Thomas Hayward (Royal Navy officer)

Commander Thomas Hayward (1767-1798?) was a British sailor who was present during the Mutiny on the Bounty.

Hayward's oldest sister, Ann, was a close friend of Betsy Betham, who married William Bligh. Through Betsy, Hayward managed to obtain a position as senior midshipman on the "Bounty". His service on the "Bounty" seems to have been lacklustre, but he remained loyal to Bligh and a staunch opponent of Fletcher Christian, who disliked him immensely. He was the second person ordered into the boat carrying the loyalists, the first being Bligh himself.

Upon returning to England with Bligh, Hayward set out as third lieutenant under Captain Edward Edwards on HMS Pandora. Although they succeeded in finding some of the mutineers, and Hayward evidently performed well, it was an unfortunate voyage, ending with "Pandora" shipwrecked, and for the second time Hayward found himself without a ship in an open boat making for safety. He eventually returned to England with other survivors from the "Pandora", after which his career is uncertain.

It has been suggested, based mainly on nearly illegible papers, that Hayward served on board HM Sloop "Swift" If so, he drowned when the ship was lost with all hands in a typhoon in 1798.

Further reading

* Conway, Christiane (2005). Letters from the Isle of Man - The Bounty-Correspondence of Nessy and Peter Heywood. The Manx Experience. ISBN 1-873120-77-X.