Admiral Sir Edward Thornbrough, GCB (27 July 1754 – 3 April 1834) was a senior, long-serving veteran officer of the British Royal Navy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

During the later conflict, Thornbrough won praise for taking his frigate into the thick of the action at the Glorious First of June, towing the shattered HMS Bellerophon to safety after she was isolated by several French ships of the line.

With a father in the Navy, young Edward's career was destined, especially given his close proximity in his early life to the sea; he was born on Plymouth Dock.

Falcon participated in the bombardment of rebel positions during the Battle of Bunker Hill, and in August Thornbrough was badly wounded in a failed attempt to seize an American schooner from Cape Ann harbour.

[1] As consequence of his part in this engagement, Thornbrough was promoted to commander and took over the hired vessel HMS Britannia escorting a convoy to New York City.

During the operation the ship became lost in fog and Blonde was wrecked on a rocky islet whilst the brig continued to Halifax.

In November 1793, Thornbrough engaged several French ships of the line in a vain attempt to delay them until British warships could arrive to challenge them.

The campaign resulted in the Glorious First of June, when Latona was initially used as a repeating ship to relay Howe's signals down the British line.

[1] Thornbrough then took command of the ship of the line HMS Robust with the Channel Fleet, participated in the ill-fated 1795 invasion of Quiberon Bay with French Royalist forces.

At the Battle of Donegal, Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron, including Robust, destroyed a French troops convoy off Tory Island to the north of Ireland.

[1] That year he was promoted to vice-admiral and led the independent blockade of Rochefort and later a squadron in the English Channel from HMS Prince of Wales.

Both Collingwood and Earl St Vincent admired his spirit, professional skill and bravery, but the latter considered that Thornbrough was too indecisive to make a good fleet commander.

Between 1815 and 1818, Thornbrough served as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth[4] and he retired for good in 1818 after just under 50 years of service in the Navy, an exceptionally long career.