Did we even HAVE this many King Williams? ;)

[hobbitomm]

Who was....

1) The first Duke of St Albans (c 1680)?
2) The only man on either side who could lose the War in an afternoon?
3) Owner of a chain of model shops? Or is coffee preferable to other hot beverages?
4) Hairoun (‘Land of the Blessed’), or the patron of Valencia, vinters and brickmakers?
5) Famously banned from the Bluewater shopping centre, but more popular at Universities.
6) Perhaps Father Christmas to Tom Cruise’s ex?
7) Duck! Oh no. He’s male!
8) Perhaps another duck (1986), or perhaps a comment of surprise at the level of force in a semi cockney?
9) The villain of Much Ado about Nothing. Or perhaps a castle component?
10) Originally synonymous with cake, but asked to be renamed (transliterated?), in order to sound more British.

And what links them?

Comments

[idaho-smith.livejournal.com]

I think the theme is Admirals, or naval commanders. However No.1 confuses me...

1) The first Duke of St Albans (c 1680)?

Charles Beauclerk (May 8, 1670 - May 10, 1726). Doesn't seem to be a naval man, although his youngest son Lord Aubrey Beauclerk was an RN ship's captain, and there was at least on admiral in the family later on.

2) The only man on either side who could lose the War in an afternoon?

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe.

3) Owner of a chain of model shops? Or is coffee preferable to other hot beverages?

I'm out on a limb here. There was a civilian Captain Valentine Starbuck,who gave his name to Starbuck Island in the Line Islands. Probably the inspriation for the characters in Moby Dick and Battlestar Galactica, who in turn may have been inspired the seattle-base cafe franchise Starbucks. But I can't see the model-shop link and he was only a captain, and almost everyone else seems to be Admirals (or at least de-facto fleet commanders).

4) Hairoun (‘Land of the Blessed’), or the patron of Valencia, vinters and brickmakers?

Hairoun is beer brewed in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. St Vincent the Deacon is also the patron of vintners (although I can't find the saint of brick makers).
{cogs go around and numbers are severly crunched}
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (9 January 1735-14 March 1823) was an admiral in the British Royal Navy. (Althought there is some ambiguity due there being at least 3 Battles of St Vincent)

5) Famously banned from the Bluewater shopping centre, but more popular at Universities.

I had a Uni hoodie - but it disappeared, and I'll never be Bio-Soc Treasurer again (sob)!

I knew there were several Admirals called "Hood". Wikipedia reveals them to be; Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (1724-1816)
Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport (1726-1814)
Sir Samuel Hood (1762-1814)
Arthur Hood, 1st Baron Hood (1824-1901)
Horace Lambert Alexander Hood (1870-1916)
and confirms that they were related.

6) Perhaps Father Christmas to Tom Cruise’s ex?

Penelope Cruz dated Tom Cruise for a while. In 2004 she appeared in a movie called Noel. In which she played a character called Nina Vasquez. One deductive leap later I arrive at Francisco Vásquez de Coronado - who a conquistador presumably controlled a fleet of ships. [Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón came second]

7) Duck! Oh no. He’s male!

Sir Francis Drake. This one cracked the naval theme for me although 2) and 5) I worked out without computerised help.

8) Perhaps another duck (1986), or perhaps a comment of surprise at the level of force in a semi cockney?
[How 'ard?]
Charles Howard; commander-in-chief of the British fleet that faced the 1588 Spanish Armada, and hence Drake's boss

9) The villain of Much Ado about Nothing. Or perhaps a castle component?

Don John - Dungeon.
Don John of Austria (February 24, 1547 - October 1, 1578), also known as Juan De Austria and Don Juan de Austria, was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. As a military leader his most famous victory was at the naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
Quite a hard one. The Land-locked austrians are not famous for thier navy.

10) Originally synonymous with cake, but asked to be renamed (transliterated?), in order to sound more British.
I confess that I would have never have guessed that you meant Admiral of the Fleet The Right Honourable Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS (25 June 1900 - 27 August 1979). My hat is doffed to anthraxia .

I am surprized you didn't work Admiral Rodney in to the list (yew plonkah!)

[hobbitomm.livejournal.com]

Generally pretty much spot on- so I'll comment... ;)

1) *cackle* Remember I do get cryptic from time to time.

2) Was indeed Jellicoe.

3)Alas, not Starbuck. Splendid name, but wrong :)

4)Yep. St Vincent it is :)

5)Yes, I was thinking of any of the Admirals Hood (specifically the first, and the last- a victim of 'There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today' syndrome at Jutland)

6)This one, I'm afraid you're wrong on. Tho' they sound interesting

7) Yup

8) Indeed so

9) Don John. Quite so. Though he had a hell of bad time politically keeping his (Holy League) fleet together, Lepanto is one of the most crushing tactical victories in naval history. Shame nothing much came of it strategically. The last big hurrah of the galley

10)As you say, cudos to Anthraxia. Tho' his father, Prince Louis of Battenberg was also 1st Sea Lord (at the outbreak of WW1)