He was born in Southwark, London, and died at Strawberry Hill Government Farm, Mira Mar in Albany, Western Australia.
Nelson appointed him to command the captured French 12-gun privateer schooner Renard; her name was changed to HMS Crafty.
He was injured by an oar on board Crafty's jolly boat, which may have left a permanent mark on his health.
He personally saved his ship from accidental destruction by the much larger HMS Eagle, in Valletta harbour.
He was later cleared by court martial for the loss of Crafty, but was reprimanded for having lost contact with HMS Confounder, with which he had been in company, and for staying too long at anchor in the harbour where the Spanish found him.
Prize money acquired during his successful career enabled him and his family to settle down after the end of hostilities in 1815.
While in the evening of his Royal Navy career, he married Ann Warden Liddon, of Charmouth, near Lyme Regis in Dorset, England.
After the Great Storm of 1824, no doubt stimulated by fears for the safety of shipping on that treacherous coast, he was engaged in pioneering ideas for a buoyant and self-righting 'lifeboat'.
He was appointed Government Resident of the settlement at King George's Sound, now Albany, Western Australia, in 1833.
[3] Spencer, together with 21 members of his family and servants, emigrated to Australia arriving at King George's Sound in September 1833 with merino sheep, cattle, horses other livestock along with plants, fruit-tree cuttings and seeds.
Their family included: Spencer's home, built in 1831, was called The Old Farm and was located at Strawberry Hill in the current Albany suburb of Mira Mar.
A cottage was constructed by Dr Alexander Collie, the first Government Resident, for a visit by Governor Stirling in 1831.