[4] There Hillary saw the election (July 1797) of the last of the Grand Masters of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim.

He had been left property by John Scott, his father's business partner and nephew; and then inherited West Indian estates from his elder brother Richard, who died in 1803.

[24] According to Mary Hopkirk, writing in the Essex Review, Lady Hillary continued to live at Danbury Place until her father's death, in 1823; at which point she moved to Boulogne.

[3][27] He drew up plans for a lifeboat service crewed by trained people, intended not only for the Isle of Man, but for all of the British coast.

In February 1823 he published a pamphlet entitled An Appeal to the British Navy on the Humanity And Policy of Forming A National Institution for the Preservation of Lives And Property From Shipwreck.

At the age of 60, Hillary took part in the rescue, in 1830, of the crew of the packet St George, which had foundered on Conister Rock at the entrance to Douglas harbour.

I want words, Sir, to express to you what we then felt, and what we shall ever feel, for the noble and determined manner in which you persevered in coming to our assistance, after we had considered it our duty to warn you off, for, the vessel having bilged, the severity of the gale, the position of the wind, and the time of the tide, there did not appear to us (amongst the heavy breakers then rolling upon Conister) the slightest chance of escape for you, and which, from the crippled state of the life boat when she afterwards left the wreck, was so nearly proving to be the case.

Trusting, Sir, that you may long live to preside over an establishment your philanthropy gave birth to, and in which your humanity has always placed you amongst the foremost and most active of its members – I have the honor to remain Your obliged, grateful, and

Most obedient servantAt a Meeting of the Committee of the Isle of Man District Association of the Royal National Institution, for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, held at the Courthouse, Douglas, 27 November 1830, presided over by the chairman, High Bailiff James Quirk Esq, it was agreed unanimously that the following report be transmitted to the Secretary of the Royal National Institution:[32] That the thanks of this meeting be presented to Sir William Hillary, Lieut.

[33] William Corlett and Issac Vondy both received Silver Medals with a purse of 20 guineas also distributed to the crew in recognition of their gallantry.

The structure, designed by architect John Welch, was completed in 1832 and still stands at the entrance to Douglas harbour; it was the subject of a poem by William Wordsworth.

[34] As well as the Tower of Refuge, Hillary was instrumental in recommendations for the construction of a Breakwater at Douglas, to afford the harbour greater shelter and to provide a haven to ships plying the Irish Sea.

The Smelt Monument was designed by John Welch and is situated in the market square, Castletown, Isle of Man, facing Castle Rushen.

[42] The background was of a revolt in Syria against Ibrahim Pasha, and a British naval intervention under Charles Napier on behalf of the Ottoman Empire in 1840, leading to the occupation of Beirut and Acre.

[5] Illness confined Hillary to his home on the Isle of Man, and in 1841 he began to sell off his possessions; but he kept up a correspondence on his ideas with Sir Richard Broun, 8th Baronet, secretary of the order.

When Frederick William IV of Prussia indicated that the concept of a sovereign state under the order was unacceptable, the idea had to be dropped, though a similar plan in Algeria was mooted in 1846.

COLONEL SIR WILLIAM HILLARY, BT./OF YORKSHIRE, ESSEX AND THE ISLE OF MAN/ LIEUTENANT TURCOPOLIER OF THE ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS OF ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM./BORN 1771.

DIED 1847/SOLDIER, AUTHOR, PHILANTHROPIST./HE FOUNDED IN THE YEAR 1824 THE ROYAL NAVAL LIFE BOAT INSTITUTION/AND IN 1832 BUILT THE TOWER OF REFUGE IN DOUGLAS BAY./FEARLESS HIMSELF IN THE WORK OF RESCUE FROM SHIPWRECK HE HELPED SAVE 509 LIVES/AND WAS THREE TIMES AWARDED THE GOLD MEDAL OF THE INSTITUTION FOR GREAT GALLANTRY./WHAT HIS WISDOM PLANNED AND POWER ENFORCED/MORE POTENT STILL HIS GREAT EXAMPLE SHOWED.Sir William Hillary, Bt.

This statue of Sir William Hillary by Amanda L. Barton of Kirk Michael was commissioned by Graham Ferguson Lacey of Bishopscourt and donated by him to the Borough of Douglas.