John (Jack) Mitford, (1782 - 1831), was a British naval officer, poet, and journalist. Thanks to the patronage of his distant relative, Lord Redesdale, he secured a position as a midshipman on the Victory, aged 13. He was present at the Battle of Hyères Islands on 13 July 1795 and, aboard the Zealot, at the disastrous attack on Santa Cruz in July 1797 and at the battle of the Nile on 1-2 August 1798. In 1811 he became embroiled in the Blackheath affair, after Lady Bridget Perceval, daughter-in-law of the Earl of Edgmont, got him involved in her campaign in support of Caroline, Princess of Wales. In 1818 he published a book of verse, The Poems of a British Sailor, written while at sea and while working for Lady Perceval; as well as his most famous work, The Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy, a Poem in Four Cantos. Further books of poetry followed. As an editor, he worked on Scourge, or Monthly Exposure of Imposture and Folly (1811-1814); New Bon-Ton Magazine or the Telescope of the Times (1818-21); New London Rambler's Magazine (1828-30), and the Quizzical Gazette and Merry Companion. Despite his literary talent, his alcoholism and association with disreputable publishers-of obscene, libellous, or politically radical material-incurred him harsh criticism, including from William Howitt, who pronounced him 'one of the most deplorable instances of misused talents, and one of the most pitiable victims of intemperance and want of prudence.'
