Prescott William Stephens, the son of the Rev. Richard Stephens ( vicar of St. Peters 1824 – 1871) and his French wife, Emilie Anne, was born on the 11th December 1835. Prescott was home-schooled at the vicarage in Belgrave by his parents (except for an 18-month period spent in Pisa, Italy) until he joined the Royal Navy as a Naval Cadet in December, 1849. He served on a number of ships including the Royal Yacht Albert and Victoria, where he me Queen Victoria.
On the 20th May 1869 Prescott married Alice Lettice Marriott at Paddington, London. Prescot met Alice while staying with her parents on the island of Jersey; their engagement lasted 18 months.
Prescott William Stephens was a devout Christian, to the extent that one Captain allocated him a small cabin in which to play the portable harmonium he received as a gift from his parents. He also held Sunday-School classes for the sailors on board ship.
Following his promotion to the rank of Captain on the 31st March 1874, Prescott William took command of the newly-commissioned Frigate HMS Thetis on the 13 May 1879, which he commanded in the pacific from the 13th May 1873 to the 12th August 1879. In July 1879 HMS Thetis docked at the port of Callao, the major commercial seaport of Peru. Sadly, Prescott died of Diphtheria while at Callao on the 12 August 1882, and is buried in Lima, the capitol of Peru.
His widow, Alice, commissioned a book about Prescott William’s life which was written by Benjamin Heywood BA. A copy of the book presented to Queen Victoria in December 1888 remains in the royal library.
