mind and is particularly interested in Roman history. He maintains a close selection of friends and colleagues and sometimes plays cards. He prefers whist but also plays piquet. Augustus, despite his avulsion to large social gatherings, attends clubs in London. One for billiards and another for cards. Reading is his most treasured pastime and he maintains libraries both at Posbrook House and his London residence. He collects rare books, though not seriously despite his passion for reading. Augustus is a semi-talented chess player but rarely finds opponents. Augustus was deeply hurt by both the betrayal and death of his wife but only a few friends know this to be the source of occasional sessions of depression.

Augustus is an animal lover and specifically enjoys the company of dogs. He has a St. Bernard named George and a Newfoundland named Oak. He is generally regarded as a serious man by those who know him by name and reputation. However, his dry sense of humor is known to his closer friends. He is neither gentle nor cruel. Augustus puts much stock into practicality and is suspicious or skeptical of those whom are overly lavish. He puts value in being consistent in his work ethic and expects others to achieve the same. He has disdain for those who are too religious (though he holds clergy in high respect) but conversely is weary of those who have no place for religion in their life.

Augustus understands the theatrics of society and even naval service and does not allow expressions to betray his thoughts unless he wants them to. Above all, he respects education, loyalty, and direct talk. He can be easily moved by the opera or symphony but ensures it does not show. His attention span is fairly good- though at poetry readings and while listening to narcissistic chatter he lets his mind wander. He can be quick to anger at utter buffoonery but is usually able to control his anger. With women he verges on charming but is guarded since the debacle with his now passed wife. Socially, he can command a room or conversation if he chooses to but usually prefers to let things take a natural course. He speaks halting German, fairly bad Spanish, and moderately poor French. While he can get by in conversations in German, his Spanish is highly limited to a handful of sentences. He has never liked Spanish and has considered it to be an ugly language. His French is limited to a few sentences and questions and his pronunciation is utterly awful. Augustus also speaks some Latin but this is also limited to a few sentences.

Politically, he is a supporter of the Whigs in Parliament and was a pseudo-Foxite.

Family

Father: David Tiberius Reynolds, 3rd Viscount Titchfield (d. 1804) Mother: Anke Reynolds Sister: None Wife: Portia Reynolds (d. 1808)

Siblings:

Samuel Montgomery Reynolds, 4th Viscount Titchfield (d. 1808)

Cousins: Boudewijn van Marxfeldt (Émigré. maternal cousin. Dutch hereditary knight).

Holdings and Business

The Reynolds Family, primarily Augustus Reynolds, has several holdings which income is drawn from-

• Welsh lands near Builth Wells
• Greater Posbrook Estate, Hampshire
• Investments in iron mines

Residences

• London- No. 8 Clifford St.
• Hampshire- Posbrook House

Library

As mentioned, Augustus maintains a collection of books in libraries at both Posbrook House and at No. 8 Clifford St. in London. The majority of Augustus's most prized possessions remain in the Library at Posbrook House to guard against thievery and disaster. Aside from books which may pertain to sailing and contemporary books of leisure, the collection is around 2,000 volumes. Around 1,200 are in place at Posbrook house. The books range in subject from history to religion but there are few books of poetry.

Some notable pieces are:

• 14th century Hebrew Torah manuscript
• A 17th century treatise on Islam which was recovered from the library of the Tipu Sultan
• Dutch manuscript in Latin detailing the case for independence from Spain
• A compendium of 14th century English court cases (Latin)
• 15th century German book on the lives of Holy Roman Emperors (German)
• A 16th century translation of Suetonius to German (Austrian German)
• 15th century compendium of Bede's work

Relationships

Love Interests

Dogs.